BCIC, VM Insurance Merger On Track

The deal to merge British Caribbean Insurance Company (BCIC) and Victoria Mutual Insurance Company (VMIC) has been finalised, with the Matalon-controlled ICD Group now owning 68.5 per cent of the newly created entity. Victoria Mutual Building Society owns the other 31.5 per cent.

The merger took effect June 1, with a project manager already engaged to integrate both companies.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“The process will include a review of the operations of both companies to determine the scope for rationalisation and improvements in operational effectiveness and efficiency which will ultimately benefit our customers,” said Richard Powell, president and chief executive officer of VMBS.

“Until then, both companies will continue to operate as separate entities,” he said.

The new company will retain the name BCIC, and be identified in VMBS’s structure as an affiliate operation.

The consolidation of operations is subject to approval by the Financial Services Commission, Powell said.

VMIC, a licensed provider of general insurance products and services in Jamaica since 1990, will add approximately $800 million in gross written premium to BCIC’s $1.9 billion, making the combined entity the fourth-largest general insurer in Jamaica, according to company executives.

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