While the captive industry is undeniably dominated by US
domiciles and their neighbouring offshore competitors, the small
island of Guernsey still stands toe-to-toe with the biggest names
in the business, writes Stephen Durham of Captive Insurance
Times.
Much is made of the fact that Guernsey is the lone European
representative in many of the 'top 10 captive domicile'
lists in recent years, but less is known of the reasons why. What
can be argued as chief among these reasons is the island's
propensity to embrace new forms of business—namely, the
industry's financial instrument du jour, insurance-linked
securities (ILS).
"As well as continuing to attract traditional captive
companies, a significant proportion of the Island's new
business relates to ILS. This business is particularly pleasing as
it combines the expertise of the island's insurance managers
with those of its legal, banking, and investment sectors,"
says managing associate at Mourant Ozannes, Helen
