April 28, 2014

For hotel business owners, there are big benefits to setting up a captive insurance company. This can be a valuable way to protect your company and save money at the same time, since captive insurance companies are known for tax flexibility. A captive insurance company is an affiliate of a business that is created to reinsure particular risks of that business. The captive can be formed in the U.S. or in a foreign jurisdiction. Policies can contain all of the basic terms that are included in commercial insurance contracts and premiums are determined by independent actuaries.

(Photo Credit: gamasutra.com)

The goal of a captive is to help pick up the risk that has already been held by a business that “self-insured”. This means that the business has some kind of specific need for which it is too expensive or impossible to get typical insurance. In this case, the captive serves a very important role of improving the risk protection capability for the business. Some examples include earthquake coverage, food-borne illness concerns, or cyber theft.

Surplus that is not used to pay out claims can be distributed out to shareholders as dividends. Control over this captive also gives the client investment control over the assets with the captive in certain situations. Captive insurance companies benefit from special tax treatment under the Internal Revenue Code. As a result of all these benefits, business owners for thousands of companies have been able to accumulate a great deal of pre-tax wealth through captive insurance companies. Hotel owners take note: you should consider how a captive insurance company suits your needs and helps you insure specialized risk. To get started, contact us at 732-521-9455 or email us at info@lawesq.net