Sagicor celebrated its 175th anniversary of operations with a gala event at Sandals Halcyon on Friday 22nd January, 2016. Sagicor is a financial service company offering insurance, financial investments and mutual funds among other services. Present at the celebration were customers, staff, special guests and government officials. Among the specially invited were President of the Senate and President of the Saint Lucia Insurance Council, Claudius Francis; Senator James Fletcher; outgoing Director of Public Prosecution, Victoria Charles-Clarke, and leader of the United Workers Party, Allen Chastanet.
Chairman of the Sagicor board, Stephen McNamara, started speaking by chronicling the company’s journey which, he explained, started as the Barbados Mutual Life Assurance Society. “After rapidly expanding throughout the Eastern Caribbean, the company opened its Eastern Caribbean office here in Saint Lucia – the icing on the cake as it were,” McNamara said. “Today, Sagicor has grown to be the leading indigenous financial services company throughout the Caribbean region,” he added.
According to the Chairman, Sagicor is committed to the region and its people, and he pointed to a number of initiatives: “Some of these include the Healthy Caribbean Coalition, sport initiatives such as the Sigma Run in Jamaica, and sponsorship of the OECS Swimming Championship, the Sagicor Visionaries Challenge and sponsorship of a grand piano for the Saint Lucia School of Music.”
CEO of Sagicor Life/Eastern Caribbean Donald Austin, who also spoke on the night, pointed out: “Reaching 175 years is indeed a remarkable achievement as a business and we must thank many of you here, our customers from across the region, for your support over the years.” According to Austin, Sagicor had advanced in leaps and bounds over the last few years and now operates in the Dutch- and English-speaking Caribbean including Belize and Panama. “We also operate in forty-six states in the United States,” he clarified.
Poised for further expansion in the Eastern Caribbean, the CEO informed the gathering that this year Sagicor will launch an IPO offering 25% in shares to the general public in the region. Trevor Vigo, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Sagicor, introduced the Sagicor 175 Endowment Plan. “This plan,” he said, “provides policyholders with a benefit payment after 25 years. Simply put, the plan not only provides life insurance coverage but it also pays a lump sum at the end of the policy.”
Vigo then introduced Leathon Khan as the new head of the Saint Lucia operations. He described Khan as “a certified chartered insurance practitioner who has gained experience in Jamaica as well as Trinidad.” “It is an exciting time here at Sagicor and throughout the Sagicor Group,” proclaimed Khan. “There are a number of strategic developments and initiatives in train that will propel our organisation into the future,” he announced.
His primary goals as the new team leader, Khan said, are to continue to build progressively on the successes of the company, to strengthen and sustain leadership positioning in the market and to enhance the qualitative aspects of service delivery. He added “relationship building with customers” and industry partners” to his list. Claudius Francis brought salutations on behalf of the Insurance Council of Saint Lucia and lauded Khan a suitable choice as Sagicor’s man at the helm of the Saint Lucia operations. Sagicor also recognized the contributions of a number of persons including long-standing customers Sir Leton Thomas, Andrew Green and Felicite Lucien as well as Stephen McNamara.
