The Tribune

The Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) will later this month host a half-day Insurance Industry briefing that includes a ‘Captives 201’ component.

Peter J. Strauss, managing member of The Strauss Law firm, will follow up on the ‘Captives Insurance Basics’ training session hosted last year.

His Strauss Law firm is devoted to providing estate and tax planning, asset protection, international business, and captive insurance solutions to individuals, families, and business owners located both in the US and internationally.

Mr Strauss said: “There are over 30 domestic jurisdictions, and over 35 international jurisdictions, in which licensure for captive insurance companies can be incorporated. Yet many of our clients are leaving their own backyards to come to the Bahamas.”

The briefing will be held on November 17 in the Windsor Room of the British Colonial Hilton Hotel, starting at 9am.

The BFSB last year also introduced its scholarship programme for the Associate in Captive Insurance (ACI) designation through the International Centre for Captive Insurance Education (ICCIE).

BFSB chief executive, Aliya Allen, said: “Continuing education and regular informal learning is essential in today’s workplace and in every sector.

“ This is particularly so in the captives space as we try to regain lost ground. We need to stay up-to-date on industry developments.”

Ms Allen added that the BFSB continues to participate in external insurance conferences and programmes, all of which help the organisation and industry practitioners gain new insights to help build and enhance the insurance platform here in the Bahamas.

The programme for the November 17 briefing will include a ‘Regulatory Perspectives’ presentation by Michele Fields, superintendent of the Insurance Commission of the Bahamas, as well as an overview of ‘Life Insurance and the High Net Worth Individual (HNWI)’ by Guillaume Bouffard and Paul Cooper, co-founders of Premium Life Insurance Ltd in Nassau.

Their presentation will speak to what makes the Bahamas a competitive market place for HNWIs in terms of insurance solutions. It will highlight the key features the jurisdiction must have – and must maintain – in order to attract this client base, with a focus on the merits/value proposition of the Bahamas’ insurance solutions for Latin American countries in particular.

The event is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Financial Services, the Insurance Commission, and the Insurance Institute of the Bahamas.