Source: Mr George M. Mangion¸ PKF Malta
As published on The Malta Independent on Sunday 16th February 2014
I shall shortly be attending to the opening of a two day Captive Live conference. It is planned for 24-25th of this month at a prestige centre located at Royal College of Surgeons¸ No 35-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields London and is sponsored by Barclays¸ Websure Guernsey¸ FinanceMalta¸ Wells Fargo¸ Robus¸ PKF Malta¸ Wells Fargo¸ AIG¸ Kane and others. This is UK‘s leading insurance event¸ now in its 5th year and is attended by leading risk managers offering superb networking opportunities. Every delegate will receive an online delegate diary providing unique opportunities to arrange one-to one meetings with captive insurance experts and leading service providers.
A number of jurisdictions will be featured and they shall do their utmost to attract captive owners by giving presentations¸ case studies and unique selling points expertly discussed in various panels. Delegates will be greeted by a welcome speech given by Steve .W. Butterworth a regulator with Guernsey Insurance who traditionally gives a brief overview of the industry and the challenges facing captive insurance managers in particular with the arrival of Solvency 11 regulation expected to start by 1st January 2016. One may well ask with so much competition what can Malta offer in this sector which sets it apart from other offshore centres such as Isle of Man¸ Channel Islands¸ Gibraltar and of course Caribbean stalwarts such as Bermuda¸ Barbados and Cayman Islands?
It is not easy to stand out amongst tough competition fielded by established jurisdictions more so when trying to attract international companies seeking an alternative EU jurisdiction traditionally offered by tried and tested places as Dublin and Guernsey. Not to despair as typically Malta has its own unique selling points such as being the only EU member state to offer comprehensive legislation on both PCC and ICC and lately RICC vehicles. It is true that Gibraltar is a close second with its citizens enjoying the hybrid status of EU citizens¸ via a special “UK status” and also it offers Protected Cell companies legislation. Nevertheless Malta has gradually and steadily developed into a premier financial centre hosting reputable financial services firms¸ mainly insurance companies¸ banks and fund /pension administrations. All this is evidenced by a number of Fortune 100 companies which have captives in Malta with numerous companies from across the world and in numerous sectors being looked after by the country’s insurance managers. The global names of Aon¸ Marsh¸ Willis¸ Heritage¸ JLT and Heath Lambert can be found in competitive convoy co-existing with the indigenous insurance management companies.
So let us discus in more detail how the local legislation has paved the way to regulate a plethora of exotic insurance vehicles which are unique to us in the EU club. According to Maltese in