Non Life Insurance (including Captive Insurance)

Non Life Insurance

The Island’s non life insurance sector is predominantly made up of class 12 insurers (including captives) and associated specialist insurance management companies, ranging from subsidiaries of the major international insurance broking and risk management organisations to local operations.

Third party direct commercial writers and providers of insurance to individuals make up a relatively small portion of the non-life market on the Isle of Man.

The Isle of Man Financial Services Authority (“the Authority”) is charged with the regulation of the insurance sector.

Non life insurance companies carrying out insurance business in or from the Isle of Man are required to be authorised under the Insurance Act 2008.

The Insurance Act 2008 seeks to ensure that senior management and controlling parties of insurance businesses are fit and proper, and that the entities are soundly and prudently managed (including being financially sound).

For a list of entities regulated under the Insurance Act 2008, please click here.

Class 12 Insurers (including Captives)

As defined by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, a captive insurer is “an insurance or reinsurance entity created and owned, directly or indirectly, by one or more industrial, commercial or financial entities, the purpose of which is to provide insurance or reinsurance cover for risks of the entity or entities to which it belongs, or for entities connected to those entities and only a small part if any of its risk exposure is related to providing insurance or reinsurance to other parties ‘Captive’ insurers are insurers”

Captives in the Island fall within class 12 authorisation and their executive management is usually, though not always, outsourced to a specialised insurance manager registered with the Authority.

Class 12 may be summarised as a class of insurance authorisation to which a reduced level of regulation is applied. Class 12 is described in regulation 3(3) of the Insurance Regulations 2021 (definition of classes of insurance) as “Restricted”, meaning in general terms that a class 12 insurer can only—

(a) insure (or reinsure underlying direct insured) parties which, at the time of contracting, are any of the following—

(i) related to the insurer (its related parties), or its former related parties if cover corresponds to a time when they were related;

(ii) employees, directors and other officers of the insurer’s related parties (and their close family members);

(iii) other parties working for or on behalf of the insurer’s related parties where the related parties are liable in respect of such work; or

(iv) other parties connected to the insurer or its group—

A. that are sophisticated and have provided informed consent; or

B. where the insurance involved is de-minimis to the insurer’s other business; or

(b) reinsure any other business ceded to it by qualifying ceding/retroceding insurer.

The Isle of Man is recognised as being one of the leading centres from which to operate captive insurance business and has a strong reputation for attracting high quality business of that type. The Island offers a broad range of captive management services, including representatives of the world’s leading captive management groups. Captives have become an integral part of the risk management strategy of many large companies, and continue to offer one of the most effective and widely used mechanisms for risk treatment.