Isle of Man: in the top tier


John Batty talks to EMEA Captive about the strength of the Isle of Man’s offering, and explains how recent legislative developments have made it an increasingly attractive domicile for the captive industry.


The Isle of Man has been a recognised captive domicile for almost 30 years and offers a broad range of captive management services. What can help the Island stand out as the domicile of choice?


There are many jurisdictions in which to domicile a captive insurance company, and while there are some similarities between all of them, recent economic events and the attention being paid to international finance centres have meant that attention is now equally and rightly being paid to the differences between them.


The Isle of Man has a number of distinguishing advantages in a qualitative sense, for example, the ability—subject to regulatory approval—for 100 percent of intercompany loans to be accepted as admitted assets when calculating solvency margins, which may be of benefit to the parent. In addition, the wide range of expertise available, easy transport links and access to the UK and Europe, and a range of company structures designed to meet the needs of captive owners are other significant advantages.


We now have in excess of 140 captive insurance companies on the island, ranging from medium-sized enterprises to large FTSE 100 companies. The major global risk managers such as Aon, Marsh and Willis have branches here, along with a number of smaller, independent risk managers. The Isle of Man is home to captives owned by parent companies from as far east as Japan, as far west as Canada, as far north as Finland, as well as from South Africa and Australia.


Many blue chip companies have captives in the Isle of Man, from


a wide range of industries including power and utilities, financial and banking, shipping, retail, industrial and engineering, oil, construction, aviation, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, mining, car rental,


transport and freight, insurance and legal. This shows our expertise as a jurisdiction in being able to handle a wide range of insurance and risk management needs.


The Isle of Man offers a range of options to the parent company, including protected cell companies (PCCs), limited liability partnerships, mutual captives, as well as the more traditional company structures.


As a jurisdiction, we have achieved an ‘AAA’ sovereign credit rating


with both Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s, and have benefited from more than two decades of continuous economic growth. The island has also been instrumental in adopting a co-operative stance in terms of its commitments to the international community. Its inclusion on the OECD ‘white list’ of countries complying with global standards for tax co-operation and exchange of information, produced following the G20 summit in London, places the Isle of Man in the top tier of jurisdictions— along with nations such as the UK, the US, Germany, France, Sweden and Ireland, and recognises that we have ‘substantially implemented the internationally agreed tax standard’. The list confirms the island’s position among the most responsible and co-operative countries of the world. This together with the island’s unique geographical situation, which provides quick and easy access to the City of London and beyond, has helped position the Isle of Man as an established international domicile for the global captive industry.


As an island, we are able to react quickly to the ever-changing international environment, and the government constantly seeks to provide the most appropriate platform for business to operate.


Insurance companies are regulated by the Insurance and Pensions


Authority (IPA). In order for the island to prosper, the IPA seeks to ensure its regulatory framework continues to provide businesses with freedom


28 emea captive 2011


©iStockphoto.com / Iridiumphotographics


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