Captive Intelligence

AM Best has affirmed the financial strength rating of A (excellent) and the long-term issuer credit rating of “a” (excellent) of Vermont-domiciled National Guaranty Insurance Company of Vermont (NGIC). The outlook of these credit ratings is stable. NGIC is the captive of Illinois-domiciled Waste Management, Inc., a leading provider of waste management environmental services in North America.

The global benefits market has welcomed the Prudential Regulation Authority’s (PRA) inclusion of employee benefits in its first proposals for a UK captive regime. The regulator published extensive draft rules on 14 July with explicit mention of permitting captives to write employee benefits on a reinsurance basis only.

AM Best has affirmed the financial strength rating of A (excellent) and the long-term issuer credit rating of “a+” (excellent) of Vermont-domiciled Blue Whale Re Ltd. The outlook of these credit ratings is stable. Blue Whale’s is the only captive for New York-domiciled Pfizer Inc., a global pharmaceutical company.

Hawaii has enacted Senate Bill 2043, which modernises Hawaii’s captive examination framework while still preserving robust regulatory oversight. Governor Josh Green signed the bill into law on 14 July 2026. Subscribe to Ci Premium to continue reading Captive Intelligence provides high-value information, industry analysis, exclusive interviews and business intelligence tools to professionals in the captive insurance market.

Blackwell Captive Solutions is targeting between 15 and 20 members for its new medical stop-loss captive by the end of the year, said Scott Byrne, president of Blackwell Captive Solutions. The captive will be available to cannabis operators in 24 states plus Washington DC where both medical and recreational cannabis use are legal, as well as in an additional 16 states where cannabis is legal for medical use only.

The initial reaction to the first proposals for a UK captive regime has been positive from industry experts, although further clarification is already requested in areas such as tax, employee benefits and re-domiciliation procedures. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) published its draft proposals on 14 July and launched the next stage of consultation which will close on 14 October.

Key takeaways Employee benefits and compulsory lines to be permitted on reinsurance basis PRA targeting authorisation timeline of 4-6 weeks Minimum capital requirement set at £100,000 Consultation responses required by 14 October The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has outlined its draft regulations for captive insurers in the United Kingdom, including a new “proportionate and tailored” solvency regime outside of Solvency UK.

Mercer Marsh Benefits has appointed Arnau Vila Llavina as its new multinational leader, focusing on expanding global capabilities and deepening insurer and network partnerships. Vila joins from Zurich where he was head of Zurich Global Employee Benefits Solutions (ZGEBS). Subscribe to Ci Premium to continue reading Captive Intelligence provides high-value information, industry analysis, exclusive interviews and business intelligence tools to professionals in the captive insurance market.

The number of individual members of group captives domiciled in Cayman increased from 9,963 at the end of 2024 to 11,838 at the end of 2025. At the end of 2025, there were 139 active group captives and that had already risen to 142 by the first quarter of 2026, demonstrating the continued growth in group captives and its appeal to a broadening range of clients.

Erin Brosnihan, Kensington Management Group James Trundle, Global Captive Management In this GCP Short, produced in partnership with ⁠IMAC⁠ – the Insurance Managers Association of Cayman – we focus on the booming group captive business and the domicile’s very established specialism in this area.