PRESS RELEASE
(Southern Pines)….The long awaited amendments to the the NC Captive Insurance Act proposed by NCCIA and the NC Department of Insurance became law when Governor McCrory (R) signed H. 287 into law on June 30, as reflected in a News Release by the Governor’s office on July 7. As provided in H.287, these amendments became effective and a part of the NC Captive Insurance Act on June 30 and apply to currently licensed captive insurance companies and pending applications.
The captive law changes were wrapped into and included in an agency bill for NCDOI along with other important amendments to the state’s insurance laws. Among the 44 changes, there are 5 that are significant for captives and will be of interest to companies considering making the tar heel state their domicile.
Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin observed that with these 44 legislative changes having become law, ” North Carolina has joined the top tier of captive licensing jurisdictions, significantly reduced the regulatory burden on existing CICs, and made the state more competitive to North Carolina business owners establishing their own CICs, as well as encouraging non-resident CICs to re-domicile to North Carolina.”
The following is a brief summary of those more substantive changes: (1) A CIC is exempt from the annual board meeting requirement if the CIC utilizes the services of at least 2 NC service providers in the designated categories. (2) NC will now allow the licensing of a business entity in NC as a CIC that is incorporated, formed or organized under the laws of another jurisdiction. This means, for example, that if a CIC is organized as an LLC in Delaware, may obtain a NC CIC license. And since Delaware permits series limited liability companies under its LLC Act, NC will now permit series LLCs as captive licenses.(3) Provisional approval is now available for an applicant business entity seeking a license for up to a 90 day period. (4) The Commissioner now has the authority to grant an extension to a CIC to file its annual report; and (5) the Commissioner is also vested with the discretion to deviate from NC captive law requirements when setting the minimum capital and surplus for a protected cell CIC.
Jesse Coyle, Chairman of NCCIA, upon being notified that Governor McCrory had signed the bill said “North Carolina, with passage of these amendments, has become one of the most competitive jurisdictions in the nation in terms of captive insurance company growth. With over 300 licensed CICs, generating more than $700 million dollars in annual premium dollars, it’s only a matter of time before this is a billion dollar industry for North Carolina. Captives are creating jobs and having a positive impact on the State’s economy.”
For details as to the newly amended Captive Insurance Act, go online to www.ncleg.net and in the search bar for bills, type in “H287″. The latest version of the bill, as signed by Governor McCrory, appears as Chapter Sess. Law 2016- 78.”
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