In its most simple form, a captive insurance company is an insurance company owned by the parent that underwrites the insurance needs of the parent's operating subsidiaries. Until 2001, the IRS repeatedly but unsuccessfully challenged captive insurance companies as subterfuges for non-deductible self-insurance within the business. After the IRS lost its $600+ million challenge against a captive owned by United Parcel Service in 2001, the Service resigned itself to the legitimacy of captive insurance companies and soon thereafter abandoned its economic family challenges to captives. The IRS has since issued a great deal of guidance to assist captive owners in their proper structuring, management and reporting. Nearly all major corporations have captives -- indeed, it is hard to identify a major corporation that does not have at least one captive insurance company. Some corporations have multiple captives that serve different risks. For instance, a corporation may have one captive that primarily covers the corporation's general liability, environmental liability, and product liability risks, and then another captive that insures the employee benefit liabilities of the corporation, such as workers compensation and healthcare.
In its most simple form, a captive insurance company is an insurance company owned by the parent that underwrites the insurance needs of the parent's operating subsidiaries.
ReplyDeleteUntil 2001, the IRS repeatedly but unsuccessfully challenged captive insurance companies as subterfuges for non-deductible self-insurance within the business. After the IRS lost its $600+ million challenge against a captive owned by United Parcel Service in 2001, the Service resigned itself to the legitimacy of captive insurance companies and soon thereafter abandoned its economic family challenges to captives. The IRS has since issued a great deal of guidance to assist captive owners in their proper structuring, management and reporting.
Nearly all major corporations have captives -- indeed, it is hard to identify a major corporation that does not have at least one captive insurance company. Some corporations have multiple captives that serve different risks. For instance, a corporation may have one captive that primarily covers the corporation's general liability, environmental liability, and product liability risks, and then another captive that insures the employee benefit liabilities of the corporation, such as workers compensation and healthcare.