Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signs into law House File 2766 (H.F. 2766), the state's captive insurance bill, on 15 May 2026. The legislation establishes a new subchapter applying to life captive reinsurance companies and introduces a series of changes intended to keep Iowa competitive with other captive jurisdictions. The updated law takes effect on 1 July 2026. Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen says: "This legislation ensures our captive statute remains cutting-edge and consistent with the most established captive jurisdictions, while also drawing on Iowa's existing expertise in life insurance regulation." Iowa enacted its core captive insurance framework in 2023 through Iowa Code Chapter 521J Captive Companies. H.F. 2766 builds on that statute with several additions. The legislation creates a new subchapter to establish a regulatory framework for life captive reinsurance companies (LCRCs), based on Iowa Code section 508.33A on limited purpose subsidiary life insurance companies and its associated regulations. An organising company for a life captive reinsurance company need not be domiciled in Iowa. H.F. 2766 also introduces a temporary premium tax waiver to help attract non-life captive insurance companies to redomesticate to Iowa. It allows special purpose captives to be formed as a reciprocal insurer, reduces the minimum capital and surplus required for a protected cell captive company to US$100,000, and permits protected cells to be formed as LLCs or series LLCs. The law further clarifies that a captive insurer may use parametric insurance and addresses tax confidentiality on returns filed by captives. Jeff Wilson, captive director at the Iowa Insurance Division, says: "Iowa is seeking to widen its footprint as an onshore U.S. captive domicile by focusing on quality and discipline." He adds: "By creating a dedicated framework for life captive reinsurance and reducing capital requirements for protected cells, we are providing the flexibility businesses need to manage risk while maintaining the non-negotiable standards of solvency and governance that Iowa is known for."
