The purpose of insurance is to mitigate against any loss. However, an ongoing Trinidadian Commission of Enquiry into the management of the collapsed Colonial Life Insurance Company (CLICO) has revealed that the group lost hundreds of millions of dollars in failed investments, and executives paid themselves hefty salaries to the detriment of policy holders and investors.
The fold-up of the insurance giant and its sister company, CLICO Bahamas, in 2009 has affected a multitude of individuals.
Former CL Financial chief financial officer Michael Carballo, in his testimony before the Commission in September, told how CL Financial made a series of risky investments to expand its portfolio after acquiring the majority stake in the liquor company Angostura.
According to Carballo’s testimony, CLICO’s major source of financing was its Executive Flexible Premium Annuity.
Carballo told the Commission, which is chaired by Sir Anthony Colman, “That is where it started, for example, the purchase of companies like Hine Cognac and Chateau Online and all these acquisitions were done via funding directly from CLICO.
