Captive Growth Continues in the North Carolina Domicile

In its newly released year-end report, the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI) provides additional information about the domicile's 2019 captive insurance company growth.

As earlier reported, North Carolina licensed 26 new captives last year, bringing the total number of captive insurers to 235, with an additional 447 active cell or series captives.

Of those 235 captives, 178 are single-parent captives, 29 are protected cell captives, 20 are special-purpose captives, and 8 are risk retention groups, the NCDOI said.

Those new captive formations include a protected cell captive set up by W.R. Berkley Corporation, a big Greenwich, Connecticut-based insurer.

North Carolina's captive growth is continuing. Since the start of 2020, the NCDOI has licensed two single-parent captives and approved two cells, while several captive applications are under review.

"The 2019 results and the great start to 2020 for the North Carolina captive insurance program reflect the benefits of forming a captive insurer in our state," said North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey. "The reasonable and prudent regulation by the NC Department of Insurance and our customer-service oriented regulatory team are just two of the reasons that businessowners are making North Carolina their captive insurers' home." 

"We are pleased with the continuing growth. We believe, based on pending applications, that 2020 will be another strong year," added Tom Adams, president of the North Carolina Captive Insurance Association in Southern Pines, North Carolina.

While North Carolina's captives primarily write property-casualty coverages, a growing number of captives are providing medical stop-loss coverage, the NCDOI said.

North Carolina is not only one of the youngest captive domiciles—in 2013, state lawmakers passed legislation allowing the formation of captives—it also is one of the fastest growing. As recently as 2014, North Carolina had just 52 captives.

More information about North Carolina's captive insurance program will be offered at the North Carolina Captive Insurance Association annual conference, which will be held May 13–15 at the Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club in Durham, North Carolina.