Market News
European Union Removes Cayman Islands from Tax "Blacklist"
The European Union has removed the Cayman Islands from its "blacklist" of noncooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. In a statement, the European Council said the Cayman Islands, along with Oman, were removed from the blacklist "after having passed the necessary reforms to improve their tax policy framework." Read More
A.M. Best: US Property-Casualty Rating Actions Mixed in First Half
A new special report from A.M. Best finds that credit rating activity for US property-casualty insurers was mixed in the first half of 2020, with upgrades slightly outnumbering downgrades. Approximately 25 percent of the 17 upgrades during the period were due to affiliations or mergers, the rating agency said. Read More
CCRIF SPC Expands Coverage to Private Sector with New Utility Product
CCRIF SPC is expanding its coverage to the private sector with a new parametric insurance product developed for the electric utility industry in the Caribbean. CCRIF currently provides parametric insurance coverage for tropical cyclones, earthquakes, excess rainfall, and the fisheries sector to 19 Caribbean governments and 3 in Central America. Read More
Hardening Traditional Market Drives New Captive Insurance Formations
Formations of new captive insurance companies are flowing amid hardening conditions in the traditional market with the growth trend expected to continue in 2021. For example, Vermont, the largest US domicile with 595 licensed captives, has already licensed 25 new captives so far this year. Read More
Best Sees Pandemic Highlighting Weaknesses in Insurers' ERM Programs
The COVID-19 pandemic underscores weaknesses in insurers’ enterprise risk management (ERM) efforts, according to a new special report from A.M. Best. The report notes that, while ERM has evolved rapidly, the pandemic has emphasized that “unknown unknowns” and “unexpected accumulations” that can affect insurers and reinsurers remain. Read More