Captive Insurers Flock To Cayman Islands
Captive Insurers Flock To Cayman Islands by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London 14 February 2012The number of captive insurance companies formed in the Cayman Islands increased markedly during 2011, a trend that is expected to continue into 2012, according to Cindy Scotland, the Managing Director of the Cayman Islands' Monetary Authority.
While conditions in the international marketplace have been challenging to the formation of captives over the past several years, there continues to be solid interest in the Cayman Islands that translated into a 52% increase in captive formations in this jurisdiction in 2011, said Scotland.
CIMA ended 2011 with 739 captives and 632 segregated portfolios registered in the Caymans. Further, the Cayman Islands continued to be the leading jurisdiction for healthcare captives. This was the primary line of business for 256 companies (35% of the total). Workers compensation remained the second largest line of business with 161 companies (22%) providing this as their primary type of risk insured. The 739 active captives as at December 31, 2011, comprise the following: 419 pure captives (57%), 124 segregated portfolio companies (17%), 75 group captives (10%), 52 association captives (7%), 36 special purpose vehicles (5%), 32 open market insurers (4%) and one rent-a-captive.