CAPTIVEINSIGHT
The Diary OF A CAPTIVE
INSURANCE DIRECTOR
BY CONOR JENNINGS, CAPTIVA
Dear Diary,
Life as a captive insurance company
director can have its perks, and
fortunately one of mine is to have a
captive in Cayman. Board meetings in
Cayman are compulsory and well, I am
more than happy with that!
Even after all these years, I can admit
that I still get excited about going to
Cayman for board meetings. Our
captive insurance company was
incorporated in the Cayman Islands
over fifteen years ago, in 1997, and I
come to Cayman about twice a year.
Due to my company’s long connection
with Cayman, I’ve been asked to
keep a diary of my trip so that others
who are new to the Islands will have
a clearer idea of what we get up to.
Please excuse the lack of formality, but
these are my own personal opinions
and certainly do not represent the
views of my company or fellow
directors. You’ll note that I’ve tried
to avoid naming names of specific
places, but those familiar with Cayman
will probably be able to read between
the lines and know exactly where
I’m describing.
I’m able to fly direct from my
home city to Cayman, which is a
considerable advantage over getting to
some of the other captive jurisdictions,
including many in the US. Whenever
I travel I like to prepare myself well
before hand, so working on the plane
gives me extra time to prepare for the
forthcoming meetings in Cayman, and
to read articles like this at my leisure.
We arrive safely in Cayman and stroll
to the immigration lounge to the tropic
beat of the steel-pan band which is
60
playing at the entrance. Things get
better when the immigration officer
looks at my passport and says,
“Welcome back Jack”. I know that it’s
only a small thing, but I like it when
people make the effort to be polite.
After picking up a cab just outside
arrivals, five minutes later I’m on
Seven Mile Beach checking into my
hotel. Like the airport, it cheers me
up to be personally welcomed back to
Cayman by the receptionist as if she’d
been waiting for my arrival all day.
After a quick swim off Seven Mile
Beach, a shower and rest, I’m dressed
in my shorts and t-shirt and waiting
to be picked up by our local captive
manager. I’ve got to know him pretty
well over the years. He’s met my wife
and family and I’ve met his, and we
know all about each other’s children,
where they go to school and university
and what they want to do when they
graduate. Funnily enough, none of
them seem to want to go into insurance.
Every time I come to Cayman, the
captive manager invites me to a new
restaurant, and thankfully Cayman has
a great choice
of them. For the
formal dinner
tomorrow
evening
with
the
rest
of
the
directors,
we’ll be going
to one of the
old favourites,
either the lovely
plantation-like one on South Sound
or one of the secluded places close
to the water in West Bay. However,
tonight will be more of an adventure.
In addition to the hotel restaurants
there are loads of others including the
four or five new ones in Camana Bay.
Having been brought up on steak and
more steak in the US, I always make
a special effort to have fresh seafood
in Cayman, and I couldn’t have come
to a better restaurant. The starter of
lion fish ceviche and the following
local red snapper are particularly good,
and seem to taste even better as our
table is on the water’s edge with huge
tarpon swimming just yards away.
After a few drinks at a local bar, it’s
time for an early night as I have a busy
schedule of meetings tomorrow. By the
way, here’s a link to a comprehensive
restaurant guide website, Good
Taste, at www.caymangoodtaste.com
Next day
After a lovely swim in the Caribbean,
and breakfast outside, I’m picked
up and taken into town to meet the
Cayman Islands Monetary Authority
(CIMA). I have no hesitation in writing
that CIMA is one of the main reasons
our company is still based in Cayman.
Despite every state in America now
seeming to have
its own captive
legislation, and
the
political
pressure
to
move onshore,
we’ve el X