BCIC completes acquisition of JNGI

BCIC has completed the acquisition of JN General Insurance. (Photo: Joseph Wellington)

British Caribbean Insurance Company Limited (BCIC) and ICD Group Holdings Limited have completed the acquisition of JN General Insurance Company Limited (JNGI), which will give BCIC a further foothold in Jamaica’s general insurance sector.

The acquisition was completed last Friday with BCIC buying 37 per cent of the JNGI’s ordinary shares while ICD Group bought the remaining 63 per cent of ordinary shares. The transaction structure was detailed in JNGI’s 2024 audited financial statements, but the final price tag will be revealed in JN Financial Group Limited’s 2025 audited financial statements which should be published later this year.

“We are actually deeply appreciative of the confidence that JN Group had in trusting their customers with us and trusting us to continue to look after their customers in the manner in which they’ve become accustomed. BCIC has grown organically quite significantly after the merger with VMIC and one of the most important drivers of that growth has been focusing on delivering what customers want, which we can only succeed at by actively listening to customers,” stated Peter Levy, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BCIC in a previous interview.

BCIC is a 53.98 per cent subsidiary of ICD Group Holdings which is chaired by Joseph M Matalon with Peter Melhado as its Group CEO. VM Financial Group Limited holds a 44.17 per cent stake in BCIC which is the result of a May 2010 merger between BCIC and Victoria Mutual Insurance Company Limited.

BCIC is a general insurer with its primary operations in Jamaica and over 100,000 policies in force. The business, which also has branch operations in Barbados and the Turks & Caicos islands, recorded a 26 per cent improvement in insurance revenue to $20.24 billion. That figure was the highest amount generated by any general insurer with Financial Services Commission (FSC) statistics revealing that $87.30 billion in insurance revenue was generated in the general insurance sector during 2024.

Despite a 44 per cent increase in reinsurance expenses to $10.48 billion, BCIC’s net insurance result grew by 120 per cent from $715.75 million to $1.57 billion. The company’s net financial result also improved by 216 per cent to $332.82 million due to higher returns on its investment portfolio and reinsurance contracts. A 74 per cent rise in other operating expenses to $2.09 billion resulted in the company’s profit before tax (PBT) rising by 25 per cent to $892.98 million. Net profit improved 38 per cent to $593.34 million.

BCIC’s asset base stood at $17.15 billion with $5.81 billion in short-term investments, $2.61 billion in investments and $896.54 million in cash at the end of 2024. Total liabilities decreased during the year to $11.20 billion with $10.11 billion related to insurance contract liabilities. The capital base closed 2024 at $5.95 billion.

The acquisition by BCIC will see significant changes to the general insurance space with JNGI’s audited notes stating, “It was further agreed that, subsequent to the acquisition, the insurance business of BCIC will be merged into the operations of the company. This merger is part of a broader strategic realignment aimed at enhancing operational efficiency and delivering greater value to policyholders.”

Levy also added, “The intention would be to seek regulatory approval for an amalgamation. So, once we’ve achieved the acquisition and control of the shares of JNGI, we would then move as quickly as possible to presenting a plan to the FSC for an amalgamation, and then they have to go through their process. One of their primary goals is to ensure that policyholders are not harmed by this process and hopefully improved by this process. We will work with them to make sure that they are happy and policyholders are happy. It would be better for us to operate as one company as quickly and feasible following the acquisition of the shares.”

The JNGI staff were made redundant following the acquisition but were invited to explore opportunities within BCIC and continue servicing the JNGI customers. JNGI continues to operate from its remaining locations with all policies remaining in place.

Jamaica National Group Limited (JN Group) CEO and Deputy Chairman Earl Jarrett told the Jamaica Observer, “Your policy will remain in place as the company will not be dissolved at this moment. The policies will run off in JNGI and then renewed at BCIC.”

JNGI had an improved 2024 as it was able to record a positive net insurance result of $171.79 million compared to a negative net insurance result of $1.03 billion during 2023 due to higher reinsurance expenses. The reduction in reinsurance expenses and tight operational cost management resulted in the company recording a PBT of $292.57 million versus a loss before tax of $461.17 million. Net profit was $218.33 million compared to a net loss of $527.50 million in 2023.

JNGI’s asset base grew 16 per cent to $12.75 billion during 2024 with $4.65 billion in reinsurance contract assets, $4.83 billion in investments and $662.55 million in cash. Total liabilities and capital were $8.65 billion and $4.10 billion, respectively.

JNGI was originally established as NEM Insurance Company Limited which traces its roots back to 1934. JNGI was renamed in May 2012 as part of the overall initiative to align the JN Group companies under a common brand.

JNGI is the second subsidiary sale by the JN Financial Group in the last year. JN Financial Group transferred 80.1 per cent of its interest in JN Bank UK Limited in September 2024 for £20 million to Step One Money UK Limited, a subsidiary of Step One Group Limited. JN Financial Group is also continuing its negotiations surrounding the sale of its JN Fund Managers Limited (JNFM) subsidiary.

It is not yet known when JN Bank Limited will raise the additional capital to improve its capital base by at least $12.3 billion. This was mentioned in JN Bank’s 2024 audited financials where it was revealed that the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) had imposed a 15 per cent capital adequacy ratio in December 2023. The BOJ reduced that requirement to 13 per cent on February 5, 2025. JN Group completed the sale of its 40 per cent stake in Knutsford Holdings Limited during the March 2024 period for $500 million to Pan Jamaica Group Limited. That transaction resulted in the JN Group recording a $127.75 million loss on disposal. Knutsford Holdings is the entity which owns 23-27 Knutsford Boulevard which is home to CIBC Caribbean (Jamaica) Limited.

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