State of Tennessee Full Speed Ahead on Captive Insurance
The great State of Tennessee has significant growth ambitions for the captive insurance industry in the state. Since revamping its captive insurance laws in the Summer of 2011, the state has added 10 new captive insurance companies. Governor Bill Haslam spoke at the Tennessee Captive Insurance Association (TCIA) conference in Nashville, Tennessee on Wednesday, December 4, and he said he has given the Department of Commerce and Insurance the goal of 30 captives domiciled in Tennessee by the end of 2013.
Governor Haslam made it clear that he believes a thriving captive insurance industry is good for Tennessee, its businesses and Tennessee workers. The governor emphasized the importance of freeing up business capital to enable businesses to grow and make investments in Tennessee. The Governor pointed to captive insurance as a means for Tennessee businesses to reduce the impact of rising insurance costs, increasing regulation and rising taxes to their bottom line. This will, in turn, yield more business capital (wealth) in Tennessee businesses that can be invested to grow and create more jobs.
CIC Services attended the TCIA conference this week in Nashville as part of our on-going efforts to stay abreast of trends in the industry. Clearly, captive insurance is a growing industry, and the positive stance of our state officials is encouraging. TCIA was formed in the Summer of 2011 and already has 60 members in Dec 2012. The conference was quite well attended for a second annual conference with 130 attendees.
Governor Haslam was later followed by Julie McPeak, the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. Julie noted that the state has expanded the Captive Insurance Division and appointed Michael Corbett to be Director of the Department. In addition to staffing up the department to manage growth, Commissioner McPeak noted that her department is pro-business and prepared to efficiently process and approve captive insurance applications – “with proper paperwork, captive approval in Tennessee takes a week or less.” At the conference, Commissioner Julie McPeak and Director Michael Corbett both emphasized their willingness to work to continue changing captive rules and regulations to be increasingly favorable and easy for businesses in Tennessee. It is encouraging to see our state taking a proactive and positive view of the captive insurance industry and its value to Tennessee businesses and the state at large.
Clear Theme from the TCIA Conference
Almost all speakers at the conference touched on one or more of the following trends that impact businesses and business owners.
- Insurance Costs Are Expected to Increase
- Regulations and Their Associated costs to Businesses Are Expected to Increase
- Taxes Are Expected to Increase
A captive insurance company can be leveraged to reduce the impact of all 3.
Captive Insurance by the Numbers:
6,000 – Approximate number of captive insurance companies in existence
36 – Number of states that now domicile captives
60 – Number of members in the Tennessee Captive Insurance Association (TCIA)
10 – Number of captives currently domiciled in Tennessee
30 – Governor Haslam’s goal for captives domiciled in Tennessee by the end of 2013
Call us to discuss whether or not a captive insurance company or additional captive insurance company is the right move for your business.
Sincerely,
Tom King
Phone – 865- 386-4920
E-Mail – Tom@CICServicesLLC.com
Web – www.CICServicesLLC.com