Captives within the Bahamas are well supported by a highly experienced and diversified talent pool of professionals.
Captives within the Bahamas are well supported by a highly experienced and diversified talent pool of professionals. The Bahamas is steadfast in the development and growth of the captive industry and is starting from within. There has never been a more clear indication of the joint commitment of the public and private sector to develop the jurisdiction and cultivate its human capital.
In 2013, the Insurance Commission of the Bahamas (ICB) and the Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) offered young professionals within the financial services industry the opportunity of a lifetime by teaming together to award two scholarships to study for and obtain the Associates in Captive Insurance (ACI) designation offered by the International Center for Captive Insurance Education (ICCIE). The ACI designation is recognised globally and ideally positions Bahamian professionals to provide comprehensive service and facilities to captive insurers domiciled in the Bahamas.
The foresight of BFSB and the ICB to not only understand and appreciate the importance of having qualified individuals to service the Bahamas’s captive insurance industry, but to ensure that persons become qualified, cannot be overstated. The depth and aptitude of the financial services industry has long legitimised the Bahamas as a jurisdiction for real and substantive business and the recent initiatives of the ICB and BFSB further solidify the Bahamas’s position within the sector.
The ICCIE is a unique organisation, as its courses are relevant to any captive domicile worldwide and its lecturers are hand-picked captive experts with specialisations including formation, feasibility studies, governance, marketing, and so on. The ICCIE’s mission is to be “the premier provider of captive insurance education and to offer the pre-eminent professional designation in captive insurance”.
The programme is very interactive. It cultivates team building and encourages the exchange of ideas and experiences, which has proven to be a successful model for bridging participants from all corners of the globe with varying degrees of knowledge and working experience within the captive insurance industry.
In order to successfully obtain the ACI designation, one has to complete five core online courses, which serve as a solid foundation and knowledge base:
In addition to the core courses, students are required to complete two electives and three ‘hot topic’ webinars. These webinars cover topical current issues within the captive insurance industry ensuring that participants are well-versed in the most recent industry developments.
The electives, however, allow students the opportunity to focus on areas of personal interest or on areas that may be particularly relevant to their respective jurisdictions.
For example, studying (Understanding the Intricacies of Cell Captives) will benefit the industry in the Bahamas, as our legislation (particularly the Segregated Accounts Companies Act) provides definitive statutory safeguards to ensure that assets and liabilities remain isolated within each respective segregated account, or ‘cell’.
Similar to the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and the Insurance Institute of Canada (IIC), which are the recognised designation bodies for general insurance, and the Life Office Management Association (LOMA), which qualifies the life and health insurance professionals, the ICCIE was developed to identify and award captive insurance professionals. Many Bahamians have proved themselves by achieving the highest level of designations (known as fellowships) awarded by the CII, IIC and LOMA.
It is therefore imperative that the same level of success is replicated with the ICCIE if the Bahamian captive market is to reach the heights envisioned by the Bahamian government, regulators, the private sector and other stakeholders. In particular, it is essential that young professionals recognise this tremendous opportunity and aim to sharpen their craft and show meaningful evolution along with this re-emerging industry.
Professionals who are open-minded, analytical, willing to learn and to be challenged, and to explore new trends and methods, will reap the benefits of this industry, which is painted with endless potential.
It is evident that the Bahamas is not only committed to ensuring market growth but also that the market is supported and sustained by proficient and diversified professionals.
The jurisdiction has a high capacity to meet the needs of captive insurers through experienced financial, corporate, legal and other professional service firms, competent professionals and a stable infrastructure.
In addition, the domestic and external insurance legislation were recently overhauled within the last four years and have been dubbed ‘market-friendly’ and ‘pro-business’ by the wealth management and insurance sectors.
Indeed, an effective regulatory regime that operates under the new insurance legislation is very much a competitive advantage for the Bahamas.
The regulatory environment within the Bahamas is long-established and well-respected, boasting:
The ICB, as a progressive and proactive regulator, must be—and is—accessible to its registrants and licensees. In terms of location, the Bahamas is a mere 50 miles off the coast of Florida and has international airports throughout the country, which are served daily by international airlines. With numerous flights into the capital city of Nassau, the Bahamas offers a jurisdiction that is easily accessible from nearly every major city in the US, Canada, Latin America and Europe. With such access and availability, conducting business in and from within the Bahamas is easy.
The Bahamas offers a well-developed and distinguished regulatory framework, an innovative and accessible regulator, and a proficient talent pool of professional service providers, whose commitment growth is evident. The beautiful archipelago of islands is well on its way to becoming the clear choice as the premier service centre in the Caribbean for small- to medium-sized captives worldwide.
