Speaking at the ReConnect 2026 conference on Friday, 17 April, Premier and Minister for Financial Services André Ebanks announced that Cayman would submit its bid for qualified jurisdiction status from the National Association of Insurance Companies in the US by June 2026.
Cayman obtaining status is one of this government’s chief financial goals. The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority was specifically allocated extra funding for 2026 to help it prepare for the bid. But while reinsurance executives, the regulator and the government have long talked about applying for QJS, this is the first time that a deadline has been publicly announced for a bid.
The vast majority of Cayman’s reinsurance industry comes from US-based reinsurers, who are regulated at the state level under framework of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. As things stand, CIMA already cooperates with US regulators, but if it were to achieve status, it would send a clear signal to the global reinsurance community that Cayman meets stringent regulatory standards.
“Reinsurance business is now organically attracted to Cayman and we are seeing a sustained uptick,” said Ebanks in a post-conference interview with the Compass. “Therefore, it’s the country’s obligation to enhance the regulatory guardrails to ensure that we can more than adequately regulate this level of business and are meeting regional and international standards.”
Reinsurance executives at ReConnect 2026 were buoyed by the news. “The premier deserves credit for recognising the commercial significance of building Cayman’s reinsurance platform and for advancing qualified jurisdiction status as a strategic priority,” said Gary Harris, a partner at Walkers.
“QJ would be positive for Cayman first and foremost because it is a meaningful stamp of approval from the NAIC that Cayman’s supervisory framework meets the standard expected for cross-border reinsurance recognition,” said Harris.
“In simple terms, it can reduce collateral friction in eligible US-facing business,” said Harris. “That effect is more direct on the [property and casualty] side than on life and annuity business, where transactions are typically structured on a fully collateralised basis regardless of QJ status. More broadly, QJS would strengthen Cayman’s credibility with cedants, regulators and capital providers and mark the next deliberate step in the jurisdiction’s evolution as a serious international reinsurance centre.”
“It won’t be easy,” said Tom Sulliman, a former insurance commissioner for the state of Connecticut. “It will be an exhaustive process.”
Reinsurance professionals at the conference estimated that obtaining status would be a multi-year journey.
“Everything that we do emanates from international standards”, said CIMA CEO Cindy Scotland, who joked about the airmiles she has clocked up as part of the authority’s international engagement. “Relationships with the US regulators helps to build trust and keeps us in the game.”
She added, “It comes down to dialoguing and understanding the business that we’re trying to protect.”
CIMA changes
Some industry insiders have questioned if CIMA has the sufficient staffing to regulate Cayman’s fast-growing reinsurance sector.
But in another significant announcement, Ebanks revealed that Cabinet has issued drafting instructions to amend the Public Authorities Act so that CIMA could pay higher salaries in order to attract and retain the best staff.
Further support will come from public private partnerships said the premier, with secondments from the private sector helping to provide knowledge transfer between CIMA and the reinsurance companies. Some conference participants interpreted the announcement as opening the door for CIMA to outsource some difficult tasks, such as actuarial analysis, to third-party providers.
Yet Scotland, who also spoke at ReConnect 2026, was keen to defend the authority’s performance. “I am proud of the team at CIMA,” said Scotland. “I don’t know if I could explain to everyone without getting emotional what we go through on a daily basis. Every day there is a new challenge, but we are just trying our hardest. I am proud of the time and what we have achieved as a jurisdiction.”
Scotland acknowledged that the regulator has imposed a wave of regulatory processes in the run-up to the FATF fifth round evaluation. “We are conscious of the impact that [new regulatory] measures have,” said Scotland, “but bear in mind that if CIMA is not deemed to be a credible regulator there is no success story for financial services. We feel your pain … because the pressure is even tougher on us.”
Related Videos
