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Captive domicile choice involves key factors: WCF experts - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Captive domicile choice involves key factors: WCF experts by Claire Wilkinson Graham McCarthy of McGill & Partners and Sandy Bigglestone of SRS Titanium. Alternative Risk Transfer/Captives Bermuda , Cayman Islands , United Kingdom McGill Feb 6, 2026 ORLANDO, Fla. — Choosing between onshore and offshore captive domiciles comes down to key factors such as regulatory environments, tax implications and operational ease, two experts said. The captive insurance sector has evolved over the past three decades, with a wider variety of onshore and offshore domiciles now available, they said Thursday at the World Captive Forum, sponsored by Business Insurance. Some 6,290 captives were licensed across 71 domiciles globally at year-end 2024, according to a Business Insurance survey. Captives are no longer a novelty but a strategic risk management tool, said Sandy Bigglestone, managing director and chief governance, regulatory and compliance officer at SRS Titanium. “There are so many jurisdictions, the competition is fierce and any carrier, service provider, broker, you name it, they are looking for more long-term partnerships to make this industry sustainable and make it work for captive owners,” she said. Captive owners and risk managers are under immense pressure to optimize their captives, said Graham McCarthy, a Dublin-based partner in specialty broking at McGill & Partners. “In terms of pressure, you’re talking about the requirements to actuarially assess, use all the data, all the tools at your disposal today to ensure you’re fully optimal,” Mr. McCarthy said. Of the 6,290 captives in 2024, 55% were domiciled onshore in the U.S., nearly one-third (29.8%) in North American offshore domiciles and 10.9% in European domiciles, according to a Business Insurance survey. The remainder were domiciled in Asia-Pacific and Africa. The growth in U.S. domiciles has resulted in fewer new captives forming in some offshore jurisdictions like Bermuda, despite its long history and stable environment with experienced regulators, Ms. Bigglestone said. Bermuda’s growth has shifted toward other types of insurers focused on large commercial programs, she said. Bermuda applies a more rigorous capital and solvency standard that is more aligned with Solvency II, she said. “That does make it attractive for global insurers, but does increase the cost of operating and regulatory requirements,” Ms. Bigglestone said. The Cayman Islands now is often used as a domicile for captives that take on more unrelated risk, while maintaining a more flexible capital requirement, she said. Meanwhile, U.S. onshore domiciles have become highly competitive with offshore options, but with similar operating or cost environments, Ms. Bigglestone said. Regulatory climates vary by jurisdiction, especially as onshore U.S. domiciles compete, she said. Tax considerations still factor into captive domicile decisions but carry less weight than decades ago, Mr. McCarthy said. When choosing between onshore and offshore, companies should consider where their insurance markets and favorite underwriters are based, where their deals are placed and how brokers and suppliers are aligned, he said. Locating a captive near major markets such as Bermuda or London can offer practical advantages such as holding board meetings at the same time as meetings with prospective insurance markets, Mr. McCarthy said. The United Kingdom is moving forward with a captive insurance regime, and all U.S. captive owners and prospective captive owners should evaluate it as a prospective domicile, he said. The Bank of England has said it would proceed with the captive framework, and the Prudential Regulation Authority has taken an “open for business” stance focused on proportionate and streamlined regulation, he said. “Their overall goal is to produce a captive regulatory framework that suits prospective captive owners,” Mr. McCarthy said. The PRA confirmed the plan last year and aims to publish the UK captive regulatory framework by this summer, he said. Business Insurance Editor Gavin Souter moderated the session. 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