Vermont Sees Growth in Number of Captive Insurers

Seventeen new captive insurers formed in Vermont through the first half of the year, a rate that puts the state on pace to have one of the best years in its history in terms of new captives.

Last year the state saw licensed 39 new captives, marking sixth best year in its 29-year history.

This year’s new captive insurance companies include 15 “pure” captives — four of which are special purpose financial captives — and two risk retention groups, according to data released by the Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration (BISHCA).

“This is a very encouraging sign at a time when the national economy’s outlook is still unknown,” said Sandy Bigglestone, director of Captive Insurance at BISHCA. “Quality companies like Procter and Gamble; PricewaterhouseCoopers; Crowe Horwath; and Towers Watson & Co. still see the value of establishing a captive as an integral part of their risk management regardless of uncertain market conditions.”

Professional services, insurance companies, construction, and health care continue to be growth sectors as shown by the newly formed captives for 2010. “We have seen a lot of interest by hospital groups seeking a captive for their professional medical liabilities and by smaller and mid-cap companies,” said David Provost, deputy commissioner of Captive Insurance. “I expect this trend to continue.”

With 895 captive licenses, Vermont is the largest captive insurance domicile in the U.S. and the third-largest in the world, with an excess of $77 billion in gross written premium in 2009. Forty-two of the companies that make up the Fortune 100 and 18 of the companies that make up the Dow 30 have Vermont captives.

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Source: BISHCA