Captives Pouring Into Vermont

By Caroline McDonald

NU Online News Service, April 4, 1:14 p.m. EST?Vermont has set a record for number of captives licensed by the state during the first quarter, according to a state official.

Leonard Crouse, director of captive insurance for the Vermont Department of Banking Insurance and Securities, reported that as interest in alternative markets has soared, Vermont has licensed 15 captives in the past three months. The second highest number was 13 in first quarter of 1988, he said.

"It's been phenomenal," Mr. Crouse said. "The quality of the business is really impressive. We've got some Fortune 10s, 50s and 100s here."

All the new captives are pure captives except for one risk retention group, he said. "We've got names here like Disney, U.S. BankCorp, Abbot Labs, MGM Mirage Hotel and the Tribune Company in Chicago. It's been nice."

For the whole of last year, he said, the state had licensed only one captive in the first quarter, seven in the second, twelve in the third and 18 in the fourth, for a total of 38. "And this year we're starting with 15, so who knows where the year could end."

Mr. Crouse said eight more captives are currently in the process of being licensed by the state. "It's all good stuff," he said.

Vermont, the largest U.S. captive domicile, totaled 361 captives in 2001, according to Best's Captive Directory. Internationally, Bermuda was the leader with 1,564 licensed captives, Cayman Islands had 517 and Guernsey had 375.

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