Cayman's count of licensed international insurers is back to 720, where it started the year.

The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), the regulator, published its third-quarter licensing tables on its website this week. They show 28 international insurer licences issued in the nine months to 30 September and 28 cancelled, leaving 720 Class B, C and D insurers, the same number as CIMA's opening balance for 2026. At the end of June the count stood at 721, with 19 licences cancelled in the first half of the year.

The figures were first reported on 19 October by the Insurance Managers Association of Cayman (IMAC), the body that represents the islands' international insurance industry, which said CIMA issued eight licences between July and September. CIMA's table shows the count rising every year since 2019, when it fell to 646, and reaching 720 at the end of 2025, a gain of 23 in the year. The sector is one of the largest parts of Cayman's financial services industry: CIMA puts premiums written by the 720 companies at US$62.3 billion and their total assets at US$202.9 billion.

Reinsurance-type licences lead

One of the eight new licences was a Class B(i) and seven were Class B(iii), IMAC said. A B(i) licence is for a captive insurer that writes at least 95% of its net premiums on the risks of its own parent or related group. A B(iii) licence is for an insurer writing 50% or less of its net premiums from related business, which means most of its business comes from third parties. CIMA's table lists 207 B(iii) insurers at the end of September, 206 at the end of June and 208 at the end of 2025, while IMAC reported seven B(iii) licences issued in the first quarter and seven more in the third.

CIMA also approved three Portfolio Insurance Companies in the quarter, IMAC said. These are cells within an existing segregated portfolio company and, IMAC told The Caymanian Journal (TCJ) on 20 October, are counted separately from the eight licences, not within them. CIMA's table lists 68 PICs at the end of September, against 60 at the end of 2025. All six licences issued between April and June were Class B(i), IMAC said in July, with three PICs approved alongside them.

Reinsurers hold most of the money

CIMA's third-quarter figures show why the licence class matters more than the headcount. The 173 reinsurance companies, 24% of the 720 licensees, wrote US$44.7 billion of the US$62.3 billion in total premium and held US$138.6 billion of the US$202.9 billion in total assets. By contrast, the 337 pure captives, 47% of licensees, wrote US$7.8 billion in premium, and the 149 group captives wrote US$7.1 billion. Insurers covering North American risks made up 88% of licensees.

Pipeline shortens

CIMA advised that 11 applications were under review at the end of September, IMAC said, and that further applications had been approved in principle, including one for a new insurance manager. In July, IMAC said 17 applications were under review. CIMA's table lists 23 licensed insurance managers at the end of September, unchanged from the end of 2025.

Since the beginning of 2026, IMAC said, premiums written have increased by US$11 billion and total assets by US$27 billion. James Trundle, chair of IMAC, said in the 19 October release: "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." He added: "With a healthy pipeline of applications and continued interest from international markets, we are optimistic about the industry's outlook for the remainder of 2026."

Asked about the fall in the total number of licensees since June, IMAC told TCJ on 20 October that it did not have confirmation of the specific reasons and referred to Mr Trundle's statement. For the whole of 2025, CIMA's table shows 42 licences issued and 19 cancelled. TCJ asked CIMA on 19 October for a breakdown of this year's cancellations by licence class and had not received a response at the time of writing.