CAPTIVES* nine pure captives, 24 international third-party writers under management and eight protected cells
CAPTIVE PREMIUM* €670m
LEGISLATION Insurance Business Act, Insurance Business (Companies Carrying on Business of Affiliated Insurance) Regulations 2003; and MFSA Rule 21 on Affiliated Insurance
CAPTIVE TAX RATE 35% on the captive (with opportunity of tax refunds in relation to dividend received at shareholder level, giving rate of 5%)
FEES €1,800 application fee for a pure captive; €2,500 upon authorisation; and €5,000 annual fee REGULATOR Malta Financial Services Authority
NB: Malta Insurance Managers Association members only
As a relatively new player in the captive market, Malta is often linked with Gibraltar – but those in Malta believe they have a unique position. JLT Insurance Management Malta’s general manager, John Stivala, says his firm was one of the first to test the captive regulation as it was introduced. “The market really took off after joining the EU in 2004. We automatically became a domicile where companies could passport into Europe.”
That onshore capability has helped Malta to attract new business despite the global financial crisis, along with companies’ ability to write direct business from Malta. Stivala points to the likes of BMW and Vodafone, which write customer insurance policies via Malta. He says the PCC legislation, combined with the onshore element, is attractive and is expected to be a strong growth area in the future.
Atlas Insurance consultant John Bonett says Malta was always going to be the place to operate captive business for Atlas because it was already a local insurer. For him, the implementation of EU directives and the quick introduction of PCC legislation after Malta joined the EU has been a success and will help companies through Solvency II. Atlas has been participating in quantitative impact studies and is confident it will meet the capital requirements.
Combine that with a good tax regime and lower costs than elsewhere in Europe, and Bonett is confident that Malta has a winning formula.
