Montana licensed 26 new captives last year, as formations of protected cell and series captives outpaced standalone captive formations by a ratio of at least two-to-one for the third consecutive year.
Figures from the Office of the Montana State Auditor revealed that the 26 new captive licenses in 2018 were a reduction in growth in comparison to the 42 captives licensed the previous year.
The figures also showed that 61 captives closed last year, an increase on the 54 closures in 2017.
At year-end 2018, there were 288 captives licensed in Montana, 279 of which have active licenses.
Of the 288 captives licensed in the Treasure State, 109 were pure captives, 10 were series captives; with 120 series business units, nine were risk retention groups, eight were reinsurance captives, seven were protected cell companies; with 20 protected cells, three were association captives, and two were special purpose captives.
Tal Redpath, captive insurance examiner, Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, Office of the Montana State Auditor, commented: “Overall, the Department felt good about 26 new formations in 2018, especially given the general decline in micro-captive formations and the rising number of closures in recent years.”
“For the third consecutive year in 2018, Montana saw formations of protected cell and series captives outpace standalone captive formations by at least a two-to-one ratio.”
“Several recent formations in Montana have been for medical stop-loss reinsurance business as well as programme business.”
“We expect those two areas to continue to have a high level of interest in 2019.”
