CICA: Interest In Domestic Captives Up

By Caroline McDonald

NU Online News Service, Aug. 16, 3:52 p.m.EDT?Captive insurance business professionals indicatedthey are most likely to form a captive insurer onshore thanoffshore, according to a poll conducted by an industryassociation.[@@]

The Captive Insurance Companies Association said in a statementthat it asked in an online poll: "In the next 12 months do youanticipate forming a new captive?"

Of the field of respondents, 92 percent responded yes, with 52percent indicating they plan to form their new captivedomestically.

The poll found that 28 percent plan to form a captive outsidethe United States, while 12 percent have not yet decided on adomicile. Eight percent said they do not plan to form a new captivewithin the next year.

The poll, located at www.cicaworld.com, is the latest of aseries of online surveys geared to professionals in the captiveinsurance industry, according to CICA. Previous topics includetrends in the amount of litigation involving captives and return oninvested assets with captives.

The three largest U.S. domiciles are Vermont, which licensed 77captives in 2003; South Carolina, which licensed 37 captives in2003; and Hawaii, which ended the year with 23 new captives(NU March 15, 2004).

Bermuda remains the world's largest captive domicile with 89licensed in 2003 and 1,157 captives overall.