Premier supports 30-day rollover break

Premier McKeeva Bush announced he would be in favour of reducing to one month the length of time foreign nationals would have to leave the Cayman Islands after reaching their term limit. Bush said the government has received legal advice from the UK indicating that the period of time a foreigner must be away from the Cayman Islands after reaching a term limit could be as short “as we want… in our legislation”.

He explained that the legal advice was solicited by Attorney General Sam Bulgin at the request of Cabinet and that the opinion suggested that Cayman law would override other concerns when it came to establishing what constituted a break of residency from the Cayman Islands.

Caregivers get rollover break

Members of the Legislative Assembly passed a proposal that will let foreign-born caregivers who nurse sick, elderly or handicapped residents stay in the Cayman Islands beyond the expiration of their final work permits.

The domestics will only be able to do so, if their employers obtain a certificate from either the Work Permit Board or chief immigration officer that allows helpers to remain in Cayman for up to five more years as long as they stay with the same employer.

Sweeping changes for development in Cayman

Changes to the country’s Development and Planning Law and regulations relax some rules for developers and aim to make the planning process faster for applicants.

The plan also calls for significant fee increases, particularly for developers working on new projects in higher-density, upscale areas such as Seven Mile Beach, South Sound and central

George Town

Some of the changes in the amended law include a reduction in the distance requirements for development of certain commercial projects. Right now, developers have to “poll” everyone within 1,500 feet of a development prior to obtaining planning approval. That distance is shortened to 1,000 feet under the new proposal.

There are strict requirements for individual property owners and commercial properties to clean up and maintain their land and fines for failing to do so.

The law allows planning permits to be extended from one year to five years, an increase that would allow enough time for building inspections etc. The law also requires appeals of planning board decisions to be heard within six months.

Planning definitions have been changed to include ‘planned area developments’, which are large, 40 acres or greater properties that are of ‘mixed use’ – typically meaning both residential and commercial.

Also, planning permission will now be formally required for interior development of a building that changes the use of the property or which has some impact on the surrounding environment.

New insurance Law

A new Insurance Law has been introduced in response to advice by the IMF to bring Cayman legislation in line with international standards. While most of those standards were adhered to in practice the new Law explicitly includes them in the legislation.

The aim of the law is to clearly differentiate between the domestic and international insurance markets in Cayman and to regulate each in accordance with its requirements, to strengthen legislation to protect Cayman residents, to bring the Law up to international standards and to open up new frontiers of business development.

The new law creates two new classes of insurance business. Currently, Class A refers to domestic insurers and Class B to international captive insurance businesses. The amended law creates new Class C and Class D categories for reinsurers.

The law also increases protection for domestic policy holders by requiring class A insurers - domestic insurers - to have Cayman Islands Monetary Authority approval in order to transfer or amalgamate all or part of the insurers’ long-term business.

Health insurance changes

Under amendments to health insurance legislation, insurers will no longer be able to refuse to insure patients with pre-existing medical conditions when they change jobs.

Minister for Health Mark Scotland acknowledged that the amendments could lead to an increase in health insurance costs, but said this would be offset by increases in benefits and to the general health of the local population.

Under the amendments, insurers must provide a standard insurance plan without any underwriting for average people, but regulations will allow insurance providers to increase premium rates by up to 200 per cent of the standard premium to take into account the increased risk being assumed by the insurer.

Employers who fail to provide, at a minimum, a standard health insurance contract for employees will face fines of $30,000 upon summary conviction and $40,000 on conviction following an indictment. The amended law increases the existing fines from $5,000 and $10,000, respectively.

The law has also been amended to increase fines for employers who make unlawful deductions from employee salaries. They will face fines that are increased from $5,000 upon conviction and $10,000 on indictment to $30,000 and $40,000, respectively.

Employers who fail to provide employees with health insurance details, such as the name of the insurer, the effective date of coverage and insurance number, within 15 days of commencement of employment, will face increased fines of $15,000 and an additional per-day penalty of $1,000. Previously, the fines were $5,000 upon conviction and $100 a day.

The amended law also increases how much an insurance company will pay for a variety of treatments.