Cayman’s international insurance industry continued to thrive in 2019; with final quarter figures recently published by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA).

Matching the number of new licenses from the previous year, 33 new licenses were issued for 2019.  At 31st December 2019, there were a total of 764 insurance licensees under the supervision of the Insurance Supervision Division (the “Division”), with 670 related to international insurance markets.

There were a total of 646 Class “B”, “C” and “D” insurance companies. Pure captives and group captives represented the two main categories, with 283 and 123 companies respectively. Twenty percent (20%) of the total Class “B”, “C”, and “D” insurance companies were formed as segregated portfolio companies, with over 600 segregated portfolios and 27 Portfolio Insurance Companies. (Legislation was specifically designed to allow Cayman Islands insurers established as segregated portfolio companies (SPC’s) to incorporate one or more of their segregated portfolios/cells, as separate legal entities).

The total value of premiums at the end of 2019 was over US$18 billion, seeing a rise of U$2.6 billion from 2018, with assets, US$ 68.9 billion in total assets – also up on the previous year, and an increase of almost US$10 billion over a two-year period.

The Cayman Islands remains the leading jurisdiction for healthcare captives representing almost one-third of all the captives.  Medical Malpractice Liability (“MedMal”) continues to be the largest primary line of business with approximately 33% companies (re)insuring MedMal, and Worker’s Compensation the second largest with over 21% of companies assuming this risk. 

The Insurance Managers Association Cayman (IMAC) Chair, Colin Robinson remarked “Licencing activity for 2019 shows again the strength of the domicile and the continued interest in the Cayman Islands as a jurisdiction of choice. Our new formation numbers are a testament to quality of local and international service providers who work tirelessly for our clients. We are also proud to be supported by international standard leading regulation and laws provided by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority and the Cayman Islands Government.”

For additional information, including regularly updated statistics on insurance licensing, visit the website of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority by going to: www.cima.ky

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The Cayman Islands is an international insurance centre with a 40-year-plus history in international insurance products, specialising in captive insurance, ILS structuring, and reinsurance. Cayman also hosts the world’s largest captive insurance conference, attracting 1,500 captive owners, directors, officers, reinsurers, ceding carriers, brokers, consultants, and service providers.