Skip Page Banner  
Skip Navigation

Tax Planning and Compliance for Captive Insurance Companies


Product Code - TMW90
Speaker(s): Thomas M. Jones. McDermott Will & Emery LLP and Richard Buggy, Saslow Lufkin & Buggy, LLP
Add To Cart
View the Brochure

The captive insurance sector continues to expand in numbers, size, activities and importance. In addition to multi-nationals, middle market businesses are exploring the advantages of captives, whether individually or as part of a group, to contain their escalating cost of risk and to take advantage of employee benefits self-insurance opportunities. The impending health care reform changes are mandating a deeper knowledge of captive self-funding structures and alternatives to attain the cost savings opportunities they provide. Closely held businesses are creating captives to achieve tax advantaged family wealth transfer goals.

This webinar covers the basics of federal and state taxation of captives, their owners and policyholders. Among the topics to be discussed are:

  • Choice of captive domiciles, particularly pros and cons of domestic (onshore) versus foreign (offshore).
  • Tax reporting and compliance for onshore and offshore captives and their owners.
  • When to make or not make an onshore federal tax election.
  • Achieving insurance company tax treatment of the captive via risk shifting and risk distribution.
  • Understanding specifics of the two alternative routes to risk distribution: unrelated risk or brother-sister (sibling) risk.
  • Purpose and efficacy of risk pools in attaining risk distribution.
  • Distinguishing between business risk and insurance risk under IRS guidance.
  • Special benefits from captives qualifying under IRC Sec. 831(b).
  • Application of withholding tax and FATCA to offshore captives.
  • Overview of federal excise tax and state self-procurement tax.

Educational Objectives

  • Understand the captive choices available.
  • Know how to assess the likelihood and method for attaining insurance tax benefits.
  • Learn how to explain the tax filings needed to keep the captive in a compliant condition.

Who Should Attend: CFO's, financial controllers, treasurers, assistant treasurers and secretaries, directors, corporate tax professionals, consulting tax professionals, corporate strategic planners, tax lawyers, legal counsel, lenders, bankers, CPAs, offshore and domestic service providers such as captive managers, auditors, actuaries and investment professionals.

Prerequisite: None
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Delivery method: Group Internet Live
Recommended CPE credit: 1.5 credits 

Thomas M. Jones. McDermott Will & Emery LLP and Richard Buggy, Saslow Lufkin & Buggy, LLP

Thomas M. Jones is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and is based in the Firm’s Chicago office. He focuses his practice on federal and state tax, insurance regulatory and legal matters concerning captive insurance and other alternatives to commercial insurance. He works with multinational corporations, private business, taxable and exempt health care providers, trade associations, joint ventures and enterprises of all sizes.
Tom has extensive transactional experience in all major U.S. and offshore captive insurance jurisdictions, including Arizona, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, South Carolina, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Vermont, as well as Barbados, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands.

Tom is a member of the bar of the State of Illinois, the American Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association and the International Fiscal Association. He is a frequent guest speaker at international seminars and conferences, making numerous offshore and onshore presentations on captive insurance and related topics.
In 2008, the Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA) presented Tom with its Distinguished Service Award. Each year CICA selects the individual making the most significant contribution to the captive industry. Tom also was honored by the Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) as the recipient of its 2005 Industry Service Award. In 2001, Tom was one of three recipients of a special recognition award for captive insurance expertise bestowed by the Cayman Islands Government. He has served as corporate legal advisor to the New York World Trade Center Captive since 2004. Tom is ranked by Captive Review Magazine as #2 on its 2012 “Power 50” list of the most influential people in the captive industry globally. He is also recognized by Chambers USA and The Legal 500 United States as a leading captive insurance lawyer.

Richard Buggy, is a Managing Partner and tax Partner with Saslow Lufkin & Buggy, LLP. Richard is the Engagement Partner for closely held and publicly traded clients and is responsible for execution and delivery of all tax consulting and compliance services to clients. Richard has significant expertise in manufacturing, distribution, retail, real estate, employee benefits, not-for-profits, estate planning, banking, insurance, and professional service organizations. Specific areas of concentration
include partnership taxation, trust and estate taxation, employee benefit plans, insurance company taxation, state tax planning initiatives and retirement plan and fringe benefit consulting.