A very warm welcome to our fourth issue of Conyers Coverage. This issue focuses on the evolution of the Cayman Islands insurance industry. We share an interview with Nate Gemmiti, Chairperson of CIRCA, and introduce you to the Head of our Cayman office, Kevin Butler who, following time in Bermuda, has worked in the Cayman insurance industry for more than 17 years. We also share an article on what the recently passed Legal Services Act, 2020 means for the Cayman Islands insurance industry, as well as an article on Business Interruption Insurance, and provide you with timely regulatory updates.
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!
The Cayman International Reinsurance Companies Association (CIRCA) was founded earlier this year to promote the interests of commercial reinsurers in the Cayman Islands and to work collaboratively with all stakeholders in the expanding segment of the Cayman Islands financial industry. Conyers Coverage sat down with Nate Gemmiti, the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of Knighthead Annuity & Life Insurance Company and Chairperson of CIRCA, for a wide-ranging interview on CIRCA and the state of the reinsurance industry in the Cayman Islands.
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The Legal Services Act, 2020 (the “LSA”) was gazetted on 7 January 2021 and is expected to come into force once the Regulations have been finalised and a commencement order is issued in the next few months.
The LSA has been a long time in the making. The legislation seeks to repeal and replace the Legal Practitioners Act (2015 Revision); to regulate the practice of Cayman Islands law; to provide for a system of legal education; to provide for a system to deal with professional misconduct; and for incidental and connected purposes.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an increasing number of contested Business Interruption Insurance claims between policyholders and insurers worldwide. In the USA alone, over 1,250 Court cases have been commenced since March 2020, with policyholders nation-wide claiming insurance coverage for Business Interruption losses, both as individual Plaintiffs and as part of larger class actions.
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The Cayman Islands Department for International Tax Cooperation’s online portal (“DITC Portal”) opened in January 2021 to facilitate economic substance reporting to the Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority pursuant to the International Tax Co-operation (Economic Substance) Act (2021 Revision) (the “ES Act”). Insurers claiming the “tax residence outside of the Cayman Islands” exemption were required to file the applicable form on the DITC Portal, with the due date for the filing of the economic substance return for most other insurers due to be filed on or before 31 April 2021.
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CIMA’s new regulatory policy relates to the grant of licences to Class B insurers pursuant to section 4 of the Insurance Act, and provides the procedure and assessment criteria for the licensing of Class B Insurers by CIMA (with particular detail in relation to fit and proper criteria and management, business plans, funding and collateral arrangements and compliance arrangements). The policy also specifies procedures for the reclassification of Class B licences, provides additional guidance for segregated portfolio companies and sets out information concerning record retention and redomiciled entities.
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Introduced in February 2021, this Rule addresses necessary qualifications and competencies and continued professional training and development requirements for insurance companies, brokers, agents and agencies. An explanation of the application of policies and procedures contained in CIMA’s Enforcement Manual in the event of non-compliance is also provided.
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