Process and regulatory changes developed in partnership with the Delaware Captive Insurance Association

Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro and the Delaware Captive Insurance Association (DCIA) are proud to announce a series of process and regulatory improvements intended to ensure Delaware remains a top domicile for businesses seeking to form captive insurance companies. The news was shared at DCIA’s Fall Forum last week, the premier event for industry leaders.

“As global leaders in captive insurance, we recognize that we must continue to explore improvement, innovation, and industry insight,” said Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro. “This industry is an important economic engine in our state, and I look forward to continuing to foster its expansion.”

After robust stakeholder engagement, the department issued Captive Bulletin No. 14, which outlines the Bureau of Captive & Financial Insurance Products’ requirements for captives formed to write corporate “Side A” directors’ and officers’ (D&O) coverage for Delaware corporations. This progress was made possible by the passage of SB 203 (2022). It is expected that this will help companies access more affordable coverage and increase Side A D&O capacity.

The department also issued revised Captive Bulletin No. 12, adopting a more flexible approach for certain captive applicant’s capitalization requirements, including allowing use of brokerage accounts in certain circumstances. Additionally capital and surplus requirements have been recalibrated to place more emphasis on consulting actuaries’ adverse case projections.

Several process changes are anticipated to improve approval timelines and speed to market. Unless otherwise noticed, review of initial application filings will decrease from a goal of 45 days to 30 days. Conditional licensure applications typically see a significant spike toward the end of the year. Moving forward, those applications received after November 1 each year will be reviewed within 80 days of submission. All routine requests for approvals, such as dividends, business plan changes, statutory dormancy, and changes in approved service providers, will now be reviewed within ten days of receipt. Additionally, captives will now be able to seek contingent Bureau approval for actions requiring Board approval or ratification.

Michael Teichman, President of the Delaware Captive Insurance Association, said “Delaware has been a top global captive domicile since revamping its captive insurance statute almost 18 years ago. While we believe Delaware continues to have much to offer, we recognize other domiciles are not standing still, and we cannot rest on our laurels. Over the past year we have enjoyed the opportunity to work with Commissioner Navarro and Bureau Director Stephen Taylor to develop these helpful and timely domicile improvements.”

Captive insurance companies are owned by the entities that they insure and are usually formed by businesses to better manage the cost and administration of their insurance coverage. Delaware is the world’s fifth largest and the third largest U.S. captive domicile. It is one of four global domiciles recognized by the International Center for Captive Insurance Education as ICCIE Trained. To learn more, visit captive.delaware.gov.

The Delaware Captive Insurance Association is a Delaware non-stock not-for-profit corporation formed in 2005 to serve as the unified voice of the captive insurance industry in Delaware and to support the development and growth of the industry through marketing, networking, education, and legislative initiatives.