Marsh 2026 Benchmarking Report Highlights Continued Captive Growth

Despite softening commercial insurance market conditions, captive insurance utilization continued to expand in 2025, according to Marsh's Captive Solutions 2026 Benchmarking Report. The report found that Marsh-managed captives wrote $79.1 billion in gross written premium (GWP) during the year, while Fortune 500 companies increased captive premium volume by 9 percent, indicating continued growth among organizations using captives as long-term risk financing tools.

According to Marsh, captive adoption remains concentrated among several major industries, including financial institutions, health care, retail and wholesale, automotive, communications, media and technology, energy, manufacturing, aviation and aerospace, food and beverage, and transportation. The report also highlighted significant year-over-year premium growth in the chemical sector, which increased 127 percent, and the education sector, which increased 98 percent, demonstrating captive utilization across a broad range of industries.

Single-parent captives remained the dominant structure among Marsh-managed programs, accounting for approximately 75 percent of risk retention vehicles. However, Marsh said alternative structures continued to gain momentum, including risk retention groups and cell captives. The report noted that protected-cell programs within Marsh's Mangrove facility increased 14 percent by number and 47 percent by premium volume, reflecting continued interest in structures that offer speed to market and operational flexibility.

The captive domicile landscape also continued to evolve. According to the report, premium managed by Marsh was evenly split between offshore and onshore captive domiciles in 2025, reflecting what the firm described as a rebalancing of available options. Captive activity increased across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific, while jurisdictions such as France and the United Kingdom have advanced captive frameworks in recent years, expanding the range of domicile choices available to captive owners.

Captives also continued to diversify the risks they finance. Marsh reported that the most frequently written lines by newly formed captives in 2025 were property, excess and auto liability, workers compensation, cyber liability, errors and omissions, and employment practices liability. Per the report, notable premium growth was also recorded in trade credit, cyber liability, errors and omissions, political risk, intellectual property, and environmental coverages.

Reinsurance remained an important component of captive insurance strategies. More than one-third of Marsh-managed single-parent captives participated in some form of reinsurance activity during 2025, according to the report. Marsh-managed captives ceded $11.5 billion to the reinsurance market during the year, while interest in structured reinsurance arrangements involving captives also continued to grow.

The report identified continued expansion in third-party business written through captives. Captives writing third-party risks generated $4.4 billion in premium during 2025 and averaged $51 million in premium per program. According to Marsh, common third-party risks included extended warranties, contractor and vendor property and casualty exposures, and travel protection products, with travel insurance premium increasing 52 percent year over year.

Alternative risk solutions also gained traction. Marsh reported a 10 percent increase in alternative risk programs during 2025, including aggregate stop-loss arrangements and structured multiline reinsurance programs designed to reduce volatility. Interest in parametric insurance solutions continued to grow as well, particularly for weather-related risks. Employee benefits programs funded through captives also recorded double-digit growth, according to the report.

Marsh's benchmarking data further examined how captive programs evolve over time. Newly established Marsh-managed captives wrote an average of $1.1 million in premium and generally covered 1 or 2 lines of business. As programs mature, owners often expand into additional coverages, increase retained risk, and incorporate emerging risks, employee benefits, reinsurance strategies, and third-party business. According to Marsh, single-parent captives averaged 4 lines of coverage and $9.1 million in GWP, while larger entities averaged 7 lines.

In its conclusion, Marsh stated that captives continue to evolve as strategic risk financing vehicles rather than serving solely as responses to fluctuations in commercial insurance markets. The report found that organizations are increasingly using captives to support broader risk management and financial objectives while addressing both traditional and emerging risks.