Insurance policies now worthless

Jamaican Finance Minister Omar Davies 
Photo - Observer

by Shurna Robbins

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Numerous residents with Dyoll property insurance have been waiting for months to have their calls returned or their concerns addressed as Cayman Insurance Centre (CIC) copes with a flood of claims but with no money to pay them.

Meanwhile, as mortgage payments become overdue, concerned policyholders are asking why isn’t Government stepping in to help residents with Dyoll in light of its recent bailout of Cayman General Insurance. 

One concerned Dyoll policy holder has reported to Cayman Net News that she has been paying her mortgage and property insurance for 14 years. Since she has lost her house, she had to move with her three teenage boys into a small room in a private house for $1100, more than the cost of her mortgage. For months, she has been given the run around as she has called CIC three times a day, five days a week, leaving messages but only getting a voicemail. 

According to the policy holder, CIC has repeatedly promised funds for reimbursement of rent, settlement of funds as well as a letter to the bank holding the mortgage that a settlement was pending, but so far there has been no money paid. 

“This morning, I got a call from the bank again and was told they needed payment on my mortgage by the end of this month or the bank would demand payment in full within seven days,” said the policy holder.

“The bank said that they never received the letter from the CIC manager, Linda Chapman, and I have also tried to call her. I am a single parent and I do not have $98,000 and that is the reason why I have always paid my insurance policy thinking that I was doing the right thing and obeying the law. But I have now come to believe that I would have been better off not paying my insurance all these years. I guess if they carry me to court then I will have free board and free food at Northward.”

“I applied for one of the trailer homes and to this day, I have not gotten a call back from them as yet. I called several times and was told that they have to accommodate old people and families with young children. 

“I have been in one room with my three boys eighteen and fifteen year old twins having to step off each other for the past six months. With all this stress, I had a stroke in January and my nerves are on the edge again. 

“I do not intend to have any more insurance and I know that there are others out there that agree with me.

Meanwhile, CIMA has recommended that policy holders with Dyoll make other arrangements for coverage, especially in light of the impending hurricane season. According to industry experts, neither CIMA or other insurance companies have been able to assure policy holders that the cover they are paying for will meet any claim if there is another catastrophic event. With over 1.5 billion in claims, Hurricane Ivan has weakened the insurance market overall. 

More than six months after Hurricane Ivan which hit the region last September, and as we face the start of hurricane season 2005, Dyoll policy holders are asking; “which insurance company will be in business to pay their claims if they need them? And where is the protection for the consumer?”

Jamaican Finance Minister Omar Davies made it clear recently that there would be no Government financial bail-out of Dyoll Insurance Company when he said any state intervention would be limited to the regulatory obligations of the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

Temporary Manager for Dyoll, Kenneth Tomlinson said in an earlier press release that he is still assessing all of Dyoll’s assets, so he doesn’t know when payments for outstanding claims will resume for policyholders in Jamaica or Cayman. 

None of this bodes well for policy holders of the failed insurance company and peace of mind is something likely to elude policyholders for some time yet.

Moreover enquiries made to Linda Chapman at Cayman Insurance Centre were unanswered before press time.

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