More than 100 insurance industry professionals celebrated a century of captive insurance in Guernsey at a special event hosted by We are Guernsey and the Guernsey International Insurance Association.
Held at the impressive Landing 42 of the City of London’s Leadenhall building, a highlight of the evening was a live podcast recording, with special guest Richard Cutcher of Global Captive Podcast, a long-time friend of We are Guernsey.
He was joined by guests Mark Helyar, of Counsel at Bedell Cristin, Julia Graham, CEO of Airmic and Malcolm Cutts Watson of Cutts Watson Consulting. “This is a truly remarkable landmark for what is possibly the oldest captive jurisdiction in the world,” said Richard.
The first captive registered in Guernsey was in June 1922 by the Commercial Insurance Company Limited (CICL) and listed with the Guernsey Registry as the island’s first ever captive vehicle. Since then, Guernsey has grown into Europe’s number one captive insurance domicile, with more than 300 structures based in the island.
Mark said captives make up an important part of Guernsey’s global reputation as an international financial centre. A component of this success, he added, is a desire by industry to keep improving.
“The key thing is it’s never stopped innovating, with PCCs, ICCs, ILS. The insurance industry doesn’t stop moving. Risk doesn’t stop changing. And we continue to adapt and provide a market for that kind of alternative risk.”
Malcolm added that Guernsey has all the right attributes to make it a jurisdiction of choice for captives. “One thing I see is a great synergy between the captive and the various other financial services sectors like fiduciary, family offices, investment funds, and, and capital markets, and I think Guernsey has got all the right characteristics and attributes to be a natural home for those type of vehicles”, he said.
Julia agreed and added: “When you invest in a captive in Guernsey, I very often hear that it’s a domicile that you can trust. If you want somewhere that you trust and that’s got a mature and proportionate regulatory environment, where you know there’s a stable financial environment, and pool of talent, then Guernsey’s got the lot for me.”
Rupert Pleasant, Chief Executive of We are Guernsey, the island’s promotional agency for the financial services industry, told the audience that Guernsey continues to lead the way in creating innovative solutions to today’s challenges. “Guernsey is home to a specialist, pioneering and highly innovative insurance sector, boasting a position of leadership in the structuring and execution of alternative risk transfer for sophisticated clients.
“Guernsey has also made legislative advancements that have created a regulatory environment which allows for captive’s flexible use. This combination of experience and creativity means Guernsey is leading the way in providing cutting-edge solutions to meet clients’ complex risk transfer needs. The result is an environment perfect for start-ups, state of the art operations and niche providers.”
The main picture shows (left to right), Malcolm Cutts-Watson, Founder and Executive Chairman at Cutts-Watson Consulting Limited, Richard Cutcher, Executive Producer at Global Captive Podcast, Mark Helyar, Of Counsel at Bedell Cristin, Julia Graham CEO at Airmic.
