Governor Phil Scott has signed new legislation, Bill H.76, into law, making several updates to Vermont’s captive insurance law on 8 May. Bill H.76’s updates to statutes include improving the confidentiality of company information and increasing funding for the Vermont Captive Insurance Division’s operations. The new bill aligns the statute with the information collected when a new company applies for a licence and updates the language for how the confidentiality of the information collected is handled. It extends to approved amendments or revisions to a company’s information and its plan of operation. Other sections of the bill include updates to references, amendments to enable electronic records to be used as an acceptable form of record retention, and changes to protected cell naming conventions to be inclusive of all business types. The legislation also includes support for an appropriate level of funding for the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) Captive Insurance Division. This funding will enable regulatory staffing and resources to improve the environment captive insurance companies operate in. Kevin Mead, president of Vermont Captive Insurance Association, comments: “We are grateful to work once again with Vermont’s regulators and lawmakers in improving the legislation to better reflect the changing needs of captive insurance companies and keep pace with the tremendous growth of this industry.”
