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Captives guides
Captive domiciles compared: Vermont, Utah, Delaware and offshoreHow to choose a captive domicile: what the regulator controls, 2025-2026 size figures for Vermont, Utah, Delaware, Tennessee and offshore, and the tax limits.How captives are taxed: premiums, 831(b), excise tax and distributionsHow captives are taxed: premium deductions, the 2026 section 831(b) limit, the 4% excise tax, premium taxes and the micro-captive court cases.Cell captives and protected cell companies: how renting a cell worksA cell captive lets a business insure its own risks in a segregated account of a sponsor's licensed insurer. How cells are protected, taxed, priced and exited.Fronting arrangements and fronting carriers: how they workA fronting carrier issues the policy on its paper while a captive or reinsurers carry the risk. Fees, collateral, credit risk and what the policyholder sees.Is a captive right for your business? A feasibility checklistPremium volume, loss history, capital, collateral, tax and exit: the screening questions that tell you whether a captive is worth a feasibility study.Large deductible workers' comp programs: how they work and what they costHow a large deductible comp program works: insurer pays first, you reimburse, collateral secures it, and what happens to claims, taxes and your mod.Group captives for medical stop-loss: how employer health captives workHow a group captive layers into medical stop-loss for self-funded employers, what members put up and share, the trade-offs, and what to check before joining.Micro-captives (831(b)) and the IRS: rules, red flags and reportingThe section 831(b) micro-captive: 2026 premium limit, the January 2025 IRS disclosure rules, court losses and the red flags to check before joining one.Risk purchasing groups (RPGs): how group liability buying worksA risk purchasing group lets businesses with similar liability exposures buy together under federal law. How it works, state registration and its limits.Risk retention groups (RRGs): how they work and what to checkA risk retention group is a member-owned liability insurer formed under a 1986 federal law. How it works, what it can write, and the guaranty fund gap to weigh.Self-insurance and third-party administrators (TPAs) explainedWhat self-insuring means for workers' comp, liability and health, what regulators and excess carriers require, and what a TPA does and should be asked.Self-insuring workers' comp: requirements and trade-offsWhat a state requires before an employer can self-insure workers' comp, what it costs in security and excess cover, and when it beats a policy.Single-parent vs group captives: which structure fits?A single-parent captive insures one owner and its affiliates; a group captive pools unrelated members. Compare control, capital, tax tests and exit terms.What is a captive insurance company and how does it work?A captive is a licensed insurer owned by the businesses it insures. How premiums, claims and reinsurance flow, what it costs to run, and what the IRS demands.