DOVER, DE  – The Delaware Department of Insurance has commenced a nationwide search for a new director for its Bureau of Captive Insurance & Financial Products. The job has been posted as an exempt position and the new director will be appointed by the Insurance Commissioner. The new director will be a full-time state employee. The current director, Steve Kinion, has guided the bureau for the last 8 years as it has grown from under 100 captive insurance entities to just over 1,000. Commissioner Navarro stated that he appreciates the leadership Mr. Kinion has provided, but has decided to use the administration transition as an opportunity to restructure the position for a permanent resident state employee. Regarding the search, Commissioner Navarro issued the following statement:

“Captive insurance is an important economic asset to our state. Delaware currently ranks as the third largest domicile in the United States and the fifth largest in the world. The new director will be responsible for working to build on these achievements as I remain committed to growing and strengthening Delaware’s bureau and the State as a leader in captive insurance. I am looking forward to the bureau’s new direction. I will also work with legislators and the Delaware Captive Insurance Association to select the most qualified person for the job.”

The director of the Bureau of Captive Insurance & Financial Products is responsible for regulating Delaware-domiciled captive insurance entities. He/she will oversee the daily operations of the office, articulate the bureau’s goals and objectives, and ensure a stable and competitive environment for captive insurance. Qualified applicants should have knowledge of captive insurance principles and regulations and be able to promote Delaware as an attractive domicile for captive insurance companies. The possession of a Juris Doctorate is required.

For a complete listing of qualifications and responsibilities, please refer to the posting at https://www.jobaps.com/DE/SUP/BulPreview.asp?R1=022017&R2=MUAF43&R3=120300

###

Contact:  Vince Ryan

Office: (302) 674-7303

Mobile: (302) 387-7670

Email: vince.ryan@delaware.gov

Delaware Nominated as Non-European Union Domicile of the Year

The World’s Fifth Largest Captive Insurance Domicile Continues its Leadership Role

DOVER, DE – Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart announced today that Delaware’s captive insurance bureau was nominated as the non-EU domicile of the year for the European Captive Service Awards.  The awards commend and reward those who have outperformed their competitors and peers and demonstrated the highest levels of excellence in the captive insurance industry over a 12 month period. The awards ceremony will be held in Luxembourg on Monday, November 7, just prior to the start of the European Captive Forum.

“One reason for Delaware’s nomination is that it has the most multi-lingual captive staff in the United States.  Our staff includes French, German, Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, and Spanish speakers. Our ability to be multi-lingual means that we can communicate in a global environment,” said Commissioner Stewart. Delaware also allows captive insurers to present their financial statements on an International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) basis.  Approximately 120 nations and reporting jurisdictions permit or require IFRS for domestic listed companies. When a foreign (non-US) firm creates a captive in Delaware, it can use IFRS as its accounting standard. This allows the firm to accomplish two important tasks.  First, it can present the captive’s financial statements using the same accounting standard as the home country parent and affiliated companies. Second, it allows a captive’s parent to use a single company-wide accounting language. This avoids the expense of converting the Delaware domiciled captive’s financial statements from a US accounting standard to IFRS.

“I am very pleased that the captive program continues to attain global recognition.  This program brings the world to Delaware by providing economic growth opportunities for the First State” said Commissioner Stewart.

Along with Delaware, the other nominees are Bermuda, Cayman, Guernsey, and Vermont.

For more information about the Department’s Bureau of Captive & Financial Insurance Products, visit http://captive.delawareinsurance.gov/  or call 302.577.5281.

###

For more information: Jerry Grant 302-674-7303

DOVER, DE — Delaware Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart has issued a bulletin which provides guidance to make it easier for captive insurers to comply with the new requirements within the federal Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act.  Captive Insurance Bulletin No. 6 establishes procedures so that owners of captive insurance companies may satisfy the PATH Act’s new mandates for owning captives.

For tax years after December 31, 2016, the PATH Act will increase the annual premium to $2.2 million that an insurer making the Internal Revenue Code section 831(b) election may receive.  The PATH Act also creates two new provisions affecting these insurers.  The first is how much premium an insurer may derive from a single person and the second is new ownership requirements for these insurers.  Bulletin No. 6 establishes two cost efficient procedures that captive insurance company owners may follow that either change the ownership of an existing captive, or allow for the creation of a new captive.

“I am very proud that my captive insurance staff has established guidance that responds to a change in federal tax laws,” said Stewart. “Delaware’s captive insurance program is known throughout the world as an advocate for the captive insurance industry.  Bulletin No. 6 once again affirms Delaware’s position by offering a timely and efficient regulatory option for captive insurance companies.”

The full text of Captive Insurance Bulletin No. 6 can be found at http://www.delawareinsurance.gov/departments/documents/bulletins/CaptiveInsuranceBulletinNo6.pdf.

###

Commissioner Stewart Hails Director Kinion for Winning “Advocate of the Year” Honors

DOVER, DE –Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart announced today that her captive insurance director, Steve Kinion, was recently selected as the 2016 Captive Insurance Industry Advocate of the Year.  Captive Review magazine recognized Kinion as its inaugural recipient for the award.  Over the past two years, Captive Review has also named Kinion as one of the top five influential people in captive insurance in the magazine’s annual Captive Power 50 rankings.

“When I brought Steve on board as my captive director in 2009, I knew that he had a unique set of skills to help me build and maintain a premier captive insurance program,” said Stewart. “Since then, captive insurance has provided tremendous value for Delaware.”

In August, the University of Delaware released an economic impact study which shows that the Department of Insurance’s captive insurance program contributes nearly $360 million to Delaware’s annual gross domestic product.  The study also found that the captive program directly and indirectly supports 2,537 Delaware jobs, creates almost $109 million in additional income, and generates over $5 million for the state in tax revenue. “I was glad to receive this third-party confirmation that our captive program is having a significant positive effect on Delaware’s economy,” said Stewart.

“I was also proud that captive insurance revenues provided the funding this year for programs that train Delaware’s future doctors and dentists,” Stewart added.  One of five states without an in-state medical or dental school, Delaware annually pays for 25 medical and 5 dental slots with medical and dental schools in Philadelphia so that state residents have the opportunity to become doctors and dentists and return to Delaware to establish their practices. Surplus revenue generated by the captive insurance program was used to fund the Delaware Institute for Medical Education and Research, known as DIMER, and the Delaware Institute for Dental Education and Research, or DIDER, which reserve positions for Delaware students at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and the Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry.

For more information about the Department’s Bureau of Captive & Financial Insurance Products, visit http://captive.delawareinsurance.gov/ or call 302.577.5281.

###

UD Report: Captive Insurance Program Boosts Delaware’s GDP, Jobs, Incomes, Tax Revenue

Commissioner Stewart Celebrates Captive Bureau’s Economic Impact

DOVER, DE –Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart today announced the release of a University of Delaware economic impact study which shows that the Department of Insurance’s captive insurance program contributes nearly $360 million to Delaware’s annual gross domestic product. The captive program also directly and indirectly supports 2,537 Delaware jobs, creates almost $109 million in additional income, and generates over $5 million for the state in tax revenue, the report shows.

The study, The Economic Contributions of the Captive Insurance Industry to the Delaware Economy, was conducted on behalf of the DOI by the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business & Economics’ Center for Applied Business & Economic Research (CABER), which has produced similar economic impact studies for the Firefly Music Festival and Delaware’s horseracing industry.

CABER surveyed 1081captive insurance companies doing business in Delaware and used data from businesses providing services to those companies. The report breaks out the program’s economic impact per $1,000 spent by the DOI for the captive industry. For every $1,000 spent, 1.95 jobs are created, $83,574 in income is generated, and $4,301 in taxes are collected. Captive program spending supports 950 jobs in finance and investment industry, 447 jobs in legal, accounting and professional support, and 209 retail jobs. The complete report may be found at http://captive.delawareinsurance.gov/docs/pdfs/captive-industry-impact-on-de-econ-caber-report-201608.pdf

“I instituted the Bureau of Captive and Financial Insurance Products in 2009 and I’ve watched it grow ever since,” said Commissioner Stewart. “Thanks to my captive director, Steve Kinion, and my topnotch captive staff, we are consistently one of the top captive domiciles in the US and in the world. But until now, I don’t think many people were aware of exactly what we contribute to Delaware’s economy. The CABER report rewards my faith in captives as a revenue generator for our state.”

Captive insurance entities are owned by the companies that they insure, and are generally formed by businesses who wish to better manage the cost and administration of their insurance coverage. DOI’s captive bureau is self-sustaining and currently contributes an annual surplus in tax and fee revenue of over $3 million to the Delaware general fund.

###
For more information please contact Jerry Grant at 302-577-5259
captive.delawareinsurance.gov
www.delawareinsurance.gov