Via Christi Health gets OK to fund life insurance risks through captive

WASHINGTON—The Labor Department last week gave tentative authorization to Via Christi Health Inc., a Wichita, Kan.-based health care system, to fund life insurance risks through the U.S. Virgin Islands branch of its Cayman Islands captive insurance company.

Under the arrangement, the policies would be written by Minnesota Life Insurance Co. Via Christi would reinsure the risk through the Virgin Islands branch, which was established in September to reinsure Via Christi employee benefit risks.

Via Christi, which says it is the largest provider of health care services in Kansas, fully or partially owns or manages 12 hospitals in the state. It generated $1.09 billion in operating revenue in fiscal 2011.

Also this year, the Labor Department approved applications by Mountain View, Calif.-based search engine and technology giant Google Inc. to use its Hawaii captive to reinsure life, accidental death and dismemberment, and long-term disability policies, written by Prudential Insurance Co. of America.

The Labor Department this year also approved captive benefit funding plans filed by Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft Corp. and R+L Carriers Shared Services L.L.C., a Wilmington, Ohio-based freight carrier.