An
offshore insurance company, usually
referred to as a 'captive' insurance company,
is usually a subsidiary of a large company
or group of companies, and its purpose
is to offer insurance within the parent
company or group, thus saving external
costs and generating profits in a low
tax jurisdiction. The fiscal benefits
are not necessarily the driving factor,
but they can be significant. Direct access
to reinsurance is another important advantage
of a captive.
Some high-tax
countries have legislated to prevent
excessive shifting of income to captives,
but usually without seriously reducing
fiscal benefits. Apart from offering tax
savings, it is usually also true that
an International Offshore Financial Centre
(IOFC) offers a less regulated and bureaucratic
supervisory insurance regime than the
home country of the parent company. The
captive may for instance be able to employ
its capital more effectively than a domestic
insurance company.
The considerable advantages
of captives
have led to the development of a major
world-wide captives industry, and IOFCs
have vied with each other to establish
attractive regimes for captives.
The
jurisdictions which have been most successful
at attracting captives are as follows:
(Underlined
countries are already available in our
Jurisdictions section; others will be
available shortly.)
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