Industry Mourns Passing of Janet Grace, Connecticut Captive Regulator

Janet Grace, the top captive insurance regulator for the Connecticut Insurance Department, died last week after a long illness.

Ms. Grace, 60, died after a 6-year battle with metastatic breast cancer. Ms. Grace, who oversaw Connecticut's captive insurance unit since 2016, was well known and highly respected in the captive field.

In the Captive.com captive domicile profile of Connecticut written prior to her passing, Ms. Grace was applauded for her knowledge of captive issues. In the profile, Pam Ferrandino, vice president—national market engagement with Gallagher Bassett in Essex, Connecticut, said Ms. Grace "is one of the best captive regulators in the country. She has a deep working knowledge of the industry, along with great creativity."

Ms. Grace began her tenure as a captive insurance regulator after working as a consultant for Towers Watson and as a senior underwriter with the Hartford Insurance Company. During her time with the Connecticut Insurance Department, the state enjoyed significant growth as a captive domicile.

In 2016, Connecticut had just 10 captives and captive premium volume of just under $300 million. Last year, Connecticut had 17 captives generating $5.6 billion in premium volume.

Several well-known and large corporations, including media giant Thomson Reuters and health insurer Aetna Inc., have set up captives in Connecticut.

A successor to fill Ms. Grace's position in the Connecticut Insurance Department has not yet been named. A spokesman for the Connecticut Insurance Department said, "We have succession planning in place and will continue our work with stakeholders in the captive marketplace in Connecticut."