BIPA ease

CLICO policyholders are breathing a sigh of relief following yesterday morning’s adjournment of the hearing of an application to have the forensic audit into the collapsed company sealed from the public of Barbados.
An application to the Supreme Court last Friday “not to allow any person who is not a party to the proceedings to view, obtain, access or copy the report” has been adjourned for hearing on July 12, bringing temporary relief to thousands of policyholders.
The application by legal representatives for CLICO International Life (CIL) Insurance Ltd’s judicial manager Deloitte Consulting Inc. caused the Barbados Insurance Policyholders Alliance (BIPA) to raise an alarm over the weekend, leading more than 50 policyholders and legal representatives to converge at the Supreme Court yesterday from about 8:30 a.m.
BIPA’s attorney Alair Shepherd, QC, insisted that the forensic report, now in the hands of the judicial manager, should not be sealed.
“The initial reaction of BIPA, quite reasonably, was how can you do that? We paid for it, it should be made public . . . That still remains our position . . . We do take issue with any form of closetting of any reports on a permanent basis,” he told the DAILY NATION.