Ohio has licensed protected cell captive insurance company Imprise Financial.
Through its protected cells, Imprise Financial will allow businesses to insure some of their own commercial risks, realise greater control of their risk-management programmes, and achieve long-term financial stability.
Imprise Financial’s first protected cell will insure certain contractual liability risk of NWAN, a third-party administrator of service contracts and warranties for automobiles, recreational vehicles and motorcycles.
Ohio governor John Kasich signed legislation in June 2014 allowing businesses to form captives.
The state allows the formation of pure captives that can only insure the risks of their parents, protected cell captives, in which each cell has a separate legal identity, and special purpose financial captives, which assume life insurance risks.
The protected cell structure in particular eliminates market-entry barriers that companies typically face when considering a self-insurance programme.
Mary Taylor, director of the Ohio Department of Insurance, commented: “This is a momentous occasion for Ohio and more specifically, for Ohio businesses. Giving businesses the option to form a captive is another tool designed to help them thrive in Ohio.”
David Neuenschwander, vice president and shareholder of NWAN, commented: “Establishing a captive insurance programme with Imprise Financial allows us to be more flexible in the services we offer our clients and makes our operation more efficient.”
He added: “We are already realising the benefits of our captive insurance programme and it has become an integral part of achieving our long-term goals.”
