Long reads

Although there are signs that property pricing is softening in the commercial market, the line is still one of the main drivers behind growing captive utilisation around the world.

Despite indications of a softening global insurance market, captives are expected to continue to be a popular tool for those companies looking for substitutes for the traditional insurance market.

Although Hawaii has not added the same headline number of new captives in recent years compared to some other US domiciles, its existing portfolio continues to increase in sophistication and premium volume.

Although having a limited direct impact on captives, the recent CrowdStrike incident will likely lead to more companies assessing the possibility of utilising their captives to write cyber risk.

Confidence is growing that Abu Dhabi can position itself as a strong domicile choice for existing and prospective captive owners in the region and further afield, with several applications in the pipeline.

As the United States presidential election approaches on Tuesday 5 November, captive owners and consultants should be mindful of what implications different outcomes would have for the industry and captive strategies.

Captives are enhancing their use of claims technology, often provided by expert claims companies, as a means of reducing the number and cost of claims, as well as increasing the speed of handling.

With overnight borrowing rates anticipated to come down this year, captives may be advised to alter their investment strategies and invest in intermediate maturity, high quality fixed-income sectors to maximise returns from a changing fiscal environment.