SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Insurance company United America Indemnity Ltd. has announced it wants to shift its legal home to Ireland from the Cayman Islands, continuing a trend of international companies seeking exits from Caribbean offshore financial havens.

The Cayman Islands-based insurer plans to ask shareholder to approve the change at an upcoming meeting, saying Ireland offers a "sophisticated regulatory environment" and an extensive network of international treaties, among other reasons.

In a proxy statement, the insurance company, which had previously been considering a move to Switzerland, said it would become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Irish company Global Indemnity PLC.

Earlier this month, Seagate Technology said it plans to move its place of incorporation to Ireland from the Cayman Islands amid increased international scrutiny of offshore tax havens. It said proposed US legislation and regulatory measures "could increase our tax burden if we remained incorporated in the Cayman Islands".

Thousands of international companies and hedge funds have traditionally been incorporated in offshore financial centres in the Caribbean and elsewhere, drawn by low tax rates and banking rules and legal systems that make it easy to move capital around the globe.

But US and European lawmakers and regulators are weighing a number of proposals aimed at cracking down on abuses and collecting more tax revenue from multi-national operations.