Tennessee names new captive insurance director
The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) has announced the promotion of Jonathan Habart to captive insurance section director.
Habart, who has served as the Captive Insurance Section’s Assistant Director since October 2020 and been the section’s acting director since August 3, was promoted to the director’s role after an extensive national search to fill this high-profile leadership role following the departure of Belinda Fortman in August 2021.
“While we interviewed many capable candidates during our national search, Jonathan proved to be the strongest candidate for the position because of his proven leadership, institutional and regulatory knowledge and his close working relationships with Tennessee’s numerous captive companies and the Tennessee Captive Insurance Association,” said TDCI Commissioner Carter Lawrence. “With Jonathan firmly in the director’s role, I am confident that Tennessee will continue to build on our reputation as a first-choice domicile for captive insurance companies both domestically and internationally.”
A TDCI team member since 2016, Habart first distinguished himself for his work in the division as a Staff Examiner and Captive Insurance Specialist. Prior to joining TDCI, Habart began his career in Tennessee state government as an accountant with the Tennessee Department of Finance & Administration where he earned his CPA designation.
“Tennessee’s success as a captive insurance domicile involves making improvements and modernizations to the state’s regulations in order to create a landscape where captive insurance can flourish,” said TDCI Assistant Commissioner for Insurance Bill Huddleston. “I believe Jonathan’s promotion will prove to be the latest important improvement for captive insurance in Tennessee and will help continue years of momentum that have made the Volunteer State one of the top captive domiciles globally.”
Tennessee’s latest modernizations to the state’s captive statute include authorizing parametric insurance coverage and reducing the statutory capital needed by protected cell captive insurers to commence operations from $250,000 to $100,000.
Currently, Tennessee is ranked 10th worldwide for captive domiciles and is the 6th largest captive domicile in the United States. Since modernizing its captive laws in 2011, Tennessee has 150 active licensed companies and 336 cells totaling 486 risk-bearing entities with annual gross written premium exceeding $1.72B.
Tennessee Captive Insurance Association President Kevin Doherty said “I am thrilled to welcome Jonathan as the new Tennessee captive director. He is extremely well qualified, and he has the right combination of expertise and demeanor to be an outstanding director. We have worked well together in the past, and I look forward to continuing to grow Tennessee under his regulatory leadership as one of the premier domestic captive domiciles.”
“I want to thank Commissioner Lawrence, Deputy Commissioner Toby Compton and Assistant Commissioner Huddleston and the entire Insurance Division team for entrusting me with this important role,” said Habart. “I will continue to work diligently as a responsible regulator, further improving Tennessee as a destination for companies looking for risk-management solutions through captive insurance. We want to help captive insurance companies see that Tennessee should be their first choice for a captive.”
