Another Year of Continued Growth in Vermont’s Captive Insurance Industry
The Vermont Department of Economic Development (DED) announced today that 2024 was a year of record growth, among Vermont’s top ten highest years of growth since captive enabling legislation in 1981.
Vermont licensed a total of 41 new captive insurance companies in 2024, making it now home to 683 licensed captives, consisting of 654 active and 29 dormant captives. 2025 is already off to a great start, with eight new captives licensed in the first week of January. Vermont has licensed a total of 1,370 captive insurance companies to date.
“Vermont continues to be a leader in the captive insurance industry and is committed to providing high-quality regulation and service to captive insurance companies that choose to do business here,” said Governor Phil Scott.
In 2024, Vermont won prestigious awards from captive insurance publications, including US Domicile of the Year by Captive International and US Domicile of the Year and International Domicile of the Year by Captive Review. Acting Commissioner, Department of Financial Regulation (DFR), Sandy Bigglestone, was voted the #1 most influential captive insurance professional in the world in the Power 50 Awards by Captive Review. Bigglestone and DFR Director of Captive Insurance Christine Brown, were also recognized in Captive International’s inaugural Influential Women in Captives issue. The Vermont Captive Insurance Emerging Leaders (VCIEL) initiative, a creation of the Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) and DED, works to attract more young people to a career in captive insurance and was shortlisted for a second year in the Next Gen Initiative Category of the Captive Review US Awards.
“Vermont’s success has been built upon a system of dedicated resources and industry partners sharing the common goal of developing and maintaining captive insurance expertise, and advancing standards required to responsibly meet the needs of the industry,” said Bigglestone.
Vermont’s global influence was exemplified in this year’s licensing numbers. At least five of Vermont’s new captives in 2024 have international roots hailing from France and the United Kingdom, with three from Mexico. Vermont has over 80 companies with international ownership.
The new captives were formed by entities representing sixteen different industry sectors, the top being real estate, construction, health care and insurance, and a handful of conglomerates with operation in multiple sectors. The formation types were pure (30), Sponsored (9), Special Purpose Finance Insurer (1) and Risk Retention Group (1). Cell formations continue to keep pace with growth in licensed captives. In addition to the number of newly licensed captive insurance companies, Vermont’s 69 Sponsored captive insurance companies continue to experience growth in the number of new protected cells, with over 30 additions in 2024. Sponsored captive insurance companies are a widely utilized structure, providing a licensed insurance vehicle with an established framework that allows businesses to manage their own risks through protected cells.
“We are finding commercial property insurance continues to tighten as a result of increased natural disasters,” said Brittany Nevins, Captive Insurance Economic Development Director, DED. “This has resulted in a rise in captive insurance companies in the real estate industry to mitigate these property coverage challenges and provide greater long-term stability and relief.”
In the year ahead the VCIA will be celebrating their 40th anniversary. The Association is launching a 40th anniversary campaign, which includes a brand launch and new website, with special events throughout the duration of the annual conference in August.
“We look forward to celebrating this milestone year with the industry with an eye to exciting developments in the future,” said Kevin Mead, CEO, VCIA.
