Kieran Mehigan

The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) has just released licensing statistics for 2Q 2024 which showed that between April and June 2024, CIMA issued twelve new international insurer licenses — three B(i)s, one B(ii), six B(iii)s plus a class C and a class D reinsurer. In addition, two new insurance managers were also licensed. 

Taking into account the 12 new licensees in 1Q 2024, a total of 24 new international insurance licenses have been issued so far in 2024 which represents a 50% increase over the same period in 2023.

With the addition of these new licensees there are now 700 Class B, C and D insurance companies licensed in Cayman, with approximately $40bn in premiums written and $151bn in total assets. These figures do not include individual cells. 

While Cayman anticipated increased licensing activity in 2024, the number of new licenses in the first half of 2024 has been very encouraging and represents a significant increase in comparison to 2023 This trend is a positive indicator for the rest of the year.

Kieran Mehigan, Chair of the Insurance Managers Association of Cayman (IMAC), said, “The International Commercial Insurance/Reinsurance & Captive Industry in Cayman continues to thrive. We are seeing growth across all types of captives as insureds face a hard market for certain lines of coverage, encounter capacity shortages, and deal with coverage restrictions. The Life and Annuity reinsurance sector is also growing, driven by annuity providers seeking enhanced capital efficiency. This growth was especially evident in Q2, given the variety of licensees and license classes. It’s very encouraging to see single-parent and group captives thriving alongside new commercial reinsurers. These developments are contributing to the continued growth of Cayman as a prime jurisdiction for the international insurance industry, underscoring that Cayman remains an increasingly attractive place to do business.”

IMAC encourages anyone who would like to learn more about the Cayman Islands captive insurance industry to attend the Cayman Captive Forum at the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman from 3^rd -5^th December 2024. Further information can be found at https://www.imac.ky/