Guernsey has long been established as a leading jurisdiction for
insurance business; having been providing captive expertise for
almost 40 years – Guernsey recently retained its title of
European Captive Domicile of the year at the UK Captive Services
Awards, defeating Dublin, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Luxembourg and
Malta, and is the fourth largest captive domicile in the world.
However, what is notable is the surge in alternative risk transfer
business being structured through Guernsey, particularly utilising
insurance-linked securities ("ILS") and
insurance transformers.
Alternative risk transfer ("ART")
uses methods other than traditional insurance and reinsurance to
provide risk bearing entities with protection, mostly through the
involvement of capital markets investors. ART therefore usually
involves convergence of investment and insurance expertise, which
is why it is not surprising that Guernsey has seen such an increase
in these transactions, with its
