OF TURQUOISE WATERS AND CAPTIVATING DREAMS: THE COOK ISLANDS AS AN INTERNATIONAL CAPTIVE INSURANCE CENTER

摘要

The Cook Islands is an international offshore financial center which has had ongoing success in the US with its 'asset protection trust.' In recent years, the jurisdiction's financial services sector has been endeavoring to diversify its product offering with the introduction first of the Foundations Act in 2012, followed by the Captive Insurance Act and corresponding Regulations in 2013. The intention behind this recent initiative is to position the Cook Islands to attract business in the emerging markets of China and Latin America, in addition to existing sources of business (particularly North America). The Cook Islands' Captive Insurance Act and Regulations, of which the present author was the principal drafter, were passed to capitalize on the jurisdiction's reputation as a private wealth management jurisdiction of choice. This article explores the key components of the recent Captive Insurance Act and Regulations, highlighting what the author considers to be the most attractive features and also noting what may be considered limitations or potential areas for improvement. It will be argued that an important priority going forward is to enact legislation to enable captive insurance companies to be structured with segregated cells (and ideally incorporated cell companies), along with a variety of reasons why cell company regulation is attractive to captive domicile shoppers. The author will also argue that while focusing on the growth engines of Asia is important, the traditional market of the United States provides the most potential for developing the Cook Islands as a captive insurance center.