View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2020/01/22/556091.htm
The North Carolina Department of Insurance Captive Insurance Program continued its steady growth in 2019, according to a statement from NCDOI.
As of Dec. 31, 2019, NCDOI had licensed (including provisional) 318 captive insurers and approved (including conditional) 592 cells and series, the department said. There were 682 risk-bearing captive insurance entities under the regulation of NCDOI by the end of 2019, including 235 active captive insurers and 447 active cells or series. In 2019, the NCDOI licensed 26 new captive insurers and approved 61 new cells.
The 235 captive insurers were comprised of the following:
Since Jan. 1 of this year, the NCDOI has licensed two pure captive insurers and approved two cells. Also, three additional license applications and one new cell business plan are under review for approval.
The captive insurance company program celebrated its sixth anniversary in October 2019 following the 2013 enactment of the North Carolina Captive Insurance Act, which is legislation that provides for the formation and operation of captive insurers in the state, NCDOI said.
Captive insurance is a form of self-insurance through which a business may form its own insurance company to insure its risks. Potential benefits of captive insurance include reduced insurance costs, stabilized pricing, customization of policy terms and conditions to meet the needs of business, and the ability to obtain coverage that is not readily available or is too costly in the commercial market.
The licenses granted to captive insurers domiciled in North Carolina are both new insurer formations as well as the transfer of other captive insurers. The insurers are primarily writing property and casualty lines of business, but a growing number of captive insurers are providing medical stop loss coverage.
The NCDOI recently announced that the Fortune 500 company, W.R. Berkley Corp., formed a captive insurer in North Carolina to support the group medical stop loss program of Berkley Accident and Health.