21 December 2015Actuarial & underwriting

Missouri Department of Insurance hires captive manager


The Missouri Department of Insurance has appointed John Talley as its new captive programme manager.

Talley brings with him almost 25 years of insurance regulatory experience, most recently as the chief of captive insurance operations for the New Jersey department of banking and insurance.

"I am very pleased to welcome John to our Missouri team," said John Huff, director of the Missouri Department of Insurance.

"As Missouri's captive market continues to grow, finding someone with his captive insurance and regulatory experience was imperative. John's expertise will pay huge dividends as Missouri looks to widen its competitive and technical edge in the captive market."

Missouri began allowing captive formation in 2007 and had just three licensed captives before Governor Jay Nixon signed House Bill 577 in 2009, simplifying the process of moving offshore captive operations to Missouri, according to the department. This legislation made it more attractive for companies to set up captive operations here and made it easier for companies to bring their captive operations to Missouri.

In May 2013, Governor Nixon continued to strengthen Missouri's captive market by signing Senate Bill 287. The bill, allows the formation of sponsored captive insurance companies in Missouri which may establish and maintain one or more incorporated protected cells. The bill also recognises varying sizes of captive entities by lowering the minimum of capital and surplus requirements for an association captive insurance company from $750,000 to $500,000, said the Missouri Department of Insurance.

At present 50 captives operate in Missouri, writing more than $5 billion in premium, according to the department. Captive insurance also contributes to the state's economy by bringing higher-paying support jobs, including lawyers, certified public accountants (CPAs), actuaries, consultants and a captive industry association.