NASSAU, The Bahamas, Monday December 19, 2016 – After being delayed for more than six months, about 300 anxious CLICO policyholders in the Bahamas will finally receive their pay back in the New Year.

Minister of State for Finance Michael Halkitis has announced that payments totaling $38 million would be made next month.

“This amount would be dispersed by Government bonds . . . and not cash,” he said.

Halkitis explained that the pay back was delayed because of the impact of Hurricane Matthew which struck The Bahamas on October 6.

Michael Halkitis, Minister of State for Finance

Back in March, the Perry Christie administration had signed off on 3,389 cheques in the first payout totaling just over $11 million.

Halkitis explained that the 300 policyholders, who will get their money in January, were left out of the initial payment because they had not provided the necessary information.

In addition to the payouts, the finance official is hoping that ongoing work to establish a new company to manage CLICO policies will also be completed in January.

The company, called Coral Insurance Company Limited, will only handle active policies.

“Coral Insurance Company will not take on any new business, but they will be responsible for holding those policies that remain active and administering those. In order to do that, you have to have a licence as an insurance company and that is where we are going,” Halkitis said.

The minister added that preparations were being made to ensure a sound structure.

“We are currently evaluating proposals received from entities that have expressed an interest in managing the insurance portfolio of Coral. Once selected, the manager and new board of directors along with the business plan will be presented to the Insurance Commission for approval. We expect that to be completed by January so the payouts can be made,” he said.