The 'responsive and knowledgeable' insurance and reinsurance department at Campbells is a key part of its wider corporate law support to clients and the firm acts for several of the largest insurance carriers in the Caribbean, as well as being counsel of choice for a number of Cayman government agencies. Well versed in the formation, licensing and ongoing operation of insurance managers on the island, the practice is also a robust choice for contentious matters in the insurance space. Alan Craig advises reinsurers established in, or re-domesticating to, the Cayman Islands, as well as foreign insurers that are active in the domestic market. He co-leads the practice group with Mark Goodman, who is focused on litigation, insolvency and restructuring; and Paul Kennedy, also an expert in contentious insurance work.
Insurance/reinsurance in Cayman Islands
Campbells
Practice head(s):
Alan Craig; Mark Goodman; Paul Kennedy
Testimonials
‘One of the strengths of the firm is their insurance knowledge for life and reinsurance licensees. We depend on them to assist us in all of our life insurance matters.’
‘Alan Craig has extensive knowledge in Cayman insurance laws and is the go-to person for insurance related matters.’
‘The Campbells team are responsive and knowledgeable, and have a depth of experience across many industries.’
‘The team are great to deal with and always willing to discuss client challenges.’
Key clients
AEsir Insurance
Gerald
Redpoint
Deliver Re
Tango Re
S.I.P.P. Insurance
Westgrove Insurance
Touchstone Insurance
USC Preferred Insurance
Equity International
ASIC
Royal Star
Epic Re
Sunrise Professional Indemnity SPC
Alembic
Allied Indemnity
Aegis Insurance
Roosevelt Insurance
Next Era Energy / Palms Insurance
Eastern Re
Innova Re
Marsh
Athene
Willis Towers Watson
Cooper Gay / Ed Broking
Island Heritage
ICWI (Insurance Company of the West Indies)
Guardian Life
Global Captive Management
Artex Risk Solutions
Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility
Guardian General
Strategic Risk Solutions
Beecher Carlson
Crum & Forster
Cottingham & Butler
UnitedHealth Group
Innovative Captive Strategies
Caribbean Alliance
Pan-American Life Insurance Group
Investors Trust Assurance
DiffRins Insurance Company
Work highlights
- Acting for Palms Insurance, the insurance subsidiary of NextEra Energy, on its Cayman operations.
- Representation of CCRIF SPC (The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility), the regional insurer of catastrophe risks to Caribbean and Latin American governments.
- Advising a US life insurer in relation to funding arrangements totalling $5bn in aggregate.
Conyers
Conyers houses a fully dedicated insurance and reinsurance law practice that acts for a sizeable percentage of all new insurance licensees, as well as counting the vast majority of commercial reinsurers that are active in the Cayman market. The team’s workload includes the gamut of issues in the practice area, covering captives, agents, brokers, reinsurance, alternative risk transfer, insurance financing, catastrophe bonds and other insurance-linked securities. Derek Stenson leads the team and is counsel of choice to a wealth of international financial and insurance institutions. Philippa Gilkes is a further key name with a dedicated insurance offering, while Sarah Howie and Frank Farrell add further support.
Practice head(s):
Derek Stenson
Other key lawyers:
Philippa Gilkes; Sarah Howie; Frank Farrell
Testimonials
‘Insurance dedicated expertise.’
‘Responsive, knowledgeable and experienced. Safe pair of hands. In particular Derek Stenson and Philippa Gilkes.’
‘Derek Stenson and his team have a commercial approach to the market that is simply unmatched by their peers. Derek is first and foremost a businessman and a lawyer secondly and this sets him and his team apart. Like any good leader he has surrounded himself with a solid team of performers.’
‘Derek Stenson has always had a commercial approach to matters legal and allied to his energy, affability built upon his technical know how he is as rounded a lawyer you can ask for. He knows his strengths and hires accordingly and in Philippa Gilkes has brought on an organised, technical and solid partner to his practise. Sarah Howie brings a seasoned compliance and contractual view of the world and Frank Farrell is busy building out his experience across a full range of the Conyers service platform.’
‘As a general counsel new to Cayman Islands’ regulatory regime, Conyers has provided invaluable resources and guidance above and beyond what I expected.’
‘Derek Stenson heads-up an extremely talented reinsurance and insurance team. They are an extremely collegiate team who work seamlessly together – without doubling-up on charges. Their service delivery is exceptional. They really take time to fully understand their client’s business operations and not only deliver great service for a specific service request they generally (almost always) make some additional beneficial recommendations.’
‘Derek Stenson, Partner is a strong and personable leader with a well-deserved enviable reputation for his insurance, reinsurance, financial services, regulatory and compliance expertise. Philippa Gilkes, Counsel is highly competent very thorough lawyer who always offers sound, sensible and pragmatic advices promptly Wayne Flanagan Sarah Howie (Farquhar), Senior Associate is highly competent with an inherent talent for building a strong trustworthy rapport with clients right from the start. She gets stuck into the details and diligently delivers commercial, practical, concise solutions extremely promptly and effectively. Kiah Estwick – Senior Associate: Kiah is a strong lawyer and a safe pair of hands and a definite rising-star in her profession. Wayne Flanagan – Associate: Diligent, knowledgeable and highly responsive. A next generation rising star.’
‘The Conyers Team has exceptional subject-matter expertise in the insurance/reinsurance sector and deployed that expertise to help us successfully establish, license, and operationalize multiple Cayman-based entities in a short period of time. We are greatly appreciative of our relationship with the Conyers Team and look forward to continuing to work together on our many Cayman initiatives.’
Key clients
ACAP
Agam Capital Management
AIG
Arbel Re SPC
Arch Capital
Ascension Health
Aspida Holdings
Artex
Athene Holding Ltd.
Aran Re
Augusta Health
Axar Re
Axonic Capital LLC
Baptist Health
Barents Re
Berkshire Hathaway
Blackstone
Blue Ocean Reinsurance Solutions
BOLT Reinsurance SPC
Canada Life
Cayman Islands National Insurance Company
CIBC Reinsurance
CIGNA
CIRCA (Cayman International Reinsurance Companies Association)
Coinbase Insurance
Comerica Bank
Converge Re
Crestline Re
Davidson Kempner
F&G Re
Front Street Re
FWD Re
Global Atlantic Financial Group
Greenlight Re
Harbour Partners Ltd.
H & W Indemnity (SPC), Ltd.
Ibexis Life & Annuity
Indigo Insurance
Island Heritage Insurance Company, Ltd.
Jackson National
KKR
Knighthead Annuity
Ledger Investing, Inc. / Ledger Re SPC
Lexasure Financial Group
Liberty Mutual
Lilypad Insurance Co.
Longtail Re
MetLife
Orange Capital LLC
Prudential plc
Nascent Group
Nirvana Tech, Inc,
Northern Reinsurance SPC
Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings Ltd.
Reinsurance Group of America
Root Inc.
Royal Bank of Canada Insurance Company Limited
Safety National SPC
Scotiabank
Sompo
Talcott Life & Annuity Re, Ltd.
Third Point LLC
Tokio Marine
Topsail Re
United HealthGroup
United Insurance Company
Wilmington Holdings Corporation
Work highlights
- Advised the Aspida Group on the establishment of two Cayman Islands life and annuity reinsurers.
- Assisted alternative asset manager Third Point with launching and licensing Malibu Life Re, a new life and annuity reinsurer in the Cayman Islands.
- Acting for Augusta Health Care in its defence of an application by co-shareholder Valley Health System to the UK Privy Council for special leave to appeal an earlier judgment of the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal which overturned a winding up order of the Grand Court.
Walkers
Walkers‘ ‘wonderfully knowledgeable‘ insurance and reinsurance practice is active across the market, including the thriving and increasingly complex life and annuity reinsurance work, and the cross-border insolvency of Premier Assurance Group. The firm continues to have a strong offering in the traditional captive market, while also reflecting the wider market trend of more diverse clients entering the Cayman insurance space. Leadership of the department is shared between specialist financial regulatory and risk management lawyer Lucy Frew, and Philip Paschalides, whose structured finance background and experience is now deployed on insurance matters, developing innovative structures compliant with CIMA. Juliana Tang draws on professional experience at an insurance and reinsurance broker to assist with regulatory matters and cross-border transactions.
Testimonials
‘The firm is knowledgeable and responsive to client needs.’
‘The Walkers Team are wonderfully knowledgeable, experienced, efficient, and responsive. They do not put on airs. Their multi-jurisdictional reach stands out.’
‘Juliana Tang is both practical and creative.’
‘The Walkers insurance team has a great breadth of expertise and works hard to build strong client relationships.’
‘ Shamar Ennis is very knowledgeable with a wealth of international experience who provides well reasoned advice.’
‘Juliana Tang has a strong combination of deep specialist knowledge broad commercial and legal perspectives.’
‘Sarah Dombowsky is an extremely knowledgeable, professional, proactive lawyer who is genuinely passionate about successful delivery in every instance. She brings her expertise to bear in a very practical and client focused manner, consistently and promptly going the extra mile and is always a pleasure to deal with.’
‘Philip Paschalides, Shamar Ennis, and Juliana Tang work together effectively as a team combining structured finance and insurance regulatory expertise that allows them to optimize structure and strategy for their clients, which include private equity and hedge funds seeking to enter the offshore reinsurance market.’
Work highlights
Appleby
As part of its offering across offshore markets globally, the Cayman Islands office at Appleby assists insurance and reinsurance clients with corporate, financing and regulatory matters. Simon Raftopoulos and Jacob MacAdam, whose practice encompasses advising on insurance transactions and regulatory matters particularly in the reinsurance, banking and fiduciary space. Menelik Miller is sought out by insurers, reinsurers, investment companies and fintech clients for her expertise in regulatory issues including license applications, registrations, authorisations, notifications and regulatory filings, areas in which Miriam Smyth is also notably active.
Practice head(s):
Simon Raftopoulos; Jacob MacAdam
Other key lawyers:
Menelik Miller; Miriam Smyth
Testimonials
‘I find the Appleby team to be incredibly helpful when faced with contentious matters. I have obtained advice from them ranging from general day to day corporate matters through to more complicated and controversial matters and in all circumstances the team has come through with thorough and clear advice to see their clients through to a solution. The team is very collaborative, helpful, and most important practical in understanding the end goal of their clients and helping them find the best path forward.’
‘Jacob MacAdam is a pleasure to work with. Of course he is extremely knowledgeable and responsive but beyond that he exhibits a level of professionalism that makes him stand out against his competitors. I value his advice as a legal professional and industry colleague and I do not hesitate to recommend him to anyone in the insurance industry seeking legal advice as I have full confidence in his advice.’
‘The team stands out for delivering expert and reliable guidance firmly rooted in regulatory requirements through a deep understanding of governmental principles ensuring that clients receive insightful advice fully compliant with relevant authorities.’
‘A key strength is the practice’s ability to balance urgency with prudence. Responsive to time-sensitive matters, driving projects forward efficiently without compromising on thoroughness or pushing beyond appropriate boundaries. This approach resonates with clients who value both timeliness and diligence.’
‘The team is knowledgeable, trustworthy, and delivers timely service for clients navigating intricate regulatory landscapes.’
‘They answer questions with revenant and informed replies. No hesitation to give a straight forward response that is actionable. If they need more time to research the question, that’s said and the reply is timely. Competent, knowledgeable, and direct. Without hesitation and with praise I recommend the individuals that I work with at the firm.’
‘Jacob McAdam carries himself as a seasoned campaigner with quite some polish. He backs it up with a technical know how but also frankly and affability and decency both commercially and personally which ensures i will want to work more with him in the future. He has taken a nascent industry practise group in Cayman and owned it and led it and is now seen as a legitimate alternative to his peer firms and I would have little hesitation in recommending him.’
‘Jacob is fair minded, level headed, measured, technical, decent , dependable and solid.’
Key clients
Greenlight Reinsurance
TxEx Energy Investments, LLC –
Brookfield Asset Management
Blue Ocean Reinsurance Group
Work highlights
- Advising Greenlight Reinsurance on ongoing regulatory compliance with Cayman regulatory laws, regulations, rules and guidance issued by CIMA.
- Advised a health care provider on obtaining a Class A insurance issued by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority.
- Assisted Blue Ocean Solutions with developing a suite of bespoke regulatory policies and procedures both for its own offering and its clients.
Maples Group
Maples Group acts in a variety of transactional and regulatory matters for its insurance and reinsurance clients, including establishing entities in the Cayman Islands, and advice on financing and M&A. John Dykstra is the key contact in terms of focus on the insurance sector in particular, jointly co-ordinating the practice with finance experts Jonathon Meloy and Tina Meigh. Joe Jackson and Hailee Robinson are support contacts to note.