Mr. Crouse was interviewed at the Vermont Captive Insurance Association annual conference here. According to his figures, last year the total number of Vermont-based captive insurers was 70. The total number of captives licensed in Vermont is 640.

Derek White, director of captive insurance for Vermont, added that last year at this time the department had licensed 26 captives.

After a spate of medical malpractice captives and risk retention groups formed last year, the trend is once again "back to basics," Mr. Crouse said. He added that more pure captives are being formed for general liability, auto liability and workers' compensation coverages.

Though finding fronting companies for captives has been a consistent problem, Mr. Crouse said even that doesn't seem to have slowed things down, though the price tag is up.

"Are the fronts there?" he asked. "You can get [fronting] if you want to pay for it."

Mr. Crouse added that the captive department has hired two new examiners, which makes a total of 20 on staff. He said an administrative position also is being filled.

Mr. White said the two new examiners is a big plus for the domicile. "Most states contract out examiners," he noted. "Having the examiners on staff means more efficiency and less expense for new captives."

He said it typically takes two staff members a week to process a new captive in Vermont, whereas "anywhere else it might take a month."

Clayton Ingram, director of business development, alternative risk transfer services for the South Carolina Department of Insurance, said the three-year-old domicile, which licensed 32 captives in 2002, so far this year has licensed 20 "good, solid captives."

He said a group of about 60 captive owners and providers are so enthusiastic they have formed an ad-hoc captive group which meets monthly in Charleston, S.C. The captive department also has established a presence in Charleston with an office. Several captive providers have set up shop there as well, including Meeting Street Management and USA Risk Group.