Cayman Islands Releases Q1 2024 Licensing Figures

The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) has released its licensing figures for the first quarter of 2024, revealing the issuance of 11 new international insurer licenses. These comprise four Class B(i) licenses and seven Class B(iii) licenses.  

With these additions, Cayman now oversees 691 Class B, C, and D insurance companies. These companies collectively manage approximately $58 billion in written premiums and hold a total of $139 billion in assets.  

The uptick in new licenses during the first quarter surpasses the figures from 2023.  

The Class B license category under Cayman's insurance law encompasses a range of captive insurance entities, including pure captives, special purpose companies, group captives, association captives, special purpose vehicles, open market insurers, and rent-a-captives. This class is further segmented into three subclasses: Class B(i), Class B(ii), and Class B(iii), based on the percentage of related business conducted by the captive. "Related business" refers to business sourced from the captive's members or an affiliated group, as defined by CIMA.

• Class B(i). Captives writing 95 percent or more related business with a minimum capital requirement of $100,000
• Class B(ii). Captives writing more than 50 percent related business with a minimum capital requirement of $150,00
• Class B(iii). Captives writing 50 percent or less related business with a minimum capital requirement of $200,000

Most single-parent captives typically fall within Class B(i). The subclasses allow CIMA to distinguish between captives, setting specific capital requirements based on their business profile.

• Class C. This license category involves entities engaged in reinsurance through insurance-linked securities, such as catastrophe bonds, sidecars, collateralized reinsurance, or similar instruments.
• Class D. The Class D license category covers commercial reinsurers conducting reinsurance business and other approved activities.