Aon has established its first captive in France, supporting petroleum, gas and chemicals company Rubis Energie receiving a licence for a reinsurance captive from the French regulator.
Agro-industrial group Avril has also received a reinsurance captive licence from the ACPR, taking the number of active captives in France to 16.
Captive Intelligence has reported extensively on activity in France for the past year, after the government introduced a regulatory framework for captives that includes an equalisation reserve.
There have now been six captives licensed in France this year, and Captive Intelligence understands a seventh is expected to be approved before year-end.
RD3A, owned by Rubis Energie, is the first captive established and managed in France by Aon and means Aon, Marsh, 2RS and Strategic Risk Solutions are now all working with French-domiciled captives.
RD3A and Avril Re both received licences from the ACPR on 8 December, with the decisions published in France’s legal journal today, 15 December.
Chantiers de l’Atlantique and France’s Professional Football League received reinsurance licences from ACPR in August and July respectively, while Limagrain and Naval Group formed their reinsurance captives in June.
Oliver Wild, president of the French risk management association Amrae, told the Global Captive Podcast in July that the country has the opportunity to build a whole captive ecosystem now its new regulatory regime is in place.
“The major achievement is through this change we have been able to allow organisations, companies to take their own destiny in their own hands effectively, and take more control of how they manage risk and how they anticipate and prepare for negative events,” Wild said.
“The outcome is in line with what you can find elsewhere, so it means that France is now a competitive domicile compared to other countries. We have a true opportunity in that market. I expect that whole ecosystem to develop strongly in France.”