Vermont DFR Awarded $66.7 Million in Global Hawk Lawsuit

On July 21, 2023, Judge Christina Reiss of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont (Vermont District Court) awarded the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (Vermont DFR) $67.7 million in a lawsuit filed against Jasbir S. Thandi and Global Century Insurance Brokers (GCIB). Thandi was the controlling officer of the Vermont-domiciled Global Hawk Insurance Company Risk Retention …

2023 Risk Retention Group Directory & Guide Available

The Risk Retention Group Directory & Guide 2023 (Directory & Guide) is available. As it has for more than 30 years, the Directory & Guide offers key information about the risk retention industry and marketplace with a variety of information pertaining to all operating RRGs, their service providers, and state regulation. The 2023 edition of the Directory & Guide features …

2022 Captive Manager Rankings: SRS and Palmetto Move Up

Risk retention groups reported another strong year of premium growth in 2022 with premium increasing 12.8% to $4,902.8 million. And though formations slowed, the number of operational risk retention groups increased to 242—the highest number of operational risk retention groups in over a decade. That continued activity contributed to further shakeups in captive manager rankings for risk retention groups. Aon …

Updated Purchasing Group Users’ (PGUH) Handbook Available

An updated edition of the Purchasing Group Users’ Handbook (PGUH) is available. The PGUH is the complete manual for registration of purchasing groups in compliance with the Liability Risk Retention Act and includes all purchasing group registration forms (NAIC and state). The PGUH also features profiles for each state that include the registration requirements for each state; premium tax requirements; …

Indigo RRG Assigned Preliminary Credit Assessment by AM Best

South Carolina-domiciled Indigo Risk Retention Group, Inc. (Indigo RRG) has been assigned a Preliminary Credit Assessment of A- pca (Excellent) and Long-Term Issuer Credit assessment of “a-” (Excellent). The outlook for the PCA is stable. AM Best does not define a PCA as Credit rating, though PCAs use the existing Financial Strength Rating/Issuer Credit Rating scale. “The PCA reflects Indigo …

More Risk Retention Groups Carrying Ratings in 2023

More risk retention groups are carrying ratings from AM Best or Demotech, Inc. as of August 2023 than were carrying ratings in August 2022. The number of risk retention groups carrying an A.M. Best fell to 42 from 43, while the number of risk retention groups carrying a Demotech rating increased from 31 to 34. Two risk retention groups—Attorneys’ Liability …

Curator MD RRG Surrenders Certificate of Authority

Arizona-domiciled Curator MD Risk Retention Group (Curator MD RRG) has surrendered its certificate of authority and ceased to operate as an insurance company. According to a filing issued on July 5, 2023, Curator MD RRG “has no outstanding obligations under any policies of insurance, whether written direct or through reinsurance ceded to it.” The Risk Retention Reporter initially reported in …

State-By-State Survey of Risk Retention Group Regulation

State-By-State Survey of Risk Retention Group Regulation The 1986 Risk Retention Act preempts state law in certain areas while authorizing states to regulate in others. In some cases, there is ambiguity as to where state regulation is preempted, and federal law prevails. The result is that states have adopted various positions on certain key issues that impact Risk Retention Act …

RRG Premium Growth Hit Record Levels in 2023: An Analysis by Business Sector

By Christopher Diemel, Managing Editor, Risk Retention Reporter As reported in the March 2023 Risk Retention Reporter, the risk retention group industry reported record premium growth in 2022. While the total growth in dollar terms remains $558.1 million, total RRG premium has been revised upwards to $4902.8 million in 2022 and to $4344.7 million in 2021 due an additional annual …

Montana Announces New Chief Examiner, Domicile Report Released

Montana has appointed Kari Leonard as its new Chief Examiner and Captive Insurance Coordinator. Leonard steps in for the recently retired Steve Matthews who had held the position since 2005. The Montana Captive Insurance Association also released its “Montana Captive Domicile Report 2023,” which showed continued captive growth in the state. The Risk Retention Reporter spoke with Matthews who noted …