Cayman domiciled reinsurers increased their share of US life and annuity reserves ceded to reinsurers in 2025, according to an AM Best Market Segment Report published on 19 August 2026. Cayman had submitted its application to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners for Qualified Jurisdiction Status earlier that month.

The two developments concern different parts of Cayman’s reinsurance position. The AM Best figures provide a current measure of market activity, while the NAIC application is a regulatory process with two phases. Together, they reinforce the case that Cayman is building a larger role in the offshore reinsurance market while seeking recognition from US regulators.

Cayman’s share increased in 2025

AM Best reported that Cayman domiciled reinsurers took 2.3 percent of US life and annuity reserves ceded to reinsurers in 2025. That was up from 2 percent in 2024.

Bermuda remained the dominant offshore domicile, though its share declined from 40.9 percent in 2024 to 39.9 percent in 2025. Barbados also declined, from 3.6 percent to 2.6 percent over the same period.

Cayman’s gain was mainly attributed to a handful of newly established sidecar vehicles. Cameron Leitch, vice chair of the Cayman International Reinsurance Companies Association, said the increase reflected demand for reinsurance capacity, available capital, and new Cayman based vehicles. He also noted that Cayman’s share remains a relatively small part of the overall offshore market.

The scale of US life and annuity cessions

The AM Best report placed Cayman’s increase within a much larger market for US life and annuity reinsurance. US insurers ceded almost $1.6 trillion of annuity reserves in 2025, with more than 56 percent of that amount ceded offshore.

US insurers also ceded just over $1 trillion of life reserves in 2025. About 34 percent of those reserves were ceded offshore.

These figures show the scale of the market in which Cayman is gaining share. They also show that Bermuda remains the leading offshore domicile, even as Cayman and other jurisdictions participate in the market.

The NAIC Qualified Jurisdiction application

Cayman submitted its application to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners for Qualified Jurisdiction Status in mid August 2026. The AM Best report showing Cayman's growing share of US life and annuity reserves was published shortly after, on August 19. If approved, Cayman would be the first jurisdiction added to the NAIC’s list since 2015. The existing list includes Bermuda, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

The application is structured as a two phase process. Phase one covers property and casualty. Premier Andre Ebanks described that phase as close to settled from a regulatory standpoint.

Phase two covers life and annuity. Ebanks said that phase is expected to require more legislative change. The process is expected to take 16 to 18 months.

Market activity and the regulatory process

The AM Best data and the NAIC application are related in the broader story of Cayman’s reinsurance market, but they are not the same regulatory track. The market data concerns Cayman’s share of US life and annuity reserves ceded to reinsurers in 2025. The NAIC application is a separate process with property and casualty in its first phase and life and annuity in its second phase.

The increase in Cayman’s share gives the jurisdiction a concrete data point while its application is before US regulators. It shows that the market is already choosing Cayman in meaningful volume, rather than only that Cayman is seeking a place on the NAIC list.

At the same time, the life and annuity segment where Cayman recorded growth is part of the second and more demanding phase of the application. The data should therefore be understood as reinforcing the broader narrative, not as evidence that approval is imminent or guaranteed for either phase.

Key takeaways

• Cayman domiciled reinsurers took 2.3 percent of US life and annuity reserves ceded to reinsurers in 2025, up from 2 percent in 2024.
• Bermuda remained the dominant offshore domicile, with a 39.9 percent share in 2025, down from 40.9 percent in 2024.
• Barbados’ share declined from 3.6 percent to 2.6 percent over the same period.
• AM Best attributed Cayman’s gain mainly to a handful of newly established sidecar vehicles.
• US insurers ceded almost $1.6 trillion of annuity reserves and just over $1 trillion of life reserves in 2025.
• Cayman’s NAIC application has two phases: property and casualty first, followed by life and annuity.
• The AM Best figures and the NAIC application reinforce the same broader narrative, but they do not establish an outcome or timing for either phase.

Cayman’s 2025 reinsurance figures provide a current measure of its participation in the offshore market as the Qualified Jurisdiction application proceeds. The market growth and the regulatory process are distinct developments, with each providing context for the other.