Tennessee announces new captive insurance section director

The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) has announced that Mark Wiedeman has been appointed director of TDCI’s Captive Insurance Section.

Wiedeman began his regulatory career working as a valuation analyst for the Utah State Tax Commission. He joined the Utah Insurance Department in 2012 as an auditor before being promoted to senior examiner and eventually rising through the ranks to become assistant division director. In 2022, he left the Utah Insurance Department to start a business in contract insurance examinations and captive insurance consulting.

“Mark’s return to the field of insurance regulation is a huge win for TDCI, for all of Tennessee’s captive insurance licensees, and for the State of Tennessee,” said TDCI commissioner Carter Lawrence. “His proven leadership and sterling reputation in the captive insurance industry will build on our momentum as a first-choice domicile for captive insurance companies both domestically and internationally. I am thrilled to welcome Mark to the TDCI team, and I am confident he will take Tennessee to the next level of success.”

Tennessee has 151 active licensed captive companies and a total of 562 risk-bearing entities with annual gross written premium exceeding $1.72 billion, the TDCI said, adding that currently Tennessee is ranked 10th worldwide for captive domiciles and is the 6th largest captive domicile in the United States.

“While a large part of captive insurance focuses on analysing numbers and regulatory compliance, building relationships with people is crucial to an agency’s success both internally and externally, said TDCI assistant commissioner for insurance Bill Huddleston. “Having a person of Mark’s calibre leading TDCI’s Captive Insurance Section will make the Division of Insurance stronger and will make our department stronger as a whole.”

In a statement Wiedeman said that his goal is to maintain a regulatory structure in Tennessee that allows for stable and sustainable growth while giving captive companies a domicile in which they can succeed in providing their parent companies with innovative insurance products.