The Risk Renaissance

The Cayman Islands captive insurance market has enjoyed two boom periods since the initial medical malpractice crisis of the Seventies put us on the map as a captive domicile. The first was in the mid 1980's, and the second, which for the reasons discussed below is more significant in the long term, began about 4 years ago and continues as I write.

In 1990, before the present boom, the Insurance Supervision Department of the Cayman Islands Government recorded the establishment of just 20 new licensees. Powered by the captive market, but assisted by the rise of catastrophe bonds and annuity products, discussed below, that figure has increased dramatically. In 1998 52 licences were issued, in 1999 37 and in 2000 another 46, to total 517 licensees at last year end.