Captive Ratings News: A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Queen City Assurance, Inc.

"A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a” of Queen City Assurance Inc. (Queen City) (Burlington, VT). The outlook for both ratings is stable..." [Full story]

Domicile End-of-Year Recap: Hawai'i Domicile Industry Reaches Record High Number of Captives.

"Hawai'i's Captive Insurance Domicile reached a record high in 2011. The domicile reached 172 captives. Hawai'i gained 10 new captives in a broad range of lines. The domicile saw five captives close, giving the domicile a net gain of five last year..." [Full story]

Microinsurance Network: 10 Years On.

"When 16 experts first sat down in early 2002 to form the CGAP Working Group on Microinsurance, none of them could have imagined what would be achieved 10 years on. The participants of this meeting realised the need for an exchange and learning platform to ensure microinsurance fulfils its potential. The platform, renamed the Microinsurance Network, now has over 60 institutional members representing around 200 experts in fifteen different working and discussion groups..." [Full story]

News from IRMI: New Second Edition of Captive Practices and Procedures Book Provides More Insight into Captive Insurance Best Practices.

Member News: Global broker survey finds insurance buyers concerned about cost and availability of suitable coverage as natural hazard and supply chain risks loom.

"As risk managers and financial executives in various parts of the world renew their commercial property insurance programs, many have significant concerns about the availability and pricing of coverage as well as managing risk with fewer resources and reduced budgets.  These issues are especially challenging for firms with large natural hazard and supply chain exposures..." [Download full story]

There are just a few more days until the 21st Annual World Captive Forum Conference & Exhibition in Miami, Florida, so if you haven't already registered, just do it! We look forward to seeing many of you there, in conference seminars, at networking sessions, or in our booth. Stop by to say hello! Ah, warm Florida....that sure sounds good right now!

Captive.com Member News: "Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings Ltd. (RQIH) is pleased to announce the formation of R&Q Quest Management Services USA, LLC (R&Q Quest USA) as a Captive Consulting and Management Firm to complement the Group’s captive management operations in Bermuda, Gibraltar and Norway.  RQIH’s captive management operations rank in the top ten captive managers worldwide.

"Richard P. Marshall has been named President and Justin Mead, Senior Vice President, both of who come with many years of experience in the captive industry, most recently with Camelback Captive Services, Inc. which has moved its operations into R&Q Quest USA.  They and their associates will continue to operate from their current locations in Phoenix and Chicago." [Download full details]

Congratulations and best wishes to to our friends at the former Camelback Captive Services, Inc. and R&Q Quest!

Captive Ratings News: A.M. Best Assigns Ratings to Instituto Nacional de Seguros

"A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” to Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS) (Costa Rica). The outlook assigned to both ratings is stable..." [Download full story]

We love to keep our readers on top of recent captive conference. Today, captive.com's own John Salisbury gives us the inside scoop on the Inaugural Tennessee Captive Insurance Association (TCIA) Conference. Download Inaugural TCIA Conference Plays to Rave Reviews -- A Symphony of History, Regulatory Progress, and Music in printable format now! We will maintain a link to this article on the News/Library Article Index.

Captive Ratings News: A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of PMG Assurance Ltd.

End of Year Captive Results from Utah: Utah - a Destination for Captive Insurers.

"The year 2011 has been a record breaker for the Utah Insurance Department’s Captive Division. The year concluded with the licensure of 69 new captive insurance companies. This number bested that of 2007 when the Division licensed 63 new captives..." [Download full story]

Captive Ratings News: A.M. Best Affirms Ratings to Pathfinder Insurance Company.

"A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of B++ (Good) and issuer credit rating of “bbb” of Pathfinder Insurance Company (Pathfinder) (Denver, CO). The outlook for both ratings is stable..." [Download full story]

Captive Domicile News: New Jersey Finishes 2011 with Three Captive Insurance Companies Including a Re-domestication.

"New Jersey finished 2011 with its third captive insurance company and first re-domestication. The state’s captive insurance law went into effect midyear. After one of the United States’ largest insurance companies formed the first captive in the state in July, captive regulators approved a re-domestication of a captive insurance company owned by the largest terminal operator and stevedore in the United States..." [Download full story]

A.M. Best News: A.M. Best Sets Webinar Examining the Increasing Number of Impaired U.S. Insurance Organizations.

[Also see February 2 posting and links for this event on the Conference Calendar]

"A.M. Best Co. research shows that 2011 saw a surprising surge in recorded impaired U.S. insurance organizations, including risk retention groups, captive insurers, property/casualty writers and other risk carriers..." [Full story]

The second 2012 edition of Richard Klumpp's popular blog -- Captive Insurance Brief -- is ready and waiting for your visit. Today's entry is entitled, "Nine Steps to Forming and Launching a Mini-Captive."

Rich begins, "Although much has been written about creating and launching a mini-captive, there are a number of steps common to all. A review of these steps can help you determine if a mini-captive is right for your firm and, if so, what needs to be done to make it a reality. These include..."

The newly-updated and very popular CICR Index 1988 through December 2011 in searchable PDF is now available from all IRMI pages in the News/Library.

International Risk Management Institute (IRMI) is adding a research analyst position to their editorial team. Learn about this career opportunity and many more on the Positions Available page.

Domicile News: Guernsey sees 50%+ rise in insurance licenses issued.

"...Fiona Le Poidevin, Deputy Chief Executive of Guernsey Finance – the promotional agency for the Island’s finance industry, said: 'The latest figures show that there have been far more licenses issued during 2011 than the immediately preceding years and this is across the range of entities from conventional captive insurance companies, PCCs [Protected Cell Companies], ICCs [Incorporated Cell Companies] and in particular, PCC and ICC cells'..." [Download full story, including full captive license stats]

Artex has just launched their brand new website! The new site is easy to navigate and features all of Artex's updated corporate information, brochures, newsletters, articles and webinars and white papers. Visit now! 

We also want to announce Artex's next webinar entitled Introduction to Captives, scheduled for Thursday February 23, 2:00 (EDT), This event, featuring Kevin Heffernan, Senior Vice President and leader of Artex's Captive Strategy, will provide an overview of captive concepts, basic structures and the typical uses of captives. Register here.

A.M. Best Captive Ratings News:

• 1/16: A.M. Best Assigns Ratings to Vine Court Assurance Incorporated. "A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a” to Vine Court Assurance Incorporated (Vine Court) (Burlington, VT). The outlook assigned to both ratings is stable..."
• 1/13: A.M. Best Downgrades Ratings of BancInsure Inc. "A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to B (Fair) from B++ (Good) and the issuer credit rating to “bb” from “bbb” of BancInsure Inc. (BancInsure) (Oklahoma City, OK). The outlook for both ratings is negative..."

11:05 p.m., Eastern Time, Legislative Update: Florida captive insurance legislation H 379 (2012) - Captive Insurance - HOUSE - CS/CS by- Economic Affairs Committee; YEAS 15 NAYS 0 http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2012/379

Kentucky Captive Association News:

• Kentucky Captive Growth Continues in 2011. "Kentucky has grown to 137 captives as of December 31, 2011 up from 127 the year before. Kentucky activated 18 new captive licenses and saw 10 licenses go inactive. The inactive licenses were the result of merger - 1, redomestication - 2 and winding up - 5..." [Download full story]
  
  
• Winslow Hale, ARM named Executive Director Kentucky Captive Association. "I am pleased to announce Mr. Winslow Hale is joining the Kentucky Captive Association as Executive Director. With 137 captives domiciled in KY as of December 31, 2012, the Association continues to evolve to serve its constituency..." [Download full story]

Association News: THE VERMONT CAPTIVE INSURANCE ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES NEW DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT

"The Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) is pleased to announce that Janice Valgoi of Essex, Vermont has been selected as VCIA's new Director of Membership and Development..." [Full story]

The posted Positions Available page remains a popular place, with yet another attractive captive industry position having been posted today by Intuitive Captive Solutions, who is seeking candidates with expertise in 831(b) structures. Have a look at the details for a "Captive Sales Professional--VP" as well as other opportunities on this page.

Legislative News: Florida H 379 (2012) - Captive Insurance - was read for the 1st time yesterday. http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2012/379

Captive Industry News: MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL INDEPENDENT CAPTIVE MANAGEMENT FIRM CONTINUES EXPANSION.

"Simon Owen, Principal of Folio Insurance Management has announced the appointment of Helen Janes to their BVI office to assist in the further growth of their Eastern Caribbean practice, incorporating the BVI, Anguilla and Nevis..." [Full story]

The Captive Insurance Company Reports, published by IRMI, is a mission-critical publication for all captive professionals. You'll see why this is so in their January Highlights. Everybody in our industry is looking ahead to 2012, which makes this month's feature article -- "Insurance Issues and Outlook: 2012" -- valuable indeed.  That is by no means all you'll find in the January CICR! See a summary of other articles in this edition, then order CICR direct from IRMI on captive.com's secure server!

Captive Insurance Company Reports highlights are found on the Captive Headlines and the IRMI index pages in the News/Library.

Risk Retention Reporter is an essential publication for anybody with an interest in risk retention groups, so we have made it easy for you to order this publication and more from a variety of publishers, all from our secure server. [Take me to Captive Headlines]

Two captive industry positions were posted on the Positions Available page today:

• Accountant in either Burlington or Berlin, Vermont (USA Risk Group); and
• Senior Account Manager to assist in opening a new Strategic Risk Solutions (SRS) office in Tennessee

Keeping track: Those of us in the captive industry who remember Lee Stacey, will love to hear about where he landed after leaving Willis! Congratulations, Lee!

Member Company News: Kane completes phase one of HIM integration. Additional capital is raised to fund further growth and expansion.

"Kane, the largest global independent insurance manager, is pleased to announce it has completed the first phase of its integration of HSBC Insurance Management (HIM), which it acquired on 1 June 2011. Following this key acquisition Kane has grown to become the fourth-largest captive insurance manager globally and the largest that is independent of a global broking business..." [Download full story]

The Bermuda insurance market is in the news this morning. We share these words from David Fox, "Prime movers in the convergence of insurance and capital markets have continued to find the Bermuda insurance market a prime place to deploy capital. Just released figures by the Bermuda Monetary Authority show a surge in new Bermuda insurers and a growing trend of using Bermuda market vehicles for the securitization of risk." [Follow this link for more information on this topic, published in the Royal Gazette Online.] 

Florida's proposed captive legislation was introduced to both the House (H 379) and Senate (SB 610) today - January 10th. Captive.com sends its thanks to Chris Kramer for sharing this news with us. Here is the link to a downloadable copy of the proposed bill.

The lead article begins, "One of the fastest growing sectors of the captive insurance industry in the past few years has been among 831(b) captives or “micro” captives. What exactly is an 831(b) captive and why have they become so popular? In this newsletter we take a look at this sector and highlight some of the pros, cons and pitfalls around these captives..." [Take me to the Newsletters page now!]

Tennessee is on the move! We just added links to the Tennessee Insurance Division - Captive Insurance pages to the Domicile Information page. In this easy-to-navigate website, you'll find rules, databased searchable/downloadable captive laws, forms, contacts, and a wealth of information that will answer all the questions you might need if you are considering a captive in Tennessee.

For today, here is the direct link. For longer-term reference, visit the US Fast links section of the Domicile Information page at captive.com. Captive.com thanks our friends at Wilmington Trust for sponsoring this very high-maintenance, busy page.

The 2011 Natural Catastrophe Year in Review Webinar, presented by Munich Re and the Insurance Information Institute on January 4, 2012, is now available for viewing. You can view the recorded presentation here.

With most of us back behind our desks in the aftermath of the holiday season, here are two articles -- both relevant to regulatory provisions in the Dodd-Frank legislation -- that we think you will enjoy. Links to these articles and more may be found on the Article Index page in the captive.com News/Library

• First, in the afterglow of a terrific Cayman Captive Forum, Chris Mancini decided to torment you yet again with another of her Mancini's Musings, this time with an in-depth report on an outstanding seminar given by Tracy D. Williams, an insurance tax lawyer from Sidley Austin LLP. Download Revealing Right Answers Means Asking Right Questions: Will the NRRA Provision of the Dodd-Frank Reform Act Affect My Captive? The topic is weighty, so the article is somewhat lengthy. We hope you will enjoy it!
  
  
• A second timely article, shared with us by our friends at Risk Retention Reporter, was written by Steve Kinion, Director of the Bureau for Captive and Financial Insurance Products, Delaware Department of Insurance, originally written for the December 2011 Edition of Risk Retention Reporter entitled, "Corporate Governance Standards for Risk Retention Groups: State Expertise vs. Federal Inexperience -- Fixing What Is Not Broken."

[For your convenience, you can subscribe all Risk Retention Reporter publications online from captive.com's secure server!] Also, be sure to visit the Risk Retention Reporter website at www.rrr.com.

On Feb. 15, VCIA will present an afternoon of complimentary captive insurance education at their first "VCIA's Strategic Advantages of Captives" seminar. The location is St. Louis, MO. Registration is required. More details and links are available from the Conference Calendar,

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