GraceKennedy (GK) is deepening its push into regional financial services, expanding its ScotiaProtect insurance partnership into The Bahamas, Barbados and Turks & Caicos, in what the group describes as a major step toward building a stronger earnings base outside Jamaica.

The move represents the first significant cross-border widening of ScotiaProtect since the partnership was launched in Jamaica, where it has helped GK General Insurance grow sharply through referrals from Scotiabank’s customer network.

The product — essentially a bank-distributed insurance programme — has become one of GK’s strongest insurance channels, delivering steady premium growth and improving customer acquisition at a lower cost.

Frank James, GK’s chief executive officer, told investors earlier this week that the new territories form part of the group’s long-standing strategy to accelerate growth offshore. While GK had targeted 50 per cent of revenue from markets outside Jamaica, strong domestic performance kept the ratio at 42 per cent in 2024.

“I’m very, very pleased to announce that we are going to be expanding that partnership with Scotiabank into three new islands, three new territories, Bahamas, Barbados, and Turks and Caicos, and that will happen in early 2026, pending regulatory approval, but this is a big move, and we’re very happy that we’ll be moving from one country to four countries by the beginning of 2026 with this partnership that continues to grow for us,” James said.

GK does not operate general-insurance subsidiaries in the three new markets. Instead, the group will rely on local distribution partnerships while servicing the policies through GK General Insurance in Jamaica.

“We do not have GK General Insurance subsidiaries in those new markets that I mentioned. But we do have arrangements in those markets to be able to support that business through our GK General Insurance company here in Jamaica. And so, we are in the process of making those necessary arrangements to be able to do that business,” James said.

“But it wouldn’t be through a separate subsidiary. It would be through partnerships in those markets as we put the necessary infrastructure in place,” he continued.

The structure gives GraceKennedy a way to enter new territories without the cost of establishing stand-alone insurers, while widening its premium income and leveraging Scotiabank’s regional customer base. It also provides a timely opportunity to diversify earnings at a moment when Jamaica is navigating the economic aftershocks of Hurricane Melissa.

Hurricane Melissa has created a more complex near-term operating environment in Jamaica. While GK stresses its confidence in the country’s recovery, the company is also preparing for shifts in consumer spending, increased claims activity, and uneven sector recovery.

Against that backdrop, ScotiaProtect offers non-Jamaica revenue growth at a time when the group is managing margin pressure, and investing heavily in digital transformation across money services and banking.

With rising insurance penetration across the Caribbean and Scotiabank’s strong customer base in all three newly added territories, ScotiaProtect is expected to become a more meaningful contributor to GK’s financial-services segment over the medium term.

The expansion also follows GK’s entry into Barbados with its Catherine’s Peak water brand earlier this year, and builds on performance from SigniaGlobe, its Barbados investment business, which James said “continues to do well” with growth plans underway.

ScotiaProtect, Scotiabank’s branded home and motor insurance programme, is marketed through Scotia General Insurance Agency but fully underwritten by GK General Insurance. The partnership gives GKI access to Scotiabank’s retail customer base — a relationship strengthened a few years when GraceKennedy acquired Scotia Insurance Caribbean Limited and Scotia Insurance Eastern Caribbean Limited which were later rebranded as GK Life.