Happy New Year and a very warm welcome to our sixth issue of Conyers Coverage.
We're starting the New Year by looking at new trends in InsurTech via a Q&A with Isaac Espinoza, Managing Director of Root Reinsurance Company, Ltd. We share timely regulatory updates from CIMA including changes to business plans for insurance licensees, and an overview of the draft rule and statement of guidance on reinsurance arrangements and investment activities for insurers.
We commend the Cayman Islands for boosting its technical compliance rating; highlight our insurance disputes team's recent contribution to Chambers Insurance Disputes; catch you up on industry news, and introduce you to our insurance finance guru, Michael O'Connor.
We hope that you find these updates helpful. Please reach out to one of the team for any clarifications or specific assistance needed.
As always, we welcome your comments or article suggestions for future issues, and please don't hesitate to get in touch if you would like to contribute to future editions of Conyers Coverage.
Enjoy the read!
Q&A with Isaac Espinoza from Root
For this edition Conyers Coverage sits down with Isaac Espinoza from Root Reinsurance for a wide ranging discussion on the state of the industry, why he feels that the term InsurTech may become obsolete, and why the Cayman Islands is an ideal jurisdiction to set up an InsurTech focused captive reinsurer.
CIMA Reminds Licensees of Obligations Regarding Changes to Business Plans
The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) issued a supervisory circular in September (the "Circular") to all regulated entities, reminding all licensees that they should only carry on business and activities in accordance with their approved license application and Business Plan.
A licensee is required to seek CIMA's prior written approval in respect of any change to the approved Business Plan or to the information in the licensee's application, unless CIMA has agreed that such changes would only require prior notification.
Among other matters, a Business Plan will typically include details of the licensee's reasons for establishing operations in the Cayman Islands, the short and long term objectives and how these will be achieved, background information on the company/group history, the beneficial owners, governing body, the number of expected employees and the corporate structure of the entity.
The Circular further explains that CIMA generally considers acquisitions, disposals or transfers of business lines, product lines, asset portfolios and/or subsidiaries as changes to a Business Plan and as requiring prior approval. Changes to both licensable and non-licensable activity of the licensee should be included in the scope of the change of Business Plan.
Changes to Business Plans are filed via REEFS using the application form (BPC-023-99-02). The Completion Guide for the Application for Change in Business Plan is available on CIMA's website. A filing fee of CI$1,000 applies.
Finally, the Circular explains to licensees that in order to ensure that CIMA's information on licensees is accurate and reflective of the current business practices, CIMA can periodically request an updated Business Plan along with a current list of directors even if no significant changes have occurred at the licensee.
We recommend that insurance licensees remain closely familiar with the content of their approved Business Plans, so that they are immediately able to identify when any changes which are proposed would necessitate obtaining CIMA's prior approval (or require notification).
Draft Rule and Statement of Guidance on Reinsurance Arrangements
The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority recently published a Private Sector Consultation Paper with a draft Rule and Statement of Guidance on Reinsurance Arrangements.
In this article Rob Humphries gives a short overview of the proposed changes and how they affect relevant Cayman Islands licensees.
Draft Rule and Statement of Guidance on Investment Activities for Insurers
The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority recently published a Private Sector Consultation Paper with a draft Rule and Statement of Guidance on Investment Activities for Insurers.
In this article Rob Humphries gives a short overview of the proposed changes and how they affect relevant Cayman Islands licensees.
Cayman Islands AML/CFT Efforts Boost Technical Compliance Rating
In positive news the Cayman Islands has further improved its technical compliance with the 40 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations relating to anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).
Conyers Contributes Cayman Chapter to Chambers Insurance Disputes
The partners in our Insurance Disputes team were pleased to contribute the Cayman Islands chapter to the Chambers Global Practice Guide, Insurance Litigation 2021.
Originally published January 2022
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
