The State of Hawaiʻi received the 2023 Domicile of the Year Award at the U.S. Captive Review Awards recently held in Burlington, Vermont. Hawaiʻi received the award in the over $5 billion gross written premium category.
In selecting the State of Hawaiʻi, the judges looked for
Excellence in the response of domiciliary regulators to the needs of their captives, either through regulation or other proactive initiatives;
Figures demonstrating growth in the domicile, both in terms of number of captives and growth in premium; and
Innovations introduced that have had a clear positive outcome, ideally backed up by numbers.
“Being recognised as the Captive Insurance Domicile of the Year is an honour for the state’s captive insurance programme. Since its inception as a captive domicile in 1986, the State of Hawaiʻi has consistently provided a flexible, dynamic and stable business environment for captive owners and service providers. Today, Hawaiʻi is recognised as a leading domicile in the United States and the world,” said Governor Josh Green, M.D..
“This award is a testament to the Hawaiʻi Insurance Division and its collaborative industry partners. The Division has more than 35 years of experience in the captive industry and a Captive Branch dedicated solely to the supervision and regulation of captive companies licensed in Hawaiʻi. We have government leaders who are committed to the continued growth and success of attracting and retaining local, national and international business in Hawaiʻi,” said Insurance Commissioner Gordon I. Ito.
Hawaiʻi currently has 263 captive insurance companies from across the U.S. as well as Asia and the Pacific. As of 31 December 2022, Hawaiʻi ranked as the fifth largest U.S. captive domicile and the eighth largest in the world in terms of the number of captive companies licensed. In addition, Hawaiʻi captives had $15.6 billion in written premiums in 2022, an increase of $3.3 billion from the previous year and the largest increase in captive written premiums of any captive domicile globally in 2022. The industry groups include construction and real estate, healthcare, telecommunications and manufacturing, retail, financial services, and transportation and energy.
Other award winners with ties to Hawaiʻi include Paul Shimomoto of Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel, Brown & Brown and Artex Risk Solutions.
Shimomoto was recognised as the Captive Service Professional of the Year, an award given to the leading individual service provider in the United States for his or her contribution to the captive industry. Shimomoto is a partner at Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel and currently serves as President/Director of the Hawaiʻi Captive Insurance Council, a non-profit corporation dedicated to promoting, developing and maintaining a quality captive insurance industry in the State of Hawaiʻi.
Brown & Brown was named Captive Consultant of the Year and Artex Risk Solutions was named Captive Manager of the Year (over $1 billion in gross written premium). Both companies have offices in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi.
Captive insurance is a regulated form of self-insurance formed by companies to better manage their risk and provide an alternative insurance option to corporate insurance.
