Thousands of life insurance policyholders who have been left in limbo since the winding up of the British American Insurance Company (BAICO) last year will soon receive some news, probably as early as next week.

The Royal Gazette understands that the Official Receiver Stephen Lowe, who was appointed by the Bermuda Supreme Court to oversee the liquidation of BAICO's Bermuda branch next year, is set to make an announcement in the very near future.

Millions of dollars invested by Bermudian families are tied up in BAICO, which wrote around 5,500 non-health policies on the Island, the majority of them Home Service Life policies.

During the past year, liquidators have made efforts to find another life insurer to take on the BAICO policies. If such a transfer took place, policyholders would likely have to take a discount on the benefits their policies were supposed to provide.

However, KPMG Advisory Ltd., agents of the Official Receiver, has have said that if no other insurer were found to take on the policies, policyholders would suffer an even greater loss of value on their policies.

Argus Group Holdings Ltd. took on BAICO's approximately 500 health insurance clients in a deal announced a year ago.

But the prospects for life policyholders have remained uncertain. Unease has grown among clients, some of whom have contacted this newspaper, expressing their frustration at the lack of information they can get out of the liquidators.

Policyholders were advised to continue paying their premiums, even after the BAICO's Bermuda branch went into receivership, to keep their policies active.

They were promised that any premium paid after July 29 last year would be repaid in full, if a workable solution could not be found.

BAICO is a Bahamian company, which is owned by Trinidad-based parent CL Financial. Last year, CL revealed that it was facing financial difficulties and on July 29, 2009, regulator the Bermuda Monetary Authority filed a petition to wind up BAICO's Bermuda branch.