The midshore jurisdiction continues to grow its captive insurance industry, chalking up the same level of growth in the 1H2018 as it did the entire financial year 2017

Kuala Lumpur, 1 August 2018 – Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC) envisages a positive trend in the take-up of captive insurance following four approvals in the first half of the year. The midshore centre is also one of the financial centres in the Asian region to approve the most captive entities last year.

To date, there are a total of 47 captives approved by Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA), said Dato' Mohammed Azlan Hashim, Chairman of Labuan IBFC Inc in his welcome remarks at The Asian Captive Conference held in Kuala Lumpur today.

He added: "Labuan IBFC is one of the fastest growing risk management centres in Asia. This is evidenced by the fact that it is one of the financial centres in the region that approved the most captive entities in 2017, with more than 60% of the premiums are non-Malaysian.

"A total of six captives were approved by Labuan FSA and a total of gross premium of USD360.9 million was underwritten last year." Reflecting on the growth of captives in Labuan IBFC, Azlan noted that in the first half of 2018, Labuan FSA had already licensed the same number of captives it did for the entirety of 2017, adding that he hoped this positive trend will see us through the rest of the year.

Azlan went on to suggest that self-insurance tools such as captive insurance could be an ideal option to manage and mitigate new and emerging risks from digital threats. "Risks are dynamic, and risk profiles in new technology are even more so. Needless to say the risks arising from digital threats are multifaceted. The ability to keep pace in this new digital landscape is no mean feat and perhaps, self-insurance coverage such as captive insurance is an ideal option to manage and mitigate these risks.

"Indeed, captives provides a more flexible and innovative solution and offers the ideal vehicle to 'incubate' these risks. It is a unique concept and can be structured according to the needs of the business or according to the characteristic demands of the risk being mitigated," said Azlan.

Meanwhile, Labuan IBFC Inc. CEO, Farah Jaafar-Crossby said, "Labuan IBFC also offers Protected Cell Companies (PCC) and it is only available in this jurisdiction in the Asian region. There are also other financial centres in Asia that are currently exploring the use of this structure but the fact that we are the pioneer in the region – having the legislation set in 2010, gives us an edge among our peers in the region."

"Having said that, the appreciation towards the PCC structure is relatively low and there is much to be done to increase the awareness on the benefits of this structure to the Asian businesses. We are working towards this – be it educating or providing market feedback to the Regulators to better our structure and we are certainly working closely with the Regulator for the benefits of our clients and the jurisdiction. So, do watch this space for more updates," Farah said.

Farah added that Labuan IBFC's commitment to generating awareness of the benefits of self-insurance in Asia will continue in the years to come. "We hope to be able to champion the benefits of self-insurance in Asia, especially as the risk management environment across the globe becomes more and more challenging" she said.

The Asian Captive Conference is a joint effort between Labuan International Insurance Association and Labuan IBFC and is its in second year. Hosted in Kuala Lumpur, it attracts a regional crowd of delegates and speakers, all focused on the enhancing the level of awareness and acceptability of self-insurance structures in Asia, specifically captive insurance.

Themed 'Challenges of Self-Insurance: Transparency and Digital Disruption', the ACC 2018 was aimed to highlight the challenges and disruptors risk managers are facing from technology and the need to meet the growing demands of tax transparency and substance brought about by multilateral organisations and regulators.

The conference discussed various key areas in risk management including the use of technology such as blockchain in captive programmes, the need for substance creation for captive business in the age of transparency, potential use of Protected Cell Companies in Asia and the evolving role of risk managers towards a complex digital landscape.

The ACC 2018 was attended by more than 250 local and international delegates, particularly from the Asian region and was sponsored by risk management professional and related-firms such as Principal Re Limited, AM Best and XL Catlin.

Representatives from regional risk management associations such as Pan-Asia Risk and Insurance Management Association, Malaysian Association of Risk and Insurance Management, Risk and Insurance Management Association of Singapore and Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association also attended the Conference.