Cayman Eyes Bermuda Reinsurance
Cayman Premier McKeeva Bush has unveiled immigration incentives and a targeted marketing campaign expressly designed to encourage reinsurers to domicile in that Caribbean jurisdiction rather than in Bermuda.
During the Cayman Captive Forum last week, Mr. Bush used the largest captive insurance conference in the world — with 1,200 delegates attending — as the venue for a new strategy aimed squarely at the reinsurance industry in Bermuda.
Mr. Bush said that while growth in the Caribbean island chain’s captive insurance arena has been strong, reinsurance activity has been limited.
“Anecdotal evidence from the industry suggests that as a jurisdiction Cayman has several advantages that we can capitalise on to attract greater interest from reinsurance companies,” Mr. Bush said.
In addition to new insurance legislation — which has given the islands a framework to increase reinsurance activity in the region — Cayman also needed to offer a package of immigration incentives to facilitate the ease of entry by the specialised staff needed in this industry and a targeted marketing campaign that will educate and attract potential reinsurance business on the benefits of Cayman, Mr. Bush said.
According to a report in the islands’ “Cay Compass”, immigration related incentives would include 10-year work permits for senior executives in the reinsurance industry, flat or reduced work permit fees and the waiver of normal work permit application requirements.
Senior executives who would be granted 10-year work permits are the positions of vice president or higher, Mr. Bush said.
In addition, Mr. Bush said direct one-on-one marketing to reinsurance chief executive officers and senior executives, as well as presentations to law firms in New York and other financial centres, will be needed to drive reinsurance business to Cayman.
Mr. Bush said Cayman’s advantages when attracting reinsurers include no income, payroll, property or corporate taxes. “As long as I am premier, there will be no such taxes,” Mr. Bush said.
Compared to Bermuda, one of the main domiciles for reinsurers, Mr. Bush said Cayman offers an attractive jurisdiction to work and reside and provides expatriate workers with the opportunity to own property. Labour costs in the reinsurance industry are also lower than in Bermuda.
Bermuda historically enjoyed the advantage of a tax treaty with the US, which came into effect in 1986 and governs the taxation of insurance premiums.
“Bermuda’s proximity to financial centres such as New York and London with daily direct flights to each also gives Bermuda a bit of a geographic edge. However the Cayman Islands government’s vision to implement ways to cut through bureaucratic red tape to facilitate business needs plus the quality of life should greatly assist in attracting commercial reinsurers,” Mr. Price said.
Another significant difference between the two jurisdictions is that Bermuda is seeking third party equivalence with Solvency II, a fundamental review of the capital adequacy regime for the insurance industry developed in the European Union.
Solvency II is expected to increase demand for reinsurance as one of the tools for insurance companies to lower their additional capital requirements as a result of the new rules. However, reinsurers themselves face higher capital requirements and capital costs under Solvency II.
Cayman has not adopted the new rules and has not committed to do so in the future, which could be attractive to certain reinsurers looking for a domicile with a lower capital threshold.
Meanwhile, Bermuda does….nothing…
That is because the Government does NOT know what to do except play the race card!
Only an idiot like you woulf make such a stupid F-ing statement.
Why the hell do you think Cayman is trying to come after us? That is because as much as they have tried before, we know what the hell we are doing.
Govt, private industry, and the legal community work well to make sure bermuda remains the domicile of choice. Everyone is coming after sucess, but unlike tourism Bermuda as a whole has NOT been complacent.
So while you say Bermuda does nothing, people will read about increased company incorporationsa and increased activity.
While you say Bermuda doesn’t nothing Cayman markets itself as 2nd rate in case you don’t want to meet solvency II, any reason why you think that’s the case, because they cannot match Bermuda in competing for the top companies.
Do you really think top companies are going to go to a 2nd rate jurisdiction when they will have issues doing business with europe?
Get real dude, your criticism of Bermuda is bloody tiring.
You may not support the PLP, but at least get educated and support your own f-ing country.
No, fella, you are wrong. People are leaving here by the hundred. Every exempt co with operations here has well-developed plans to leave at the drop of a hat. Other jurisdictions (and not just cayman) have made themselves more competitive. It’s been going on for years.
Prove it! By the hundreds?? Scare tactics at its best.
Dude. In my place of work we have gone from over 100 in Bermuda to 25. There’s 75 alone (and I’m out of work). HUNDREDS (almost 1,000) good paying jobs have left the financial services industry in Bermuda. These people are not leaving because of the global recession. Their employers are pulling back from Bermuda because Bermuda does not offer value for money. This needs to CHANGE. And change will only come with a change in mindset. And part of that needs to be a change in govt who is responsible for the business environment in Bermuda. President Obama inherited his problems. Bermuda under PLP created its.
Simply look at the reduction in work permits. Book your car in for a service and see how easy it is to get an appointment. Notice how “Rush hour” is not seemign as busy as it once was? When was hte last time you needed to make a reservation in a restaurant?
Prove it…? One example is Citi’s announced closure of an office with over 100 employees. But most companies just allow people to move back to the US, where they feel welcome, safe, and secure in their longterm employment. Dozens and dozens of them, with their families. That’s why the premier is comeing out with panic-striken announcements to try to reverse the trend.
Try looking at the number of work permits in use.
CTIA- you are out to lunch!
Hamilton is has far fewer people around,plenty of parking avaible now and why do we have so many empty apts/condos
for rent?
People have left and are leaving.
Mad Dawg, stop pulling hundreds out your S!
OK, whatever. Do nothing, as per usual, and watch Cayman take business. I hope you enjoy living in poverty.
Well that’s OK then. Everything is fine and dandy. Thanks for clearing that up.
No recession here, nothing to see. No decline in foreign captial at all.
“So while you say Bermuda does nothing, people will read about increased company incorporationsa and increased activity.”
Show me the net increase in employment figures.
“You may not support the PLP, but at least get educated and support your own f-ing country.”
For every finger you point, three are pointing back at you.
Read the headlines now and tell me if your opinion is the same. Open your eyes. Just because someone criticizes Goverment does not mean they hate the Govt.
What I and everyone one here does have, is the right to be worried about the future of this Country.
No one is resorting to name calling like you.
When it is all said and done, I hope they help you…..bet they don’t!
Yeah I gotta say the BMA is one of the few parts of government that is actually working. Working being a relative term in this case.
agreed.
This is so not good. Meanwhile, Bermuda does… nothing.
Join sangrowman in the idiot line!
Only a blind mand would say Bermuda does nothing.
Ask the head of ABIR if Bermuda does nothing.
You all’s hate of the PLP turns you into haters of your own country.
No matter all the positive comments from industry, the fact that we’re miles ahead of Cayman, you all secretly hope for your country to fail because you hate the PLP that much.
F-ing sad!
Ok, we get it. Bermuda is just fine. That’s why imports are down, that’s why more containers leave with stuff in them. Noticed how supermarkets have less on their shelves?
Try getting your car serviced or TCD’d. No more long lines or waits for an appointment? Why is that?
Bermuda isn’t fine, however even if we still had economic growth and a lower unemployment rate you the OBA will still find ways to say we should be doing better! Many years of GDP growth until the economic recession hit you still moan and groan. Ok, I get it, you tired bunch of people are in the opposition so you will grasp for any weak argument. Cayman with their lots of land and low income levels look attractive, but what reinsure/insurere is going to go to a jurisdiction that will not be complying with Solvency II? Its good for captives but not insurers! Like the GOP the recession and job losses will be your selling points! Any objective thinker knows about corporate greed and cut throat agendas.. sigh!
God you’re stupid.
“Ask the head of ABIR if Bermuda does nothing.”
I think you need to be more specific. Many people in Bermuda (including ABIR, ABIC, Bermuda First, etc.) contribute positively to our success. The problem is the PLP Government.
They simply aren’t pulling their weight. Their misguided and ill-conceived political agendas have in fact severely compromised our social and economic fabric because they quite simply lack fundamental concepts of good governance, financial acumen and thoughtful planning.
Even after after inheriting a world class financial centre with a sound legislative framework and a successful economy they still managed to kill the goose that used to laid the golden egg. Just look around.
One million square feet of unrented office space proves it. Thousand(s) plus unrented residences proves it. High unemployment proves it. $6 billion in debt proves it. Short-term borrowing just to pay civil servant salaries proves it. The list of failures goes on and on and on.
“You all’s hate of the PLP turns you into haters of your own country”
I’m sorry but to insinuate that any one’s dislike of the PLP is akin to a dislike of Bermuda only serves to confirm one of the fundamental problems with the PLP – you put party before country while the rest of us put Bermuda first.
Until you act, say or do otherwise you’ll continue to be blinded by an unhealthy loyalty to a failed enterprise that exists mainly to support itself – the antithesis of any modern democratic paradigm.
AMEN!!!!!!!!!
STFU- The PLP makes life too diffucult for the offshore crowd.
But you dont care how they think,so.
And Barbados eases duty while Bermuda increases it
http://www.nationnews.com/articles/view/duty-ease/
Jez Buh
Take a moment just to consider that we cant simply negate all of our previous policies that limit land owned by foreigners and allow permanent residency to anyone who provides jobs for Bermudians. With all due respect, the Premier is narrow focused in her caterings to the IB sector. Yes we must value our guest workers but limitations must be established that ensure the greatest benefits for Bermudians.
Cayman’s biggest GDP is Tourism and so the avg income per person is around 45K and so of course they will try to take our business cause we are around 90K. But look at what affleunce has done to us socially. Bermnudas communities have become weaker, materialism has replaced core values,the education divide is become greater, drugs and crime have increased. Cayman mirrors us already with those challenges and a big IB presence will only exasparate that, so do we really want to fight them on this? So if I could address Madame Premier, I would say IB has became to big locally and we lost the balance with other industries like Tourism, so trimming the fat is necessary because we don’t have the land mass or infrastructure to absorb more people. Most importantly the lives of all who reside here will be happier if we get the right ratio. So lets focus on a multipronged approach to get things right socially and become innovative to get our other industries growing. This is what Bermuda needs!
All very noble and written with the best intentions I’m sure. However, Bermuda produces nothing, exports nothing.
All it has is low tax structure, decent oversight and is a stone’s throw away from New York.
We need foreign captial, we need expats to live and, importantly, spend here. Any number of incorporations isn’t the answer. We need liquidity.
Resetting the balance doesn’t pay the bills. Sorry.
We need to remove limitations on selling property to non-Bermudians, we need to remove the land license and we need to remove obstacles to ownership for non-Bermudians.
And if you want to get rid of the billion dollar deficit (yes, a billion, think about that for a minute for a country that produces nothing), if you really want to get rid of it, sell 2000 status certificates at $500k each. Done.
you’re thinking like a capitalist…..I like that….why don’t you form a support group for socialist minded Berkerley-ite politicians that struggle with basic arithmatic and elementary economics….add basic english grammar since 99.9% of them mis-pronounce the name of their school…
I VENT TO THE BAR-KELLY BIE !!!
We will have to agree to disagree I’m afraid.
The deficit has come because private and government residents have been trying to “keep up with the jones” and have not been prudent/wisely reinvesting with the public and private purses. If we think only of money our society will not benefit and the majority will loose out.
A developed country with limited land mass (which makes us unique to most of the developed countries in the world)selling land to foreigns with relaxed laws will only benefit the rich residents and foreigners. Those Bermudians who are low and middle class will have less and less as the years go buy. We already have one of the most densley populated countries in the world and where will people go after to a while? To the UK? Its only a matter of time till they close their borders to the OTs so that they can take care of their own. A country is only as strong as the weakest link, if we don’t take care and secure a future for the vulnerable we are preparing ourselves for a worst state.
Don’t disagree with the sentiment, but the problem is we do not have that luxury.
Securing our “birthright”, as some of the mouth breathers like to call it, is an option we gave up when we voted the PLP into power the third time.
BDA has always been ‘for sale’ to a select few (Triminghams, Smiths, Glosings, Gibbons, Tuckers, Astwoods, etc) so what’s the big problem with allowing the bottom feeders the same ‘option’? We both know that is a loaded question that you won’t answer so I will answer it for you. The rich people at the top of the food chain will never allow bottom feeders to sell out because they need us to drive the economy. Without the bottom feeders, there will be no-one to dangle the economic carrot on the stick at…. the game got too big for the 40 theives children to take control so they simply sold out…..just ask HSBC and the Butterfield Bank foreign investors …….
You miss my point entirely.
sorry, I actually agree with you this time…my comments were directed toward AG
LOL..OK..makes more sense now I re-read!
If you feel Mr. Bush has the people of the Cayman islands best interest at heart, you are sadly mistaken. The people will suffer, not all, but most. We are the number 1 and this article proves it. He has offered his people up as sacrificial lambs. What people do for money?
“…Bush doesn’t care about black people” LOL
you’ve just described Bermuda’s politicians….me first and the bottom feeders can have whats left over. PLP doesn’t care about black people anymore either. If umma let somebody screw me, it may as well be the UBP/OBA
VOTE OBA
Well – his party was elected so they must support the initiatives and they must be beneficial to the majority. Isn’t that what we keep hearing in Bermuda? Must be true.
This is called competing for business. We should start.
Decisions, decisions. Long lines in stores, an inability to get a table in a restaurant, traffic up the ying yang are all supposedly symptoms of success. This is where you lose so many people; quality of life has to be achieved in an infrastructure neutral way. I don’t want to go back to those things again and this course correction is not a bad thing for me and my family who have only one passport. This is why we need innovation and creativity in economic diversity. The old model that suggests prosperity equals being overrun by other world citizens cannot be the solution for small island states. It threatens their culture, way of life and all of those things that make it unique in exchange for the dollar and the veneer of affluence. We’re smarter than that folks. The infrastructure doesn’t have to be struggling to keep up in order for us to be successul economically and enjoy some semblance of quality of life. Balance is the key. By the way, attacking The Berkeley is a new low.
I’d have more respect for The Berkeley if those associated with her would at least pronounce its name correctly
Again, don’t disagree with the sentiment, but the reality is now.
Always refreshing to hear a ratinaol answer.
Sandgrown and clogged up are not the majority and their way of thinking is irrelevant to the masses
that is exactly what the government is counting on that Sandgrown and clooged are in the minority and the sheeple will continue to follow…more and more sheeple are in line at the Salvation Army or counting on family services (who are broke by the way)to get them by. The grand experiment that was the PLP is over as is the UBP for that matter and it is time for a change.. Only those who have to deal with this Government know what it is really like and why hundreds(more than a few hundreds) have left. If you want to know what it is like to deal with immigration stand up, if you are sitting down, and bang your head against the nearest wall…..it is painful and there is no red carpet only red tape for they know no other way as they think that is how it is supposed to be done.. Any person in IB can rattle off a list of people who just left because they had enough and people and companies are waiting for the next election for the next migration of migrant workers(thank you Chris Furbert)seeking greener pastures…
That’s why we’re in the mess we’re in. The problem with parliamnetary democracy such as ours, is that you whip up the idiot masses with a straw man argument, you can cling to power.
The reality, is that under the current government, Bermuda is not sustainable in any form. There needs to be a paradigm shift in attitude and approach by our leaders.
Although Brother Furbert’s rant yesterday was a sideshow, it was a perfect demonstration of what is wrong with out leadership. Unintelligent, incompetant, unethical and incapable of seeing a way out the mess they have created.
Cog realyl does have a “deer in hte headlights” look about her these days, and while the masses may think I’m irrelevant, the truth is Bermuda is sunk as long as the PLP remain in power.
Just out of curiosity, did I miss the OBA’s plan to reverse all of this? Or does it consist of giving the keys to the country to IB and condemning us all to trickle-down economics again? That’s the part you can’t sell to the wider electorate. You can’t win votes by telling the masses to just behave themselves and everything will be fine. We’re adults and you, IB and everyone else must treat us like that. The monster of affluence and the high expectations of Bermudians was not created by the PLP but maintaining it has been their cross to bear.Nowhere else in the world does every bus driver, chambermaid or taxi driver expect to live like someone with a PhD or like the CEO they serve. This warped economy has created this problem and so now that these aspirations are less and less likely scaremongers like you are trying to convince people that what obtains everywhere else in the world is, as usual, bad for Bermuda. This is why tourism is dead. You cannot expect a waiter who shops at Louis Vuitton and vacations in Europe to be remotely interested in genuine service. The genie is out of the bottle and more than ever both Parties need to address how they’re going to deal with the real economy vs the expectations of the people.
All fair points, and I would like to see the OBA’s plans to reverse the downward spiral as soon as an election is called.
But what is the alternative to attracting the influx of capital we so dearly need? Plant Easter
Lillies on the golf courses? I don’t wish to be flippant, but right now people are out of work, up to their necks in debt and commitments they cannot meet and we talk about fiddling with duty rates at the airport. We have a debt our revenue cannot support.
Our ideals are worthless at this point while we address the probelm at hand.
Economic diversity is the key. This episode should teach us that IB are fair-weather friends and that when the going gets tough they’ll complete the cliche before we can blink and get going…elsewhere. That’s not a criticism because they’re in business to make money and if that means setting up in Vladivostock, Vanuatu or Vilnius they’ll do it and leave Bermuda behind, no matter how friendly we are. We need to welcome them with one hand and use the other to stir another economic pot. Dr. Saul got it right when he said we’re not exploiting the marine side of our existence. The next thing to do is work on inspiring confidence. When a person has been injured in an accident the first responders say that speaking confidently to them works wonders while the rescue is awaited. Right now we’re NOT speaking confidently. Led by the Government its all doom and gloom; all this “more with less” talk is self defeating. we need to be bold and inspire confidence. Stop calling for the hundreth independent investigation into some missing toilet paper and get on with telling our story boldly inside and outside. Money has not disappeared its just being held tight. To free it up requires a level of confidence that eludes us right now. Next thing is to stop all this BS about “job creation”. Leave that to Obama who needs to do it. We have enough jobs, we don’t have confident employers willing to hire people and not enough skilled Bermudians (opertaive word skilled) to fill them. That should tell us where to focus our energy. No need to plant on the golf courses just yet.
“Economic diversity is the key”.
To me, that is code for having a Rich Political Elite (kind of like certain parts of the PLP), while everyone else is The Working Class (i.e. people who should have no aspiration other than to pay taxes to keep the Elite Politicos rich).
Just what do you call rich? John Swan, AF Smith, Edgar Wilkinson, David Gibbons, Jim Butterfield rich OR Andre Curtis and his $400k rich? Just what do you think rich is? The answer to that might help you to understand that real money is not in that poxy cottacge you’re paying twice the value for over 30 years…..the first group understand real money and what rich really is. They’ve been practicing economic diversity for years. Gibbons = Colonial Insurance< Capital G, First Bermuda Securites, Bermuda Motors, Gibbons Company, Burrows Lightbourne….show me someone in the PLP that has all of that. There's an elite in this country and it ain't in green and white. Read page 29 of the Gazette today; its news to me that BAS is into everything from private jet service to elevators….and yet you grudge economic diversity for your country and its people? Idiots like you think that the world should be made safe for you to pay your mortgage and die two years after its done.Lunacy.
Rich is what you are after using public office in Bermuda as a get-rich-quick scheme …
You hit the nail on the head Hmmmmmmm.
It makes me smile how some people refuse to give up their 60s versions of whose fault it is that they can’t succeed or get ahead. For years the average Bermudian has been blaming IB for the reasons rents were high, etc. “Those people” were the popular fall guys for just about every economic lament we had. People thought things would be easier for the average Bermudian if we didn’t have those expats here to compete with. Well careful what you ask for.
The problem is that those same Bermudians have very little knowledge of how economics in the real world works. People assumed that that if they didn’t work for or were directly tied to an IB company then it wouldn’t affect them. I bet those people working in the post office see different now. So do many Bermudians who worked full-time in government departments but under part-time status. They are the first to go as government services have less money from permits and IB fees. With rents; illregardless how high or low they are; not getting paid because of people not working; homeowners are struggling. Teachers losing jobs because of less students. From drycleaners to cashiers, less customers. Taxi drivers to PTB, less riders. Laundromats, grocery stores; you name it. On top of that our island, according to the census, is aging (average age is 41) and we have a population decline. Welcome to the 2000s. Who do we blame now?
call it what you will….bread crumbs from Massa IB banquet table helped me pay my morgage, put my kid through private school and take 4 trips per year to exotic destinations (not DR or Thailand)…..LOL
Are you saying you prefer stores closing through lack of business, restaurants going out of business, “for sale” and “for rent” signs everywhere? Is that a better quality of life?
Let me see if i understand this, my Government’s economic record is one of failure because one or two of the 30 Italian restaurants in the country of 65,000 people couldn’t survive. Ah hello? In business, when conditions change one changes with them…..maybe, just maybe the business model of some of these failing places is the problem. Only in Bermuda are Portofino and Little Venice supposed to make booming profits next door to each other offering the same thing to the same people….ain’t no-one driving in from the next county, state or city to come to dinner. Basic stuff.
Well, Portofinos and LV cater for different markets, but never mind. The point is the example of restaurants was merely used to demonstrate that when the economy is down, all businesses suffer.
Do some research people, this is not the end of the world.
Yep, act as normal. Do research. Form a committee. Hire a consultant. Commission a report. Do more research. And when business leaves, blame the UBP, the OBA, the World economy, the British Empire, and those awful nasty white people.
Let’s see if our Premier has the “Testicular fortitude” to do something similar or better for this Island we call home. Immigration policies and bad governance has moved people out of here.
People are hurting and we need to do something.
We need business people in Govt not salary collectors!!!
It makes no sense to compare the Cayman Island to Bermuda. There are just under 55,000 people living on 102 square miles. Cayman can very well afford to invite “new residents” whereas Bermuda cannot with 65,000 living on 21 square miles.
You could leave? Do something for your country for change rather than your party.
Grand Cayman is actually 76 square miles and a good chunk of that space is protected marsh land and therefore uninhabitable.
Also I think your population figures may exclude work permit holders in Cayman which materially exceed the number in Bermuda.
Regardless of the foregoing the net result is we have far more in common than we do different and as both Cayman and Bermuda are in the same financial services businesses it makes absolute sense to compare the two.
Ignoring these (apparently inconvenient) facts is just another example of a PLP Government with their head in the sand.
I think you have it hhhmmmmm..I do disagree that IB are fair weather friends for they have put up with a great deal of crap from this Government who still , after all is said and done, do not want to be told how to run their business they just want the permit process to be more friendly for lack of a better term…..they dont want permanent residency,voting rights or anything other than to be left alone to run their business with no surprises like tax increases out of the blue..I would only hope that the OBA would stop the bleeding and restore some confidence which is sorely lacking before any rebuilding and have a great deal more confidence in the core leadership of the OBA than anyone in the PLP…I think Casinos would help tourism and be a gigantic influence on employment but I have no faith the this Government should have a role in the implementation…The real proof will be if the campaign is on the issues and not on racism and the past for the only thing we can change is the future. We are in this mess because of the most recent leader of the party and all vestiges must be swept clean…..
Its better in the Cayman’s !!!!! and the weather is great year round, see you all there soon!!!
Do not worry be happy, yes the ship is sinking fast! but we can all go home? but we will never live like this again, the U.K and Canada are very nice this time of year. Oh smile its not that bad!!!
? Do any of you all work or are you all Lazy ass Bermudian’!!! I know you are ex-pat’s