Willis Launches Captive Insurance Facility in Malta

New Facility, Lime Street Insurance PCC Ltd, to Underwrite Risk Across EEA

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH), the global insurance broker, today announced it has set up a Willis-owned and managed captive insurance facility in Malta that allows clients to realise the benefits of captive ownership with lower capital commitment and reduced operating costs. The new facility, Lime Street Insurance PCC Ltd (“Lime Street”), started operating from 20 September.

A Protected Cell Company (PCC), Lime Street has been established in Malta to underwrite risk for entities across the European Economic Area (EEA). The PCC will be managed by Willis Management (Malta) Limited which is headed by Anne Finn, Executive Director.

Lime Street provides a captive facility to entities that lack sufficient premium volume, or may not otherwise wish to establish their own insurance subsidiary, to realise the benefits associated with a captive.

The ring fencing provisions of PCC legislation provide clients with their own secure underwriting account, in effect a legally segregated rent-a-captive. The PCC facility will appeal to entities with risks in the European Union that are interested in:

• reducing their dependency on local carriers;
• accessing international insurance markets;
• cost-effective access to captive technology for risk retention;
• seeking an efficient means to consolidate risk in a captive.

Malcolm Cutts-Watson, Chairman of the Willis International Captive Practice, commented, “Lime Street Insurance PCC Ltd brings captive technology to a number of entities that may have thought this option was unavailable to them. We chose Malta as our jurisdiction since it offered all the benefits of EU membership, together with responsive regulation, strong infrastructure and a flexible fiscal regime.”

“The launch of Lime Street is part of our strategy to offer our clients the broadest range of risk financing options possible,” said Tom Coughlin, Willis’ Global Captive Practice Leader. “Protected cells are the fastest-growing sector of the captive market and Lime Street, as an EU PCC, complements our other offerings. It enables any entity with EU risks to manage them in a cost-efficient manner, secure in the knowledge that they are dealing with a Willis vehicle.”

The Willis Global Captive Practice is a leading global captive manager servicing over 340 clients in all major domiciles, and providing consulting services to clients from around the world. For more information on Lime Street Insurance PCC Ltd please visit www.limestreetpcc.com.

Willis Group Holdings plc is a leading global insurance broker. Through its subsidiaries, Willis develops and delivers professional insurance, reinsurance, risk management, financial and human resource consulting and actuarial services to corporations, public entities and institutions around the world. Willis has more than 400 offices in nearly 120 countries, with a global team of approximately 17,000 employees serving clients in virtually every part of the world. Additional information on Willis may be found at www.willis.com.

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Source: Willis Group Holdings