North Carolina Top Captive Insurance Regulator Debbie Walker To Retire

Debbie Walker, the long-time top captive insurance company regulator at the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI), will retire at the end of March, the NCDOI has announced.

Ms. Walker, the NCDOI's senior deputy commissioner, worked for the NCDOI for 30 years, including for the last 9 years as a captive regulator whose duties included the licensing and regulation of captives.

"Being able to contribute to the development and growth of the captive insurer regulatory program in North Carolina has been the highlight of my career," Ms. Walker said.

Ms. Walker's accomplishments have been widely recognized.

"Let me say that the energy, attention to detail, and customer service that Debbie demonstrated has been a key to our success as a captive domicile," Tom Adams, president of the North Carolina Captive Insurance Association in Southern Pines, North Carolina, said in a statement.

Ms. Walker "has been a steady and reliable force for effective and even-handed regulation of our nascent world. Her early decisions and her hires for the NCDOI have all proven extremely valuable to our growth as a domicile," Alex Webb, a founding member and former president of North Carolina Captive Insurance Association, said in a statement.

The NCDOI says it intends to name a successor to Ms. Walker by the end of March.

Simultaneous with the announcement of Ms. Walker's upcoming retirement, the NCDOI disclosed that Jackie Obusek, the NCDOI's senior deputy commissioner of the company services group, will assume senior leadership responsibilities for the captive regulatory program.

North Carolina is a major captive insurance domicile. The state licensed 31 new captive insurance companies in 2021, bringing North Carolina's captive count to 257.