BFSB and Association Partners the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) and the Insurance Institute of the Bahamas (IIB), in collaboration with Corporate Sponsors KPMG and RBC Wealth Management, will host a one-day insurance orientation seminar for the local business community. The event is scheduled to be held at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel on Monday, September 20, starting at 9:00 a.m. The overriding objective of this exercise is to build awareness on the domestic front of the Captive sector and related opportunities.

The captive insurance sector has been a key component of agenda development at various BFSB strategy sessions and events over the last few years. With new insurance legislation now in place, The Bahamas is firmly open for business for captive insurance. The BFSB has collaborated with the Government on the commissioning of an “Insuring for Success” Report. This Report identified Captives as an “immediate opportunity”, referencing particular growth in SME owned captives and this jurisdiction’s existing capabilities which should allow it to pursue this opportunity.

There are more than 5,000 captives worldwide. Collectively captive insurance companies have net written premium in excess of $50 billion, capital and surplus of more than $100 billion and total invested assets of more than $225 billion. Captives can be domiciled and licensed in a wide number of domiciles both in the US and off-shore. There are now approximately 24 US States and well over 35 countries with Captive Insurance legislation, including The Bahamas, which serve as Captive Insurance domiciles. Captive insurance companies are formed primarily because of economic reasons, with a focus on risk management and risk financing; there is little to suggest that this sector cannot be re-established as a core element within the Bahamian financial services industry. A key element of BFSB’s insurance outreach going forward is to ensure that market participants understand the business.

Speakers include Mr. Alan E. Morris, Director of Financial Risk Management Actuarial Services and T.C. Leshikar, Tax Manager – both of KPMG in the Cayman Islands; Ron Sulisz, Director of Strategic Risk Solutions (Cayman) Limited; Stuart Jessop, Executive Vice President of Crusader International Management (Cayman) Limited; David Wade, President of Canadian Operations for Premier Environmental Services, Inc.; and Benno K. Raeber, Partner and Shareholder of Prime Advisory Group. Simon Townend, Partner of KPMG in The Bahamas will serve as Moderator, Reece Chipman, BICA President, will provide Closing Remarks; and Insurance Commission of the Bahamas Superintendent Lennox McCartney will provide remarks during lunch.

##Overview of Sessions##

**Alan Morris** will provide a general insurance/reinsurance overview, with emphasis on insurance as a business and the potential business opportunities for domestic service providers. He will also head the Captives 101 session providing participants with a comprehensive overview of this insurance product, including types and uses.

**Ron Sulisz** will present on the Global Captive Marketplace, including statistics, comparative differences, and niche markets of particular domiciles. Mr. Sulisz will speak as well to Regulatory & Captive Governance, concentrating on the regulatory concerns of an international captive from a non-Bahamian captive owner perspective. The session will discuss the appropriate captive governance structure to ensure that the captive is being managed appropriately from the international domicile.

**Stuart Jessop** is on the agenda speaking to Captives and Wealth Management Strategies; specifically, the role of captive insurance within an overall wealth management plan, key features of captive insurance that enable this and some common strategies employed. The session will conclude with a case study on how variable universal life insurance can be utilized as a key element in a wealth management strategy.

**David Wade** will provide an overview of how the development of an environmental captive niche could attract new business to The Bahamas, as well as the benefits of an environmental captive to potential customers. From first-hand experience, he will provide details on what is involved in the structuring of an environmental captive and a general understanding of the scope of work required to successfully set up and run one, including how it could be sold to international business.

The Captive Taxation session, headed by **T.C. Leshikar** will address the U.S. Tax aspects of Captive Insurance companies including the background of U.S. tax policy regarding Captives and the various U.S. Tax filing requirements of Captives.

Finally, **Benno Raeber** will address seminar participants on The Segregated Accounts Company (SAC), speaking to the impact on life and casualty companies