Cayman Islands emerging as leaders in the captive insurance market

Wednesday, January 28, 2004

The Cayman Islands are once again leaders in the captive insurance market following the licensing of 83 new companies last year.

The total number of active captives is now at 644, writing US$4.98 billion in premium and reporting US$19.35 billion in assets. Additionally, 39 new segregated portfolios were established within the segregated portfolio companies. At the end of 2003, there were 79 Segregated Portfolio Companies licensed with a total of 350 Segregated Portfolios.

While the majority of the new captives formed in 2003 have been healthcare related and emanated from North America, other sources of new business included the Caribbean, the Pacific and Europe with workers’ compensation being the second largest line of business written followed by general liability.

Due to commercial market conditions, there was a continuation of the trend of existing captive owners to increase retentions and diversify into other lines of business.

Karen Edie from the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority said, “In an era where on-shore domiciles are growing in number and becoming more aggressive in their marketing strategies, the growth in 2003 is testament to the fact that captive owners still prefer well-established domiciles with expertise and experience in the captive market.”

A close working relationship exists between the Insurance Managers, the Government and the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority in the Cayman Islands and in December the Captive Forum took place, attracting more than 400 participants and renowned speakers from the industry.

The Forum was organised by the Insurance Managers Association of Cayman in conjunction with the Government.

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