The Tribune

THE Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) and the Insurance Commission of the Bahamas (ICB) have jointly attended a major international captive insurance conference. The two organisations were present at the annual International Conference of the Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA), held on March 11-13, 2012, in Scottsdale, Arizona. It marked the third time that the BFSB has participated in the 40 year-old conference, which attracts a balance of captive owners, potential captive owners, captive managers, risk managers, service providers and regulators from all over the world. The event, which attracted some 500 delegates this year, garners the greatest percentage of captive representatives of any industry conference. The BFSB's chief executive and executive director, Aliya Allen, said: "We have committed to growing this segment of our financial services industry, and we look forward to working with government, the regulators and service providers to present and promote our advantages of this sector. CICA is the type of high quality event that we need to attend to develop our insurance business." During CICA, the BFSB and Insurance Commission met delegates at their booth. The Commission's superintendent, Michele Fields, who joined Ms Allen at the conference, said: "We were very encouraged by the positive feedback we received from the delegates we had a chance to meet during the conference. It reinforced our view that our legislation and regulations have positioned the Bahamas as an attractive domicile for captives." The exhibit area, with some 50 booths, was billed as being 'Captive-Focused, Domicile-Neutral'. "We had a lot of interest from the hundreds of visitors to our booth," said Ms Allen. "It supports our view that there is great market potential for the Bahamas in the insurance area. "Our presence was welcomed by delegates eager to diversify their current captive domiciles, and by potential captive owners looking for a reputable, stable and flexible jurisdiction to domicile their captives. Many felt the Bahamas more than meets this criteria." The BFSB's next insurance-focused conference participation will be at the Risk Management Society's 2012 Annual Conference and Exhibition (RIMS), scheduled for April 15 -18 in Philadelphia.