Insurers offering coverage for the Kissoon Group of Companies have agreed to pay $200 million of a $205 million claim for the burnt out building at Camp and Robb streets.

Diamond Fire and General Insurance Incorporated (DF&GII) is to be the first to issue a cheque for $40 million which represents 20 per cent of the liability.

DF&GII is to hand over the cheque tomorrow at 2.30 pm and it covers the company's liability for the April 9 fire which gutted several city businesses and started at the Kissoon's Furniture City building.

Stabroek News was informed that the company made a claim for $205 million with its insurers, the lead insurer being the Guyana and Trinidad Mutual Fire Insurance Company (GTM) with 40% coverage. Sources say that all of the insurers have agreed to pay and apart from GTM, all of the others had 20% coverage of the business. The other insurers are the Caribbean Home Insurance Company and the Colonial Life Insurance Company (CLICO).

The company anticipates that payment by the other co-insurers will be made very shortly.

"Everybody has agreed to pay and it is only a matter of time before they start settling their liabilities, starting with Diamond Fire," a source said yesterday. The source said most of the insurers were waiting on finances to pay off the claim and before the end of next week, others should start paying.

The fire is the second to have hit the Kissoon Group in recent years with the Main Street Park Hotel fire still engaging the attention of the court for a settlement of outstanding liability by co-insurers.