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What is a Captive?
A captive insurance company is a closely held insurance
company that is owned and controlled by its insureds.
A captive is an insurance company licensed under the laws
of its domicile, many of whom have specific
regulations applying to captives. Generally a captive does
not qualify as an admitted insurer in any US state.
There are approximately 5,000 captives worldwide. Collectively captive insurance companies have net
written premium in excess of $50 billion, capital and surplus
of more than $100 billion and total invested assets of
more than $225 billion.
Captive insurance companies vary according to:
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The number of owners: single parent versus group.
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Legal structure: captives formed by groups of
owners in particular can take a number of different
legal forms including, stock, mutual insurance
company, and reciprocal insurer
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Source of capital: rent-a-captive and sponsored
captives allow insureds to create a captive program
using a third party's risk capital.
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Scope of risks underwritten: many captives have
expanded their focus from the property and
casualty risks of their owners to include employee
benefits and/or the risks of third parties.
These differences in captive structures are discussed in
the types of captive section of the SRS Guide to Captives.
The SRS Guide to Captives contains
historical information that may no longer be accurate. It
is for informational purposes only and does
not constitute advice. No
reliance should be placed on the information contained
within this portion of the site and guidance should be
sought from SRS regarding captives and alternative risk
solutions. No information contained in the SRS Guide to
Captives
may be reproduced or copied in any format without the
express permission of SRS. |
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