GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands – Recent changes to the Insurance Law have made the Cayman Islands a more attractive domicile for reinsurance companies.

That was part of the message from Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin Tuesday morning when he helped ring the bell to open that day’s session of NASDAQ at Times Square in New York City along with the team from reinsurer OxbridgeRe. He is the first Premier from the Cayman Islands to ring the opening bell.

“I can’t say how very happy I am to be here this morning to support Oxbridge and what I believe is an amazing venture. The Cayman Islands is a great jurisdiction in which to do business, not just in reinsurance business but all levels of international business. Oxbridge becomes the fifth Cayman Islands company to actually go public, something we’re very proud of. I’m delighted that as Premier of the Cayman Islands I could come and join the Oxbridge team for this morning’s ringing of the bell and I just want to congratulate Jay and the entire team for the tremendous work they have done over the course of the last year to get this company to where it actually is.

“I want to take this opportunity to say to all that the Cayman Islands is open for business. We are a friend to business, a well regulated jurisdiction and the more reinsurance business we can get, the better,” he said.

Reinsurance has been identified as a key industry that the Cayman Islands desires to grow and the Premier’s attendance to support OxbridgeRe was an opportunity to invite other reinsurance companies to domicile in the Cayman Islands.

Oxbridge is a Cayman Islands exempted company that was organized in April 2013 to provide reinsurance business solutions primarily to property and casualty insurers in the Gulf Coast region of the United States.  Through Oxbridge’s licensed reinsurance subsidiary, Oxbridge Reinsurance Limited, it writes fully collateralized policies to cover property losses from specified catastrophes.

In introducing Oxbridge CEO Jay Madhu and Premier McLaughlin, David Wicks of NASDAQ said Oxbridge chose to domicile in the Cayman Islands because it has a stable political, economic and banking climate; it has pro-business legislation and tax initiatives; there is modern infrastructure, transportation and communication systems; and there is a highly educated and motivated people in the country.

“All of these factors have combined to make the Cayman Islands a destination for businesses around the world and home to residents from over 100 nations,” he said.

Mr. Madhu said he and his team took Oxbridge public in just 11 months.

“What Oxbridge is is a Cayman domiciled company, but more importantly we’re an alternative to traditional reinsurance underwriting and we feel that is something that will set us apart. We are now happy to be here on the NASDAQ. We have had one successful season behind us and we hope to have many more. I would like to thank everyone for making this happen,” he said.

The Premier’s appearance on stage at NASDAQ in New York was another opportunity for him to promote the Cayman Islands and its role in the financial services industry.

“This is another excellent opportunity for the Cayman Islands to tell its positive story of providing sound financial services based on modern laws and regulations in a politically stable and business friendly environment,” he said.

IMAGE:  Cayman Islands Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin, second from right, joined OxbridgeRe CEO Jay Madhu, left of the Premier, and the Oxbridge team in ringing the opening bell at NASDAQ at Times Square in New York City Tuesday morning.