Swiss Re said its preliminary sigma estimates surrounding global economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in the first half of 2018 were $36 billion. According to Swiss Re, this figure is well below the 10-year average of $125 billion in economic losses.

The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The MOU is designed to help insurance supervisors in the United States and the Cayman Islands coordinate on regulatory issues with the goal of efficient, fair, safe, and stable insurance markets.

The latest risk appetite survey from Willis Towers Watson confirmed that risk appetite is increasingly central to insurers' business decisions. The survey found that, more and more, insurers are using reinsurance for earnings protection and volatility reduction.

Atlanta-based Captive Alternatives is number 2,971 on "Inc." magazine's 37th annual Inc. 5000, which ranks the nation's fastest-growing private companies. This is the second time Captive Alternatives appears on the Inc. 5000, with 3-year revenue growth of 137 percent.

Microsoft Corporation's Arizona captive insurance company will pay more than $875,000 for unpaid premium taxes and interest and penalties, ending a cease-and- desist order issued in May by State of Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler.

Bruce Wright of Eversheds Sutherland explains the Dodd-Frank legislation and direct placement taxes. Direct placement taxes (direct procurement taxes) apply to surplus lines placements as well as placements with any nonadmitted company, such as a captive insurer. The "home state" controls where the payment of this tax is concerned.

At the Vermont captive conference, David Provost, Vermont's deputy commissioner of captive insurance, encouraged captive insurers who want to see changes in captive insurance company statutes to contact their captive regulators. He also said some state regulators are speaking of captive premium as a nice target for tax revenue.

According to Karin Landry, a managing partner with Spring Consulting Group LLC in Boston, after captive insurance companies are set up, their parents should periodically review the risks their captives are covering. At a minimum, this assessment should be every 5 years and, in some cases, more frequently.

This primer for captive insurers on the concept of risk-based capital (RBC) describes the four basic components of RBC and how the components fit together to arrive at the ultimate ratio.

The Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) has recommended to the European Commission that companies should report nonfinancial matters such as environmental and social performance as a regular business process and that reporting risks connected with nonfinancial elements should be aligned with the organization's objectives.