VCIA conference: one moment of clarity
The US State of Vermont's lone member of the US House of Representatives, Congressman Peter Welch, told attendees of the Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) conference that he is trying to get the Dodd-Frank Act clarified for the benefit of the captive insurance industry.
In a keynote speech, Welch said that captive insurance is a “big contributor to the Vermont economy and gives good clean jobs”. He said that it is important that captives are not “squeezed inappropriately by Dodd-Frank”, so he is pushing for an amendment to be made that will clarify the act. Dan Towle of the State of Vermont's Department of Economic Development and Richard Smith of VCIA expressed their concerns about Dodd-Frank's Non-admitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA) in a press conference. “Part of concern is whether it applies to captives, but we're educating people about it,” said Smith, and Towle added: “We don't believe it applies to captives, nor should it apply." Towle went on to discuss Vermont's captive numbers. He said that the state has more than 500 active captives, and 14 new ones have been licensed this year. He said: “We think the market is really heating up.” In another keynote speech, economist Dr David Kelly of J.P. Morgan Funds described the state of the US economy. He said that, despite what most people think, the US economy has been growing for the last two years, but the growth has been slow. “US economic expansion is continuing and slowing, but it isn't stalling,” he explained. Kelly used an analogy to describe the US economy. He likened it to an aeroplane that has left the terminal, but is stuck on the runway, waiting for its turn to take off. He said: “The economy isn't in danger of stalling if it never left the ground.” He added that it is difficult for the country's key industries, such as housing, to crash if they have not recovered from the last recession.