The Cayman Islands issued eight new international insurer licenses between July and September 2026, bringing its year-to-date total to 28 and its overall roster to 720 Class B, C, and D insurance companies.That net figure accounts for surrenders and cancellations during the period, writing approximately US$62 billion in premiums and holding US$203 billion in total assets.
That premium base has grown by US$11 billion since the start of the year, with total assets up US$27 billion over the same period. Reinsurance now accounts for a growing share of that activity. Cayman’s reinsurance companies alone held US$101.5 billion in assets at end-2025, a 341% increase since 2020, according to CIMA data. That trajectory sits behind the jurisdiction’s push for formal recognition from US regulators.
Seven of the eight Q3 licenses were Class B(iii), the classification that covers third-party writers and includes many of Cayman’s reinsurance platforms. Three new portfolio insurance companies (PICs) were also formed in the quarter. PICs function as segregated vehicles within a single corporate structure, allowing insurance groups to run discrete risk pools, including intra-group reinsurance, without establishing separate entities for each.
The Q3 data arrives as Cayman’s annual licensing pace tracks slightly below 2025 levels. CIMA issued 42 new licenses across all of 2025. With one quarter remaining, the 2026 total stands at 28, with 11 applications under review and a further group approved in principle.
IMAC chair James Trundle (pictured) said the pipeline remained healthy. “Cayman’s international insurance industry continues to demonstrate resilience, stability and sustained growth,” he said. “The steady increase in new licensees, alongside significant growth in premiums written and total assets, reflects the continued confidence that international businesses place in our jurisdiction.”
The licensing figures come as Cayman’s August 2026 NAIC qualified jurisdiction status (QJS) application remains under review, a development with direct implications for cross-border reinsurance transactions. Approximately 90% of Cayman’s reinsurance business originates from the US and Canada, according to CIMA.
Under the NAIC framework, QJS allows eligible reinsurers domiciled in an approved jurisdiction to apply for certified reinsurer status with US state supervisors. That certification, in turn, can reduce the collateral that Cayman-domiciled reinsurers are required to post when transacting with US ceding insurers, terms currently set at 100% for offshore reinsurers outside a qualified jurisdiction. The reduction is tiered to a reinsurer’s financial strength rating, with individual state regulators retaining final determination.
Only seven jurisdictions currently hold NAIC qualified jurisdiction status: Bermuda, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Switzerland, and the UK. Cayman would be the first new entrant if approved. Bermuda has since been elevated to reciprocal jurisdiction status, the tier above QJS, which grants qualifying reinsurers zero-collateral treatment when transacting with US cedants.
CIMA has framed the bid as an alignment exercise rather than a departure from existing practice. As CIMA noted when announcing the application, QJS “would formally recognize the Cayman Islands’ reinsurance regulatory framework within the NAIC process and further align it with US supervisory expectations.” The approval timeline remains uncertain. QJS applications involve ongoing engagement between the applicant jurisdiction and NAIC reviewers, and the process has historically taken multiple years for other jurisdictions.
Trundle added that the jurisdiction’s regulatory infrastructure and pipeline of applications supported an optimistic outlook for the remainder of 2026.
