Eden Services…new Insurance Agency on the block
By Terresa McCall
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
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| (L-R) G A Dwyer Astapahan and Gary Dasilva |
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – Little more than a month ago, the new insurance agency on the block, Eden Services St. Kitts & Nevis Limited, opened its doors to the public promising “elegant and efficient” services second to none.
The fledgling company, an agent for Beacon Insurance in Trinidad, is the brainchild of Gary DaSilva and Dwyer Astaphan, insurance pundit and former minister of government/lawyer respectively.
Situated at one of Basseterre’s main hubs of activity, Port Zante, the company is poised to offer services not only in the realm of insurance but also in real estate, finance and consultancy.
In an interview with SKNVibes, the men gave a sneak-peak into the circumstances that led to the formation of the company which is owned by both men along with Astaphan’s brother, Kris Astaphan.
DaSilva said his recent retirement from the firm at which he was last employed, TDC, coupled with Dwyer Astaphan’s recent retirement from government, was a perfect recipe for the formation of a company, especially since they had discussed that possibility in the past. He noted that prospective areas of business were reviewed from which insurance was selected.
Dwyer Astaphan explained that with his training as a lawyer and experience as a servant of the people, DaSilva’s approximate 45-year experience in the insurance industry, and Kris Astaphan’s experience as a “renowned” tax attorney and financial manager, is a “potpourri of skills” which would redound to the benefit of not only the company but also to its clientele and the people of St. Kitts and Nevis. ~~Adz:Right~~
“…what we intend to do is to provide opportunities for professionals to provide services to this company and through this company in an ancillary manner to clients. We’re not here to hog things; we’re here the share. We believe the more opportunity comes your way or you create for yourself, if you share it with professionals and artisans and other people in the community. You help to uplift them and you create more local value-added and, in the long run, that is financially, socially and spiritually to your benefit. We are that kind of business. It’s not just financial bottom line for us; we want to empower people. We want every one of our clients in the Eden side of the operation to feel ‘well I am satisfied beyond expectations’,” Astaphan elucidated.
Notwithstanding the abundance of insurance agencies in the Federation, both men held that their business venture is a lucrative one and foresight is one of the pillars upon which it rests.
“…people would do business with people in whom they have confidence (and) people who know the business, and I can see us doing very well because of the service we provide to the public. There is lots of business out there for all of us. I am still saying that in terms of homes and other areas of business, maybe about 30 percent of public is secured and the other 70 percent is still uninsured…and we are hoping to tap into that market as well as what will be happening at the Peninsula, we think that there are opportunities for us which we can take advantage of,” DaSilva, a past director of the Insurance Association of the Caribbean, expressed.
Astaphan supported and cemented DaSilva’s sentiments, explicating that the areas of business in which they are involved “are very much needed and in an expansive mode. (While)…providing these products to the community, you do not describe the community as the resident population. You have to look in prospect. There are lots of investments coming in that will add to the number of people and interests groups in the country, requiring insurance and other services. But it also will add to the capacity of the people who are already here to buy into those services”.
Under the umbrella of Eden Services, Dwyer Astaphan explained, legal services, though in a hemmed in manner, will be provided.
“I also will provide legal services separately and in a very circumscribed area; corporate work, commercial work, real estate and that sort of thing. Nothing litigious…basically chamber work, but more business related, family settlement, trust and so forth. I am also a registered agent under Financial Services Regulations in terms of asset protection structures under our law. So, there will be some cross over between the legal services and the broad range of services provided by Eden, but there will be instances where there is no cross over.”
Both Astaphans and DaSilva are the firm’s Directors.
