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Regulatory Press Release: GAO Directed to Enforce RRG Rights.

"In the wake of Kansas Representative Dennis Moore's order to the Government Accountability Office to investigate the obstruction of the federal rights of risk retention groups to conduct business, The Towner Management Group is hopeful that states will soon regulate RRGs uniformly..." [To full story]

Meet Vermont Governor Jim Douglas at VCIA!

Governor Douglas will join delegates in the exhibit hall from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 11, in the Vermont booth. Immediately following he'll open the General Session with remarks at 10:00 a.m. Our friends in the State of Vermont look forward to seeing you there.

Member News: Camelback Appoints Justin C. Mead Executive Vice President.

"Camelback Captive Services, Inc., an industry leader in captive insurance consulting and management services, is pleased to announce the appointment of Justin C. Mead as Executive Vice President. Justin will be responsible for business development of the firm’s captive management services..." [Download full article]

Our congratulations to Justin and everybody at Camelback on this terrific news.

More taxation concerns, this time from a European perspective: CEA voices concerns over US affiliated reinsurance tax proposals. "The CEA has today written to the US House of Representatives to express its concerns over proposals to change the US tax treatment of reinsurance between affiliated entities..." [To full story]

Editor's note: This story is also covered in today's edition of Captive Daily Wire™

Commentary on Open Letter to Sen. Carl Levin shared with captive.com by Michael R. Mead, CPCU, President, M.R. Mead & Company, Inc.; published with permission:

"Thanks for publishing this very informative letter. I congratulate Cayman Finance for putting forth a cogent, direct and thorough response to the wrong headed movement by some US insurers and legislators. This should be required reading for every US Congressman and Senator. I know that I will be encouraging mine to do so."

"An Open Letter to Sen. Carl Levin" from Anthony Travers, O.B.E., Chairman, Cayman Finance.

"...Your Support for the group callling itself 'Business and Investors Against Tax Haven Abuse' necessitates this response. Your endorsement of that organization's recent report well might lend credibility to statements that are in error and recommendations that are misguided..." [Download full letter]

Mancini's Musings: This is a concise, brilliant explanation of free-market principles surrounding taxation of multi-national corporations that should be required reading for every American -- especially the elites in government, media, and education. This was reported in Politico, but I have not seen it reported in any other media outlet. Your comments would be most welcome. Should you choose to comment, please be sure to let me know if you would like your opinion published. E-mail Chris Mancini.

A.M. Best Press Release: A.M. Best to Host Webinar: A Guide to Understanding A.M. Best Captive Ratings.

"A.M. Best Co. will present a webinar titled, “A Guide to Understanding A.M. Best Captive Ratings,” on Wednesday, August 25, 2010, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT. Registration for the event is free online at www.ambest.com/captiveratings10..." [Download full story]

Domicile News from Guernsey:

• Lord Mayor of London endorses Guernsey. "The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Nick Anstee, has endorsed Guernsey as an International Finance Centre (IFC) during his visit to the Island this week..." [To full story]
• UK debate shows ‘growing understanding’ of small IFCs. "Yesterday’s discussion in Westminster Hall on ‘Offshore Financial Centres’ highlights a growing understanding among UK MPs of small International Finance Centres (IFCs), according to Peter Niven, Chief Executive of Guernsey Finance..." [To full story]
  

While updating our News/Library's Newsletters page, we realized that we missed posting the most recent edition of the popular Artex Extra newsletter. While the summer edition is still in process, you can now download the February 2010 newsletter.

The lead article in this issue is entitled, "Twenty Ten: Between a Rock and a Soft Place." Also covered in this issue are the following articles: Artex Acquires Champlain Captive Management; 831(b) Micro Captives, including a welcome to Brian Flinchum who will be the Artex 831(b) Micro-Captives expert; Staff Guard: New Guaranteed Cost Program for Temp Staffing; Expanded Expertise for Warehousing Risks; and a 60-second seminar on the captive feasibility study. [Take me to the newsletters page now!]

Super Early Bird Pricing for the upcoming CIC-DC 9th annual conference scheduled for October 18-19 will expire after July 31st, so don't delay! Here's the early-bird pricing:

• Member - $495
• Member Add'l (same member company) - $295
• Non-Member - $695

Use this link to learn more about this event, and to register.

Association/Regulatory News: SIIA Supports Federal Study Examining State Regulation of Risk Retention Groups.

"The Self-Insurance Institute of America, Inc. (SIIA) applauded today’s directive by Rep. Dennis Moore (D-KS) to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that it investigate abuses of federally sanctioned risk retention groups (RRGs) by some state insurance regulators..." [To full story]

Highlights for the July issue of the Captive Insurance Company Reports are available today on the Captive Headlines and the IRMI index page in the News/Library.

The July issue leads with "Security Analysis Made Easier and Better." After detailing the problems insolvency of a fronting insurer can have on captives, the article then discusses how and why rating agencies differ.

View the full summary of what's in this issue on the IRMI publications page in the captive.com store. From that page, you will find a sample issue of CICR to browse, and we make it easy for you to order this mission-critical publication from IRMI on captive.com's secure server. Order CICR direct from IRMI on captive.com's secure server!

A new career opportunity was posted today by Specialty Risk Services, LLC, (SRS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Hartford Financial Services Group. The position is entitled Alternative Markets - Business Development Manager, Western Division. SRS is seeking an Account Sales Executive to provide marketing and sales support in the Alternative Markets, Captives, Programs, Associations and Business Process Outsourcing spaces.

Learn more about this opportunity and the application process on the Positions Available page in the captive.com Career Opportunities area.

Domicile News: Vermont's Captive Sector Strong In 2010. 17 New Captives Licensed As State Closes In On 900.

"The State of Vermont's captive insurance sector has had a good first half of 2010, licensing 17 new captive insurance companies as the state approaches the 900-license milestone, officials said..." [To full article]

Well-deserved congratulations to all in VT on their continued impressive growth. For a historical perspective on Vermont's growth, see their year-end 2009 report.