Cayman: driving on

With the implementation of the new Insurance Law (2010) last year and the Incorporated Cell legislation this year, we are starting to see an uptick in the establishment of reinsurance companies, with plenty more in the pipeline.  Cayman’s new Insurance Law and accompanying regulations have modernised the Cayman ensuring that different areas of insurance are all regulated based on the uniqueness of their structures and on their own individual risk profiles, increasing transparency and streamlining processes.

Growth in the industry continues.  As of 30 September 2013, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) reported they have 755 insurance companies under their supervision (413 pure captives and 137 SPCs), with total premiums of US$13.7 billion and total assets of US$4.8 million.

Cayman has continued to lead the way in terms of actively participating in international regulatory initiatives with a view of continuing to attract and to keep the high quality business that is the backbone of our economy.  Cayman will sign a Model 1 intergovernmental agreement with the US in support of its new foreign accounts tax compliance act (FATCA) solidifying the tax authority-to-tax authority information exchange.

The Cayman Islands now has 31 tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs), and most recently signed with Brazil and Argentina, readying the opportunity to explore more opportunities with this burgeoning market.

And behind all of this industry activity, the Insurance Managers Association of Cayman (IMAC) has been working tenaciously to promote the Cayman Islands as the go-to domicile for captive insurance companies.  IMAC has taken a fresh look at how Cayman was communicating to the world and recognized that we face challenges in delivering our messages to a broad audience globally – from governments, regulators, industry participants, captive owners (and potential owners), and the general public, who are often sorely misinformed by the media.  “Cayman Islands.  Clearly Better Business” encapsulated what we wanted to say about this jurisdiction that has such a long history of doing good business and doing it well.

Planning for this year’s Cayman Captive Forum is in full swing.  We are ahead of pace in terms of registrations, making us hopeful that we will surpass our previous records.  This is the world’s largest captive insurance conference and IMAC are expecting around 1,300 delegates to attend, to discuss the trends in the industry, the challenges, best practices and to project the future.

We invite you to join in on our many conversations going on in our social media channels – follow us on LinkedIN and Twitter (@caymancaptive) and like us on Facebook to get the light-hearted side of IMAC.  We are also knee-deep in developing a new website, which will be a repository of all kinds of information about the captive insurance business.