Guardian Holdings Limited
Guardian Holdings Limited is a conglomerate of insurance and financial services companies in the Caribbean. Its headquarters are in Westmoorings, Trinidad and Tobago and its history goes back to 1847. At one time it was known as Standard Life and the company has since been rebranded under the name Guardian Group.
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| Type | Public company |
|---|---|
| JSE: GHL TTSE: GHL | |
| Founded | 1847 |
| Headquarters | Westmoorings, Trinidad and Tobago |
Areas served | English Caribbean and Dutch Caribbean |
| Divisions | Life Insurance Health Insurance Pensions Property and Casualty Insurance Wealth, Asset Management Life Insurance & Pension Fund Management |
| Subsidiaries | Guardian Life of The Caribbean Guardian General Insurance Limited Guardian Asset Management and Investment Services Limited Guardian Group Trust Limited Guardian General Jamaica Insurance Limited Guardian Life Limited |
| Website | myguardiangroup |
Guardian Holdings Limited currently serves markets in 21 countries across the English and Dutch Caribbean, including Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica, Curacao, Aruba, St. Maarten, and Bonaire with their products and services being marketed throughout the Eastern Caribbean, the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, the US Virgin Islands, and Belize.
The company is listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange and Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange under the name GHL.
History
Guardian Holdings Limited started in 1847 when Standard Life of Edinburgh, Scotland entered the market and started a branch office in Trinidad and Tobago. Overtime, Standard Life of Edinburgh closed operations and merged its Trinidad and Tobago portfolio with the portfolio of Jamaica Mutual Life Assurance Society on the 15th November, 1972.
Guardian Life of The Caribbean Limited was formed from this merger when the need for insurance companies to localise their operations came about, and this company was then incorporated on 30th December, 1980 and registered under the provisions of Insurance Act, 1980.
The company expanded over the years with the acquisition of majority shareholding in Crown Life (Caribbean) Limited in 1990, which was later merged with the operations of Guardian Life of The Caribbean Limited in January 1993. Through this acquisition, Guardian Holdings Limited was able to enter the Dutch Caribbean market of Curacao and Aruba.
Guardian Holdings Limited was then able to establish Guardian Life Limited in Jamaica in 1999, which followed the acquisition of the individual life and pension portfolios of Jamaica Mutual, Crown Eagle, Dyoll Life, and Horizon Life. The expansion into Jamaica continued with Guardian Holdings Limited acquiring the West Indies Alliance Insurance Company in 2001. Guardian Holdings Limited later acquired The Caribbean Home Insurance Company and following this, were able to merge the operations of the Trinidad and Tobago market and rebrand as Guardian General Insurance Limited, with the legal amalgamation of NEMWIL and Guardian General Insurance Limited in 2007.
Guardian Holdings Limited further diversified their services with the inclusion of asset management and investment services after introducing Guardian Asset Management in 2003. This strengthened Guardian Holdings Limited’s place in the Dutch Caribbean following the acquisition of FATUM Holdings N.V., owner of the FATUM Group in the Netherland Antilles.
The conglomerate later announced the acquisition of 100% of the issued share capital of Globe Insurance Company of Jamaica Limited and this was then merged with West Indies Alliance Insurance Company Limited to create Guardian General Insurance Jamaica Limited.
Guardian Holdings Limited continued to grow and in 2013 they were successful in their acquisition of issued share capital of Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance (Antilles) N.V. from the RSA Group and Maduro & Curiel’s Bank by FATUM General Insurance N.V. (FATUM), which is a subsidiary of FATUM Holding N.V.
The company has earned a strong and positive reputation among fellow financial institutions in the Caribbean, and both the Guardian Life of The Caribbean Limited and Guardian General Insurance Limited companies are rated as “A- Excellent” by A.M. Best.
In 2013, the decision was taken by the company and its subsidiaries to rebrand under the name “Guardian Group”, with it being a single brand and identity to represent the group. Despite having separate companies which are all legal entities, all companies under Guardian Holdings Limited carry a single brand name, logo and tagline of “Guardian Group”, which cements Guardian Group as the single largest insurance and financial services brand in the respective sectors in the English and Dutch Caribbean, with history spanning over 167 years.
In May 2019, NCB Financial Group Limited (NCBFG) and its wholly owned subsidiary, NCB Global Holdings Limited (NCBGH) successfully completed the acquisition of 74,230,750 in Guardian Holdings Limited. This was the largest acquisition of its kind in the region, with NCB now holding more than 62% of the shares of Guardian Holdings Limited, and this was aligned to Guardian Holdings Limited’s strategy for continued growth and another step in the region.
Rebranding
In 2013, the decision was taken by the company and its subsidiaries to rebrand under the name “Guardian Group”, with it being a single brand and identity to represent the group. Despite having separate companies which are all legal entities, all companies under Guardian Holdings Limited carry a single brand name, logo and tagline of “Guardian Group”.