The Fair Trading Commission, FTC, has given the nod to GraceKennedy’s acquisition of an 80 per cent stake in Key Insurance Company, which gives the conglomerate an additional share of the general insurance market in which it is already among the top players.

Key, a listed general insurer, was determined to hold four per cent of the market, with gross premium income of $1.79 billion, based on 2018 data used by the FTC for its analysis.

The competition watchdog, which was weighing whether GraceKennedy Financial Group’s acquisition of Key would be bad for competition, found that even with the deal sealed earlier this year, the powerful conglomerate would not dominate the market.

The top players were determined to be British Caribbean Insurance Company and and General Accident Insurance Company Jamaica, each with an 18 per cent share, followed by Guardian General Insurance with 15 per cent; and GK General Insurance with 11 per cent. When combined, GK General and Key match the share controlled by third place holder Guardian General.

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