The Delaware Department of Insurance licensed 117 new captive insurance companies last year, according to its year-end figures.
Of the 117 new captives licensed, 53 were captive insurance companies, 63 were series captive insurance companies and one was a cell captive.
In 2017, Delaware dissolved,47 captives and 90 series captives, totaling 137 captives, meaning as of 31 December 2017 there were 1004 active captives domiciled in Delaware.
Steve Kinion, director of the bureau of captive and financial insurance products at the Delaware Department of Insurance, said: “It was a good year, maybe not as many applications as we’ve had in the past but on a comparative basis to other domiciles we had a good number of applications.”
According to Kinion, a vital part of the domicile’s continued success is the close relationship between the Department of Insurance and the Delaware Captive Insurance Association (DCIA).
He explained: “If you don’t understand the industry then you can’t effectively regulate it and that’s why it is exceptionally important to have a collaborative relationship with the captive insurance industry, primarily through the DCIA.”
“They understand our needs but it works both ways, if you’re regulated then you must understand regulation as well.”
He added: “We are going to continue in what we are doing in terms of improving captive law and we’ll continue our advocacy on behalf of the industry—it has been a recipe for success in the past and there is no reason to change.”
Kinion also praised Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro for his assistance to the domicile’s captive industry.
He said: “He has been very supportive of the captive insurance programme and is one of the reasons we have been so successful.”