Isle of Man must look for growth: Seminar

DOUGLAS, Isle of Man— Captive managers in Isle of Man will have to look to emerging markets for new clients as competition increases from the growing number of jurisdictions that have passed captive laws, experts said.

Malcolm Cutts-Watson, leader of the European captive practice at Willis Group Holdings Ltd., told attendees at the inaugural captive insurance seminar sponsored by the Manx Insurance Managers Assn. last week that the domicile needs to bolster its profile as a home for captives and boost marketing activities that will attract the insurers from previously underserved regions.

The increased competition Isle of Man faces from the growing number of captive domiciles is more than offset by the opportunities to provide services to potential parents in Asia, eastern Europe and Latin America, Mr. Cutts-Watson said at the seminar.

Isle of Man has 161 captives that wrote premiums of more than £1 billion ($2.0 billion) in 2006, David Vick, chief executive of Isle of Man's Insurance & Pensions Authority, said during the seminar.

Derek Patience, senior vice president at Marsh Management Services Isle of Man Ltd., pointed out in a statement after the seminar that an independent review of the domicile's insurance and captive business will be conducted this year and will "consider all aspects affecting the industry" as a way to ensure that the jurisdiction "is positioned properly to take full advantage of the opportunities which exist globally within this sector."

The association's seminar drew more than 150 attendees.