GTM did right in meeting 25% obligation - Cheong Stabroek News October 9, 2000 Errol Cheong, General Manager of the Guyana & Trinidad Mutual Fire & Life Insurance Company (GTM) feels the firm did the right thing in meeting its 25% obligation to the Kissoon Group for the fire which razed most of the Park Hotel on May 6. "We involved an international loss adjuster in the matter, we had his report and in contemplating that report we felt the appropriate thing to do was to pay," Cheong told Stabroek News on Tuesday. GTM, the lead insurance company offering coverage to the Park Hotel, "accepted the view" of the loss adjuster from Trinidad that it would be futile at this stage to attempt to test the debris from the fire to ascertain whether any accelerant may have been used, Cheong noted. Four other co-insurers, the Colonial Life Insurance Company (CLICO), North American Fire Insurance Company (NAFICO), the Guyana Co-operative Insurance Society (GCIS) and the Hand in Hand Insurance Company (HIH) have refused to meet their obligation under the claim to date, insisting that insufficient investigation was done in the matter. They said they were moving to ensure a full investigation was done to ascertain that the fire claim is a "genuine" one by the Kissoon Group. Local fire investigators suspected arson in the May 6 fire which only left one structure of the hotel partly standing. The loss adjuster, retained by all of the insurance companies locally which are co-insurers of the hotel, explained that once walls are breached, it will be impossible to lay the blame for the fire at the door of anyone in the event that evidence of accelerant is found. The adjuster also pointed out that the weather can have an adverse effect on evidence and pointed to the futility of testing the debris at this point in time. The loss adjuster arrived at a $320M settlement with the broker for the Kissoon Group over the damages and to date, GTM and the Caribbean Home Insurance Company have met their obligations (25% and 10% respectively). Demerara Mutual Life and Fire Assurance Company has decided to pay its 10% obligation. The adjuster had informed the insurers that there was no reason for them to deny liability. Cheong indicated Tuesday that insurance companies are not bound by agreements reached between loss adjusters and brokers. However, Cheong could not recall a case in the recent insurance history of Guyana where after a settlement was arrived at between an adjuster and a broker, some of the co-insurers were continuing with an investigation into the source of the fire. The fire was said to be of unknown origin. Follow the goings-on in Guyana in Guyana Today