North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey announced that 2020 proved to be another highly successful year for the Department of Insurance’s captive insurance program. The number of risk- bearing captive entities licensed or approved (including conditional licenses and approvals) since inception through year-end 2020 exceeded the 1000 milestone rising to 1,081.
“I am thrilled that NCDOI’s captive insurance program continues to draw companies from around the nation – even the world,” said Commissioner Causey. “This division is made up of highly skilled analysts who consistently provide top-notch customer service that, combined with the state’s business-friendly legislation, make North Carolina a welcoming state to call home.”
During 2020, the program was also recognized for its achievements. It received the honor of “Captive Domicile of the Year” from Captive Review and “Highly Commended” from Captive International’s US Awards.
As of Dec. 31, 2020, 795 risk bearing captive insurance entities were under the regulation of the NCDOI, comprised of 250 captive insurance companies and 545 cells and series (including conditional licenses and approvals). Also, in 2020, 47 captive insurance companies were licensed and 126 cells and series were approved.
As of year-end 2020, licensed captive insurers were comprised of the following:
Pure captive insurers: 185 Protected cell captive insurers: 36 Risk retention groups: 7 Special purpose captive insurers: 22All indications signify that 2021 will be another year of growth for North Carolina’s captive insurance industry. Since Jan. 1, the NCDOI has already licensed one captive insurer with six more captive insurer applications under review. In addition, six cells and series have received the NCDOI’s approval while 13 additional cells and series are under review.
The licenses granted by the state were for both new insurer formations as well as the transfer of other captive insurers to North Carolina from other captive domiciles. These newly licensed captive insurers are primarily writing property and casualty lines of business, including but not limited to tenant liability, general liability, professional liability, commercial automobile liability, and workers compensation.
However, as in the past few years, the growth of captive insurers obtaining licenses to provide medical stop loss coverage continues. It was recently announced that BevCap Management formed a new medical stop loss captive, HatterasRe, LTD in the state in 2020.
To learn more about the state’s captive insurance program, Commissioner Mike Causey, Chief Deputy Commissioner Michelle Osborne, and the entire NCDOI captive regulatory team will be participating in the upcoming North Carolina Captive Insurance Association Conference Aug. 29 – Sept. 1. It will be held at the Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club in Durham, N.C. Registration information for this event will soon be available on the association’s website North Carolina Captive Insurance Association (nccia.org).
For more information, contact Senior Deputy Commissioner Debbie Walker at Debbie.Walker@ncdoi.gov. or visit www.nccaptives.com.