Montpelier, Vt. – Governor Phil Scott today announced that the State of Vermont was named the International Domicile of the Year by the European Captive Review. The award is given to the top captive insurance domicile in the world outside of the European Union that has outperformed competitors and demonstrated excellence in servicing the European captive insurance marketplace.
“This award is a testament to our captives expertise and our top notch regulatory team keeping pace with the changing needs of the international market,” said Governor Phil Scott. “We will continue to grow our network and provide a world-class environment for these businesses to thrive.”
Vermont received the recognition at a virtual awards ceremony hosted in late November by the Captive Review Magazine, a trade journal headquartered in London. Other finalists included the State of Delaware and Labuan IBFC (Malaysia). Earlier this fall, Vermont won two other prestigious awards: The inaugural Domicile of the Year award from the Captive International publication and the Domicile of the Year Award for a record seventh year in a row by the Captive Review. Vermont regulators, captive owners and professionals also dominated the “Power 50” and “Ones to Watch” selections released by the Captive Review earlier this year.
“It’s because of the decades-long foundational work that has been done in Vermont that we are able to focus on expanding our international presence,” said Captive Insurance Economic Development Director Brittany Nevins.
Vermont is the third largest domicile in the world with a total of 1,197 licensed to date and 38 new captives licensed this year. Fifty are domiciled captives with European parent companies and 10 with international companies outside of the European Union. Vermont continues to lead the U.S. captive marketplace in number of captives, gross written premium ($25.4 billion in 2019) and assets under management ($212 billion in 2019) and remains the industry leader in the number of Risk Retention Groups (RRGs).
“With just over 10% of our captives based abroad, working with international companies is not something new for us,” said Deputy Commissioner of Captive Insurance Dave Provost. “We are just as committed to serving international markets as we are our own.”
In September, the State of Vermont partnered with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) to host the first international trade mission with Mexico (conducted virtually) to discuss the specific needs of the Mexican market and the benefits of Vermont as a domicile.
“We plan to continue to work with the state to plan trade missions and educational outreach to raise awareness about the captive industry and the benefits Vermont has to offer,” said VCIA President Rich Smith.
For more information about the Vermont captive insurance industry, please visit www.vermontcaptive.com or contact Brittany Nevins at 802-398-5192 or Brittany.Nevins@vermont.gov.