Within the next three to five years, Colina Insurance Company Limited, which has acquired Global Bahamas, hopes to become highly competitive at international levels.
James Campbell, president of Colina Insurance Company made this announcement during a press briefing yesterday at Colina Insurance on Village Road .
As a result of the merger, Mr. Campbell added, Global Bahamas will now trade under the name of Colina Trading Limited.
Mr. Campbell said that the board of directors for Colina Insurance is mindful that the company can no longer just focus on doing business in the Bahamas .
“Our little Bahamian economy is now part of the international global village that everyone is talking about,” he said. “We intend to be in the business for the long term, notwithstanding the fact that we are the dominant and we are the leading company here in the Bahamas , that’s not good enough for us.
“It is important for us to position ourselves so that we can, in fact, play internationally.”
According to Mr. Campbell, the merger makes Colina the largest and the strongest life insurance company in the Bahamas .
The company has assets in excess of more than $175 million, total revenues in excess of $55 million and a capital base in excess of $35 million.
Also the company has acquired more than 43,000 policies and over $2.5 billion in life insurance. The company’s aim, Mr. Campbell said, is to improve its efficiency and productivity, and also improve its quality of customer service.
Mr. Campbell indicated that the move now allows the company to introduce a new kind of culture, with the strongest agency network presence in the country.
He said that by the end of March, the computer system, which was used by Global Bahamas Holdings in Jamaica , would be set up and used by the new company.
The merger of the two insurance groups is just one of several taking place in the financial services and insurance industry that signals a new trend of buyouts and the pooling of assets by banks, trust companies and insurance agencies.
Director of Colina Insurance Company Anthony Ferguson said that with the new merger, the company does not anticipate a drop in shares but a significant increase.
Mr. Ferguson said shareholders should see an increased earning which should result in an increased share value.
“We don’t expect to see a continued deterioration in the minimum trading because as we understand there are a number of institutions that have been purchasing the shares and once the investors see the values in the combined company we expect fully that you can see the share prices appreciate,” he said.
The new insurance company will operate under the name Colina Insurance Company Limited and as a member of the Colina Financial Group; persons will have access to a wider array of financial services, company officials said.
By Yvette Rolle-Major, The Bahama Journal
