An insurance agent had a difficult time giving evidence on Tuesday in the Home Circuit Court as he shared that he had a close relationship with Simone Campbell-Collymore and was out partying with her the night before she was killed.

The agent told the court that he had sold insurance to Campbell-Collymore and her husband, Omar Collymore, which was worth in the region of $200 million.

Omar Collymore, Michael Adams, Shaquile Edwards, and Dewayne Pink are on trial for Campbell-Collymore’s murder, and the issue of insurance policies has been a prominent feature in the trial being heard by Justice Leighton Pusey and a seven-member jury.

Campbell-Collymore and taxi driver Winston Walters were shot dead outside the gate of her apartment complex in Red Hills, St Andrew, on January 2, 2018 by Wade Blackwood and a now deceased Corporate Area don, who went by the name Jim Brown from Brooke Valley in St Andrew.

Blackwood, who has confessed to the murder, is serving a life sentence after taking a plea deal with the prosecution and is now a Crown witness.

It is alleged that Omar Collymore ordered the hit on his wife, and the other accused men were said to have been part of a conspiracy to have her killed.

“The day before she died we were out together at an event with my wife and others,” the life insurance agent told the court before delving into some of the details surrounding insurance policies that were taken out by her just a few months before she was murdered.

He explained that he sold insurance to the Collymores in 2017.

“I am an agent who is always prospecting. Through the connection with my wife and Simone, I told her I sold insurance. She told me she had existing policies, which I vetted. I looked in on what she had and I had a meeting with just her alone. The meeting was short. The second meeting was with both of them. I told them why they would need additional coverage. As parents, I told them the reason for additional insurance coverage for both of them and explained the guidelines,” he testified.

He told the court that Campbell-Collymore’s insurance coverage, prior to the upgrade, was around $20 million for life insurance and $10 million for critical illness.

“That covers cancer and those things. I gave her a breakdown and, based on her income
— she was earning $8 million
— so she was eligible for eight times her income and even more in coverage. Collymore was eligible for the same. They were business partners. I offered her $80 million in life insurance and the rest for accident and dismemberment coverage. Collymore was right there during the discussion. He was sold two policies. He got an $80-million coverage as well and $10 million for critical illness. He did not have life insurance before, based on my own enquiries,” the insurance agent said.

He told the court that an $80-million coverage was not the typical life insurance policy but explained that it had elements which focused on income continuation, generational wealth, and family protection.

“$80 million is large, but for people who earn, that is not so large, so really and truly they could have gotten it. The policy for Mrs Collymore was settled and issued on October 25, 2017. The beneficiaries were Mr Collymore and the two kids. He was also a trustee. In the event of her death, he would stand full responsibility for the minors. The benefits were broken down into percentages,” the insurance agent explained.

“Being trustee, his entitlement would be $80 million if Simone died. Even though the policy was just started, he would still get $80 million. Mr Collymore’s policy was settled on November 28, 2017 because we were awaiting additional information from him. The sum total of Simone’s insurance coverage was a little over $100 million. After her death, no money was paid out and Mr Collymore’s policy was cancelled on January 19, 2018,” he said.

The trial continues today.