Utah sees almost 20% rise in captives in 2016; expects fruitful 2017

The Utah Captive Insurance Division saw more than 68 new captive companies formed in 2016, bringing the total to 462, or a 17.3 percent increase from 2015.

Utah also welcomed a number of additional active cell companies in 2016, bringing its total to 74.

The division expects that 2017 will also be another great year for captives, citing some of changes in legislation regarding the 831(b) election.

"The 831(b) election resulted in changes that required some adjustment, but ultimately it will provide several improvements and benefits," said Travis Wegkamp, captive insurance director for Utah.

He added that some ownership changes have taken place and some business plans have changed to accommodate the adjustments required for the 831(b) election.

Wegkamp continued: "We have also submitted a few changes for legislative consideration. The most notable would be the creation of a specific certificate of authority for captive companies formed as a pool."

In addition to these developments, the Utah Captive Insurance Division has also implemented some new features and upgrades for insurers on its website.

This includes updates to forms and applications to further strengthen security, ease of use and efficiency.

"Our hope with these updates and changes has been to make the formation and reporting process as easy and secure as possible for our captives," added Wegkamp. "So far we have had very positive feedback regarding the usability and updates to our online processes."

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