By Elise Linscott
Nevada’s Captive Insurance Program is on the rise. It outperformed growth and speed expectations by approving 26 captives in 2014, resulting in a captive premium increase of $3.8 billion over the previous year, according to the state’s Department of Insurance (DOI).
Nevada now has 160 domestic captive insurers, more than ever before in the history of Nevada’s captive insurance program. Overall, the state has an $11.9 billion insurance industry marketplace.
There are 2,166 admitted carriers in Nevada, and of these, 184 are domiciled in Nevada, and 133 of these companies are Captives, according to a fact sheet from the DOI. (Speculatively, the discrepancy from the 133 captives as stated above from the aforementioned current 160 captives may be from old data.)
According to the DOI, Nevada ranks fourth in the nation as a domicile for captive insurers. The DOI attributes the state’s “business-friendly” policies, including its no personal or corporate tax structure. The state also offers a tax credit of up to $5,000 applicable for the captive’s first year of acquiring a Certificate of Authority.
Employment in Nevada’s insurance industry has been slowly yet steadily growing in recent years. From 2012 to 2013, insurance carriers and related activities employment in the state grew by nearly 100 employees. From 2011 to 2012, that number grew by nearly 5,000 employees, according to a document by the Insurance Information Institute.
Nevada continues to offer a rapid, thorough application approval process, and pure captive application fees will continue to remain at $1,050. Nevada also offers some of the best regulatory options for captive formations including series LLC’s and segregated cell captive programs. This fact, combined with Nevada’s nation-leading program support, will continue to make Nevada one of the country’s largest and most popular captive insurance domiciles, according to the DOI.
Nevada has licensed more than 200 captive insurers since the inception of its captive insurance program in 1999, and is one of the country’s oldest captive domiciles.
