CARES Captive Formation Highlights Iowa's Growing Captive Insurance Program

CARES Captive Insurance Company was registered by United Agent Group on April 14, 2026, with its registered office in Des Moines, Iowa. Jeff Wilson, captive insurance director at the Iowa Insurance Division, discusses the company's decision to establish its captive in Iowa, the development of the state's captive framework, and the division's plans for sustainable growth.

What factors made Iowa a natural domicile for CARES Captive Insurance Company?

The parent company of CARES Captive Insurance Company is an Iowa-based organization, so there was a natural connection to establishing its captive here. We are grateful that CARES chose Iowa and placed its confidence in our emerging captive program. From a regulatory perspective, we believe there is real value in an Iowa organization being able to domicile its captive in its home state, where it can have direct access to regulators who understand the local business environment. At the same time, we recognize that domicile decisions are business decisions, and Iowa must earn that business. Our goal is to provide a regulatory environment that is responsive, collaborative, and practical while maintaining the strong regulatory standards expected of an insurance domicile.

What types of organizations and captive structures are showing interest in Iowa?

We have been encouraged by the level of interest in Iowa's captive program. As a relatively new domicile, our focus has never been on simply accumulating captive formations. We have taken a deliberate approach centered on quality over quantity and sustainable long-term growth. We are seeing interest from Iowa-based organizations as well as companies and captive professionals outside the state that are beginning to take a closer look at Iowa.

We are particularly encouraged by the conversations we are having with organizations considering pure captives, group captives, and protected cell structures. We are also seeing interest in redomesticating captives to Iowa. These conversations tell us that the market recognizes what we are building. We are grateful for the captive owners, managers, and other professionals who are engaging with us as our domicile develops.

What does Iowa offer captive owners and organizations considering the state as a domicile?

Iowa offers a compelling combination of modern captive law, competitive taxes and fees, regulatory accessibility, and a strong insurance environment. Iowa has a deep insurance tradition, with approximately 200 domestic insurers, and a sophisticated regulatory department that understands complex insurance and financial transactions. We have been able to leverage this historical insurance expertise in the context of captive insurance while recognizing that captive regulation often requires a proportional and flexible approach. Proportional does not mean less regulation but rather more focused regulation.

Collaboration and responsiveness are also very important to us. Captive owners and service providers have direct access to our regulatory team, and we work hard to provide timely answers with clear expectations. We have a goal of reviewing captive applications within 30 days and responding to routine business plan changes much more quickly.

Ultimately, we want Iowa to be known as a domicile that is firm on regulatory outcomes but flexible on structure. We are not interested in lowering regulatory standards to attract business. Instead, we want to understand the risk, understand the organization, and apply regulation proportionately. When you combine that philosophy with Iowa's competitive fee and premium-tax structure and a modern statute, we have a very strong value proposition.

How have the legislative changes that took effect July 1, 2026, expanded Iowa's captive framework?

Iowa's captive law was originally enacted in 2023, and because our program is still relatively young, we have had an opportunity to learn from the market and make meaningful improvements very quickly. Our most significant legislative changes became effective July 1, 2026, and were designed to broaden Iowa's capabilities while maintaining appropriate regulatory safeguards.

Among those changes, we created a dedicated framework for life captive reinsurance companies, enhanced our protected cell provisions, expressly authorized parametric insurance, expanded structural flexibility for certain captive arrangements, and created an incentive for qualifying captives to redomesticate to Iowa. The legislation also gives the commissioner additional flexibility in administering certain filing requirements when circumstances warrant it.

The outcome is a statute that we believe is considerably more versatile and better positioned for the future. Many of these changes grew out of conversations with captive owners, managers, attorneys, actuaries, and other professionals. We want to listen to the market without allowing the market to dictate regulation. Our responsibility as regulators is primary, but we can fulfill that responsibility while also creating an environment where well-managed captive programs can thrive.

How do you plan to develop Iowa's captive insurance program over the coming years?

Our goal is deliberate and sustainable growth. We are proud of the progress we have made in a relatively short period of time, but we recognize that we are still working to establish trust and credibility as a domicile worthy of consideration. We remain focused on earning the confidence of the captive community one formation at a time.

We will continue to promote our captive domicile to Iowa-based businesses, to businesses throughout the Midwest, and nationally among captive owners, managers, and service providers. We also intend to continue listening to captive owners and service professionals throughout the industry. Captive insurance evolves quickly, and a successful domicile must evolve with it. We will continue to evaluate emerging risks, new structures and changes in the broader insurance market while maintaining strong regulatory oversight.

We do not need to be the largest captive domicile to be successful. We want to be known as a domicile that is knowledgeable, accessible, responsive, and consistent. If we continue to do these things well, I believe the growth will follow.