From: Captive International
Some key new developments can be seen in the European captive insurance market including interest from new regulators, according to a panel session entitled “View from across the pond” at the 2024 CICA conference.
The panel included Hamish Champion business development lead at Aon and a member of the Guernsey International Insurance Association, and UDO Kappes, head of insurance RWE AG, and chair of the European Captive Insurance and Reinsurance Owners’ Association (ECIROA).
He said that ECIROA is trying to educate a number of European regulators, currently without appropriate regulation for captives, about their merits. There are still some regulatory queries around captives that are getting addressed, he said.
Kappes said that, after years of little growth and no new domiciles in Europe, things are changing. France is seeing the most interest, and that this might be a trailblazer. It is having some serious conversations about creating captives.
Once regulators feel more comfortable with captives, a wider range of captives could be created or even move to France, the panel agreed.
However, although the UK, Spain and Italy also showing interest, Kappes suggested France is ahead of those countries in terms of real legislation. Despite that he added the caveat that this could change quite quickly if other regulators move fast.