The Cayman International Reinsurance Association (CIRCA) supports the findings of a new report from the Society of Actuaries (SOA) which highlights the Cayman Islands’ growing role as an international reinsurance jurisdiction supporting cross-border insurance markets.
CIRCA Chairman Faramarz Romer said: “This report provides independent confirmation that the Cayman Islands is a well-regulated international reinsurance jurisdiction, underpinned by a strong regulatory framework and a risk-based supervisory approach that focuses on policyholder protection and ongoing supervision by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA).
“The Cayman Islands is well-positioned to provide the capabilities and expertise needed to support the needs of global insurers and reinsurers.”
The report highlights the value of jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands to the global reinsurance market. The report notes that international reinsurance is critical to helping U.S. insurers become more competitive, more proactively manage risk, enter new markets, access international capital, offer innovative products and strategically manage balance sheets.
The SOA report also highlights Cayman’s regulatory and capital framework, in which reinsurers operate under risk-based capital standards that are consistent with internationally recognized principles, including the International Association of Insurance Regulators’ Insurance Core Principles (ICP) and overseen by CIMA.
The Cayman Islands’ reserving framework is considered a key advantage for multinational insurers, with reserves established using internationally accepted accounting standards, often in line with U.S. GAAP or statutory principles.
The framework supports consistent and efficient financial reporting across jurisdictions, streamlining new transactions, improving comparability and transparency across multinational insurance groups, and enhancing stability through consistency in product design and reporting practices.
The report also noted that Cayman Islands reinsurers fully collateralize U.S. statutory reserves and often provide additional overcollateralization, providing a high level of security to U.S. insurers and policyholders.
It further highlights the important role of Cayman Islands reinsurance companies in supporting the U.S. retirement market, highlighting international reinsurance as a key tool in helping insurers manage capital and risk while addressing long-term retirement needs.
In addition, the SOA report documents the Cayman Islands’ extensive international cooperation, maintaining more than 70 regulatory agreements with CIMA, including with U.S. regulators, and regularly engaging in transaction-level cooperation.
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