From left Steve McIntosh, CEO Cayman Finance; David Self, General Manager CIRCA; Faramarz Romer, Vice Chair CIRCA; Cindy Scotland, Chief Executive Officer, CIMA; André Ebanks, Premier and Minister of Financial Services and Commerce; Judi French, Director, Ohio Department of Insurance; Kieran Mehigan, Chair IMAC; Elizabeth Dwyer, Director, Department of Business Regulation, State of Rhode Island; Greg Mitchell, Chair CIRCA; and Bridget Dunn, Head of Government Affairs, Talcott Financial Group.
The Cayman International Reinsurance Companies Association (CIRCA) recently hosted its second annual Cayman Islands Reinsurance Roundtable Breakfast at the Harvard Club of New York City. The event’s full capacity guest list of 200 delegates, from seven countries, showed the importance of Cayman’s growing role in the global reinsurance market.
The Roundtable Breakfast was the highlight of a week of engagement in New York that included meetings with media, industry, government and regulators, CIRCA said in a press release.
Presented in partnership with Cayman Finance and the Insurance Managers Association of Cayman (IMAC), the event highlighted Cayman’s position as a trusted, well-regulated reinsurance hub and provided a forum for constructive dialogue on US regulatory engagement, global market trends and opportunities for innovation.
Premier André Ebanks delivered the keynote address, reaffirming the Government’s commitment to Cayman’s goal of achieving National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Qualified Jurisdiction Status and strengthening cross-border supervisory cooperation.
“The pursuit of Qualified Jurisdiction Status is a national effort,” Premier Ebanks said. “It requires alignment across government, regulator and industry. By working together, we can demonstrate that Cayman meets the highest international standards.”
Cindy Scotland, chief executive officer of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), delivered a regulatory update that outlined global trends influencing Cayman’s reinsurance sector, including climate change, digitalisation, cyber security and ESG. She emphasised CIMA’s balanced approach to oversight and industry consultation.
Opening remarks were given by Greg Mitchell, Chair of CIRCA, and Kieran Mehigan, Chair of IMAC, with Steve McIntosh, CEO of Cayman Finance, serving as Master of Ceremonies.
The programme included a US-Cayman Regulatory Panel featuring Director Elizabeth Dwyer of the State of Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation; Director Judi French of the Ohio Department of Insurance; Commissioner Michael Yaworsky from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, the head of CIMA’s Insurance Supervision Division Kara Ebanks; and moderator Bridget Dunn, the head of Government Affairs at Talcott Financial Group.
Another panel busted myths about Cayman’s reinsurance sector and included Joseph Evangelista, general counsel at Knighthead Insurance Group, Mayer Brown Corporate Insurance and Regulatory Partner Vikram Sidhu; Greenlight Re General Counsel David Sigmon, and moderator Lesley Thompson, managing director, Willis Tower Watson.
“This roundtable strengthens understanding, reinforces Cayman’s value, and helps counter misconceptions,” said CIRCA Chair Greg Mitchell.
Closing remarks were delivered by Faramarz Romer, Vice-Chair of CIRCA. CIRCA expressed its gratitude to event sponsors Camana Bay, Conyers, Grant Thornton, Hildene Re, Nassau, and Strategic Risk Solutions, and acknowledged the contributions of all speakers and participants who made the event a success.
