Cayman Finance, the representative body for the Cayman Islands’ financial services industry, reports a significant expansion in the jurisdiction’s reinsurance industry following the release of 2025 insurance statistics by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA).
According to the latest data from CIMA, Cayman Financial stated that the number of licensed reinsurance companies has increased from 58 at the end of 2020 to 113 at the end of 2025, an increase of approximately 95%. During the same period, total premiums written by the industry increased from US$9.3 billion to US$30.2 billion. Total reinsurance assets increased by 341% from US$23 billion in 2020 to US$101 billion at the end of 2025.
According to Cayman Financial, about 90% of the jurisdiction’s reinsurance business comes from the United States and Canada. The organization noted that more than 40 representatives from the Cayman reinsurance industry recently attended the ReFocus conference in Las Vegas as part of ongoing engagement with the US market.
Cayman Financial attributes this growth to structural developments in the North American insurance sector. Domestic capital shortages, particularly in the life and annuity sectors, have increased the need for jurisdictions that can efficiently deploy international capital into the U.S. insurance market. U.S. insurance companies are increasingly forming partnerships with well-capitalized offshore reinsurers to spread risk and support long-term policyholder obligations.
The group reports that the Cayman Islands is attracting an increasing number of reinsurance platforms backed by global asset managers and private equity firms. These institutions play an increasing role in meeting the capital requirements of the insurance industry, particularly in the U.S. loan and annuity markets. Cayman Financial also highlighted that many fund managers already have established operations in the jurisdiction.
According to Cayman Finance, the Cayman Islands is the world’s largest offshore fund registration place, with more than 30,000 funds and total assets of approximately US$16 trillion. Links between the insurance industry and the wider financial services ecosystem support reinsurers’ access to expertise and international sources of capital, the group said.
Cayman Financial further cited the jurisdiction’s tax-neutral framework and proportional fee structure as factors supporting cross-border reinsurance arrangements. Although some jurisdictions have introduced corporate taxes, the Cayman Islands has retained a model designed to avoid additional taxes on premiums and investment returns from international sources. Cayman Financial said this environment helps reduce operating costs for multinational reinsurance groups and asset managers.
From an operational perspective, Cayman Financial notes that, in certain circumstances, Cayman insurers may apply U.S. risk-based capital methods, U.S. GAAP and/or U.S. statutory accounting standards. The group said the adjustment could reduce regulatory duplication, simplify reporting requirements and limit operational complexity for primarily U.S.-focused insurers.
Cayman Financial also emphasizes the jurisdiction’s legal and regulatory foundations, including its English common law foundation, political and economic stability as a British overseas territory, and an established network of experienced service providers across insurance, legal, actuarial, accounting and fiduciary disciplines. The Cayman Islands’ insurance expertise has been developed for fifty years through its captive insurance industry, which is the second largest and largest medical captive insurance industry in the world.
The organization stressed that industry growth comes with policyholder protection. U.S. reinsurance agreements must comply with the Model Law Governing Coinsurance Arrangements established by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Cayman Finance describes it as a dual regulatory framework, under which both US regulators and CIMA oversee compliance to help ensure policyholder funds are protected.
Cayman Finance explains that at least 100% of U.S. statutory reserves arising from reinsurance transactions between U.S. cedants and Cayman Reinsurance Co. are held in the United States, either on an asset-withholding basis or within a reinsurance trust account managed by a regulated U.S. trustee. This structure provides the ceding insurance company with direct access to assets and reduces counterparty risk.
CIMA operates a principles-based, risk-sensitive regulatory framework that is consistent with the standards set by the International Association of Insurance Regulators. Reinsurers must meet permitted minimum capital requirements and prescribed risk-based capital thresholds, calculated using standard formulas or approved internal models. CIMA can also apply operational target levels tailored to the specific risk profile of individual reinsurers.
Cayman Finance said that using internal capital models, they have been calibrated to a 99.5% confidence level, equivalent to a one-in-200-year loss event. This benchmark meets or exceeds typical U.S. statutory standards and is comparable to requirements in other major insurance jurisdictions. Alternative standard formulas apply to risk-based charges for premiums, reserves, catastrophe exposures and asset classes and are tested at the same confidence levels adopted in the United States.
Brittany MacVicar, deputy director of insurance and reinsurance at Cayman Financial, added: “The latest figures reinforce the rapid growth we are seeing in the Cayman reinsurance industry. The jurisdiction has become the domicile of choice for international reinsurers looking for an efficient, well-regulated jurisdiction with English common law certainty and deep expertise.
“As the global insurance protection gap continues to widen, Cayman is well-positioned to play an increasingly important role in channeling international capital to meet growing demand for insurance and reinsurance capabilities. Cayman combines regulatory flexibility with strong oversight, tax neutrality and proximity to U.S. markets and access to global capital.”