CARAIFA is pleased to announce the selection of Charted Life Underwriter Mrs. Shirley C. Clarke of Barbados for induction to its Hall of Fame. Shirley has been in the business of life insurance for 34 years, having served as a Unit and then Agency Manager in Sagicor Life and its heritage company, Life of Barbados, for almost 22 years until her retirement from the position at the end of last year. She continues to serve as consultant to the new Agency Manager for a period of time, and has stated her intention to be involved with her clients indefinitely.
Shirley was born in Bermuda where she received her education up to secondary level leaving to attend the City of Westminster College in London, England where she spent three years in further studies. Because of marriage to a Barbadian she eventually made her home in Barbados. After some years, and a heavy dose of persuasion by practicing personnel, she was recruited by the Life of Barbados on April 1, 1972 to the business of life insurance and states that despite initial reluctance it was one of the best decisions of her life.
Prior to joining the business of life insurance, Shirley had varied work experiences with a number of entities. These included positions in Bermuda with the General Post Office, the Bank of Bermuda (Trust Dept) and with John Swan Ltd. as a consultant in real estate rentals. In London, she spent three years as a Secretary at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, and in Barbados, before what she terms as “her happy coincidence with life insurance”, she served as assistant manager at a small family-owned hotel and also as a travel consultant with Gardiner Austin Travel. Shirley has had an outstanding career in the life insurance business. To achieve this her engaging personality and dedication had been strengthened over the years by her continuing professional studies and exposure to many courses and seminars at the local, regional and international levels. Her professional studies have included involvement over time he following:
- LUATC Graduate (Life Underwriters framing Course)
- CLU (Chartered Life Underwriter)
- AMTC (Agency Management Training Course)
- B’DOS Fire & General (Sagicor Heritage) Course in General Insurance
- LIM RA‑Managing Financial Advisors Certificate
- Mutual Funds Certificate (Barbados Community College)
When in the early years after she joined the life insurance business the dormant Life Insurance Association of Barbados (LUAB now BARAIFA) was resuscitated, Shirley immediately involved herself. She was elected to the Board and in consecutive years served as Chairman of Programmes, Chairman of By‑Laws and Legislation and Chairman of Public Relations and Publicity, before being elected as the Association’s first female President in 1977. During her term as President and with the formation of the Caribbean Association of Life Underwriters (CALU now CARIFA) she spearheaded the negotiations for the accession of the Barbados Association to the umbrella body. In later years she had conferred on her an award as Life Member of LUAB, as well as an award of appreciation from CALU.
For her personal performance over the years Shirley has received numerous company awards in the gold, diamond and emerald categories. From the industry, she was recognized by LUAB in 1977 by selection for the Flumerfelt Award as an outstanding life underwriter, and between 1977 and 1987 she received national quality‑ awards from the Life Underwriters Association of Canada.
Along with the late Mertilla Coulthrust, Shirley was one of only two females appointed Agency Manager by her company, and after Mertilla’s death in 1990 she had remained the sole female Agency Manager at Sagicor Life (Barbados) and its heritage company, Life of Barbados. Her Agency held the record for most frequently receiving the coveted President’s Gold Cup as Leading Agency for the year. In the process of her career in life insurance she qualified for the MDRT (Million Dollar Round Table) and the WLRT (The Women Leaders Round Table).
In community service, Shirley has been a member of the Soroptimist Club of Barbados, and in recent years a friend of the Club. She has been a member of the Council of the St. James Parish Church (Anglican) and still functions as a member of the Church’s Fund Raising Committee. She has been for a number of years a member of the Board of Management of the St. Leonard’s Boys’ (Secondary) School. A cricket enthusiast, she is a life member of the Barbados Cricket Association.
Shirley enjoys traveling and has traveled relatively widely. She is also fond of listening to a wide variety of music, and enjoys photography. Her hobbies include art and stamp collecting.
Married to Cecil Clarke, a former Permanent Secretary and retired banker in Barbados, they are the parents of Deborah Lee who resides in Bermuda with her husband, Stanley Lee, and their two grand children, Andrew and Teresa.
