The Vermont Department of Economic Development has revealed that 22 new captive insurance companies were licensed in 2019.
The data showed that new licenses were made up of 14 pure captives, an increase of two from 2018. The rest included four sponsored captives, two risk retention groups (RRGs), one special purpose financial insurer and one industrial insured captive.
Vermont is now home to 585 captives, an increase of 558 in 2018, the new figures consist of 559 active and 26 dormant captive insurance companies.
Six of Vermont’s 22 new captives were redomestications from other jurisdiction; including three from New York, two from Bermuda and one from Switzerland.
New companies include Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, KPMG, University of Vermont Health Network, Stamford Health, RELX, and Fortive Corporation.
Ian Davis, director of financial services in Vermont, said: “[The state’s] 2019 licensing activity in many ways reflected the changing insurance environment.”
He continued: “We licensed nine new captives in Q4 alone and, given the hardening market, we expect the momentum to continue on into 2020.”
“Vermont’s world-class regulatory framework and service provider network continues to be key
determinants in attracting new business to the state,” said Rich Smith, president of the Vermont
Captive Insurance Association.
He adds: “The stability, knowledge and experience of Vermont’s captive industry is simply unmatched.”
Vermont has licensed a total of 1,159 captive insurance companies since 1981. With an active pipeline of prospective new captive insurance companies already underway for 2020, the state expects continued growth in the coming year.
In 2018, Vermont licensed 25 new captives, made up of 12 pure captives, four risk retention groups, three sponsored captives, two industrial insured captives, two special purpose financial insurers, one branch captive and one affiliated reinsurance company.
