Captivating Proposals: QFC Proposals On Captives And Managers

Pursuant to the recent shift in the Qatar Financial Centre's ("QFC") strategic focus toward becoming a captive insurance hub for the region, the QFC Regulatory Authority ("QFCRA") in early April 2011 issued two consultation papers.  The consultation papers set out the proposed draft rules in respect of captive insurance companies, draft regulations for captive insurance management, and proposed reforms to the insurance intermediary regime in the QFC.  In formulating the consultation papers, the QFCRA has conducted a review of other international jurisdictions to identify currently employed accepted practices and regulations.  Each consultation paper also set out the reasoning of the QFCRA in respect of its proposals, followed by questions designed to evoke responses from market stakeholders.  This article focuses on the proposed changes to the captive regime.  A further update will follow shortly looking at the proposed new intermediary regime.