Two new studies have reaffirmed Guernsey's position as the leading captive insurance centre in Europe and among the top four in the world.
Research over the last couple of years has shown Guernsey as home to more captive insurance companies than anywhere else in Europe and the fourth largest player in the world.
A new survey from weekly trade publication Business Insurance reasserts this position and while the latest research from fellow monthly insurance title Captive Review also has Guernsey first in Europe, it ranks the Island as third in the world.
"This is extremely positive news. The key message we can take from both of these surveys is that Guernsey remains the leading captive insurance centre in Europe and right up in the top tier with the very best globally," said Peter Niven, Chief Executive of Guernsey Finance.
"We have built a reputation for expertise and innovation but it also shows that there is strong competition so we cannot rest on our laurels."
The Business Insurance rankings are based on the number of licensed captives at the end of 2009.
Leading the way is Bermuda (885), followed by the Cayman Islands (780), Vermont (560) and then Guernsey (355) as the first of the European domiciles, with the British Virgin Islands (285) completing the top five in the world.
The second of the European jurisdictions – and sixth in the world – is Luxembourg (251), followed by the Isle of Man (145), Dublin (114), Switzerland (42), Gibraltar (17), Malta (9) and Jersey (3).
The Business Insurance research also shows that Aon Insurance Managers in Guernsey was the third largest manager by domicile, with 214 captives at the end of 2008. At the head of the field were Marsh-Captive Solutions in Bermuda (473) and then Aon Insurance Managers in Bermuda (252).
The Captive Review rankings are based on the full range of international insurance entities, including Protected Cell Companies (PCCs), Incorporated Cell Companies (ICCs) and their related cells. In addition, it takes into account the captive premium and assets under management within the captives. As a result of the different methodology, Captive Review maintains the same top five but places Guernsey in third and Vermont in fourth.
Captive Review says: "Guernsey is the undisputed king of the cell captive world. It may not have the most but it introduced both the protected cell company (PCC) and incorporated cell company (ICC) concepts to the world and set the template for other jurisdictions to copy.
"It's therefore a toss-up for third place in the global domicile listings between Guernsey and Vermont. Vermont undoubtedly has the greater number of single-parent, group and other large captive structures but....it is exceeded by Guernsey in sheer captive numbers by the latter's volume of cells. Vermont writes more captive premium but Guernsey's captives have a greater asset value."
Note:
Information taken from Business Insurance, 8 March 2010 and Captive Review, December 2009.
For more information about Guernsey's finance industry please visit www.guernseyfinance.com.
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