LCSWMA forms Vermont’s 1,200th captive

Vermont’s Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) has licensed the state’s 1,200th captive insurance company.

Sustainable Assurance Company was granted a license as a pure captive for Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (LCSWMA) on January 1, 2021. Artex Risk Solutions serves as the captive manager.

LCSWMA collects energy, landfill, transfer station and household hazardous waste and minimises its environmental impact via a portfolio of sustainability projects, some in partnership with the private business sector.

With rising premium costs, combined with a hardening underwriting market, LCSWMA was having difficulty finding property coverage.

Robert Zorbaugh, chief executive officer of LCSWMA, said it had been an easy decision to select its domicile. “Vermont has a rich history, proven experience, and has a great reputation in the industry. We wanted to do it right and partner with the best to make this happen,” he said.

“LCSWMA has now become the first and only authority in Pennsylvania to establish a property insurance captive company and this is something we are very proud of.”

“Vermont licenses captives for top-quality organisations for risk management and risk financing, and regulates them in an appropriate manner, while recognising the special purpose for which they were created,” said David Provost, deputy commissioner of captive insurance at DFR. “Building this industry has been a collaborative effort with state government, local and international businesses and public entities like LCSWMA.”

Mary Desranleau, senior vice president of captives, North America at Artex and head of office for Artex’s South Burlington, Vermont location, emphasised the importance of teamwork in Vermont.

“Vermont has worked with private and public sectors, small and large companies, and we had full confidence in Vermont’s ability to regulate the authority to the highest standard,” she said.

Steve McElhiney, senior vice president and global director of reinsurance for Artex, added: “Vermont regulators are incredibly responsive to the pace and changing needs of the captive companies, and in the reinsurance market this is a must.”

DFR Commissioner Michael Pieciak argued that Vermont’ success is the result of its steady and innovative legislative history.

“The Vermont Legislature has been a constant source of support over the last 40 years, regularly working with us to pass new captive insurance bills that have helped keep Vermont at the forefront of the industry,” he said.

“It is the dedication to meeting the needs of the industry, while improving the quality of regulation, that contributes to Vermont’s reputation as the ‘Gold Standard’ and a model for other domiciles.”