Future claims may be brought against virtually every major captive insurance promoter, according to the attorney for the plaintiffs in the micro captive conspiracy case involving Artex and Arthur J Gallagher & Co, David Deary.
Deary, partner at Lowewinsohn Flegle Deary Simon, revealed that his firm currently represents a large number of clients who have suffered substantial damages as a result of their participation in micro captives and have clients with claims against “virtually every major promoter”.
He added: “We anticipate we will be filing additional lawsuits against these other major promoters in the near future.”
Plaintiffs filed a class action suit against Artex and Gallagher in December 2018 and alleged that the defendants conspired to design, promote, sell, implement, and manage illegal tax-advantaged captive insurance strategies.
Additionally, the lawsuit claimed that the defendants entered into undisclosed business arrangements with each other and formed a nationwide referral network to funnel clients business to them.
Deary suggested that the Artex case “serves as a warning to captive managers that if they are going to promote and sell micro captive services, the micro captives must be designed, implemented, and managed to comply with all applicable tax and insurance laws”.
He concluded: “I assume that there will be more cases against Artex and others involved in the captive insurance industry.”
The full interview with Deary can be found in issue 165 of Captive Insurance Times, which is available online now.
