Revealed: World Domicile Update
From: Captive Review, April 20, 2017

The statistics are in. Captive Review forecasts there are 6,618 active captives around the world at year-end 2016.  This number includes cell companies and series cores, but not individual cells or series.

Fifty-five domiciles, from Vermont and Singapore to Switzerland and Puerto Rico, took part in this year’s World Domicile Update, sponsored by Liptz & Associates, which breaks down new formation and surrendered licence activity by region and type.

There were 616 new licences issued during 2016, while 407 licences were surrendered during the calendar year. This means there was a net increase of 209 captives around the world.

Not surprisingly, the United States dominated formation activity contributing 78% of new licences.  The Bermuda & Caribbean region was the only one, however, to report more formations in 2016, than in 2015.

The full World Domicile Update will feature in the May edition of Captive Review, available online from Friday, 21 April, but below are some standout findings.

  • 6,618 active captives at 31 December, 2016
  • 49% of active captives are domiciled in North America
  • 77% of active captives are single parent
  • 616 new captives licensed in 2016
  • North Carolina, Delaware, Utah and Tennessee contributed 58% of the United States’ 478 new captive formations
  • European domiciles licensed 22 new captives, but 43 licences were surrendered in the region
  • 407 captive licences were surrendered in 2016

Richard Cutcher, editor of Captive Review, said: “Collecting statistics in a consistent format from domiciles around the world remains a challenge.  Comparing like-for-like is difficult as not every jurisdiction defines what a single parent, group or other captive type is in the same way, while some domiciles decline, or are not able, to break their numbers down in such detail.

“However, I believe that our 2016 analysis is our most accurate yet and should provide captive owners and consultants with a true reflection of the state of the market.  The total cell number in this report remains vastly underestimated as some jurisdictions are currently unable to provide this data.”