Reinsurance Focus

With January comes the new sessions of most state legislatures. We have been reviewing the new bills filed in the state legislatures relating to reinsurance. There is one clear trend: many state legislators wish to provide for the creation and regulation of captive insurance/reinsurance companies in their states, or to amend existing rules relating to captives. While it is, of course, impossible to predict how many of the filed bills will be enacted into law, here is a sampling of the captive bills filed so far:

• Arizona: HB 2294 (adding new provisions relating to captives);
• Connecticut: Bill 58 (formation and licensing of captives) and Bill 60 (establishing a captive insurance division within the Insurance Department) (the full text of these bills is not available as of this posting);
• Hawaii: HB 272 (allowing captives to be formed as limited liability companies, specifying minimum capital and surplus requirements and increasing investment flexibility);
• Indiana: HB 1417 (specifying the requirements for a captive to do business in Indiana, imposing fees and premium taxes and establishing a captive insurer trust fund);
• Missouri: SB 215 (amending the existing statutes to add 25 new sections relating to the regulation of captives – bill summary);
• Montana: SB 161 (broad revision of statutory regulation of captives);
• Nebraska: LB 121 (Captives Insurers Act);
• New Jersey: SB 1444 (broad regulation of captives); and
• West Virginia: SB 93 (adding three new sections relating to captives).