Insurance broker under surveillance

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Parent Category: Aug 2011

Category: Week ending Aug 27th, 2011

Published on Monday, 29 August 2011 10:11

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An insurance broker from St. Andrew’s could shortly be charged with committing a financial crime by the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF). Fingers are being pointed at the insurance broker for failing to submit payments in the region of hundreds of thousands of dollars to a number of insurance companies for premiums to cover motor vehicle insurance.

A high level police source told THE NEW TODAY newspaper that numerous complaints have been received about their insurance premiums not having been paid in to the insurance companies after the payments would have been given to the broker. The source who did not want to be identified said that several persons appear to have been affected by the action of the individual. “We have complaints coming in over and over on this financial crime,” he added.

This newspaper learnt that the state-owned Marketing and National Importing Board (MNIB) was the most affected when a fleet of its vehicles were pulled off the road by the police. However, a reliable source at MNIB confirmed to this newspaper that the police forced only one truck off the road in the early part of August on the grounds that it lacked the necessary insurance.

He said the vehicle remained off the road for one night while the matter was clarified with the insurance company. “As far as we know that matter between the broker and the insurance company has been settled, that is what I will tell you, that is what I know for a fact,” he remarked. This newspaper was told that despite failure of the insurance broker to hand over the money to the insurance company, MNIB was forced to dialogue with the company itself in order to get its vehicle back on the road.

A commission is usually paid to insurance brokers who obtain businesses on behalf of insurance companies that are operating in Grenada after they would have remitted the funds. Some affected persons admitted to this newspaper that they just cannot understand what the individual who lives a luxurious life had been doing with the monies he collected from them on behalf of the insurance companies. “The question is what has he been doing with the money?” one affected person told THE NEW TODAY.

The Grenada Authority for the Regulation of Financial Institutions (GARFIN) is responsible for regulating all financial operators in the country. The source said it is left to be seen if the authority has “the teeth” to take over the company that is run by the insurance broker. He spoke of having information in his possession that GARFIN is currently looking at some properties that are owned by the broker which some insurance companies are interested in purchasing in an effort to recover their monies.

The source indicated that if someone is entrusted with another person’s money and he converts it to himself, under the law that is called fraudulent breach of trust. However, the source said it will be best that a Receiver takes over the company, make an assessment of its operations before legal action can be taken. “We cannot really jeopardise the public at the expense of a person,” he added.

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