Andrew Kurata Appointed as Acting Captive Insurance Administrator

HONOLULU, Aug. 21 -- The Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs' Insurance Division issued the following news release:

Hawaii Insurance Commissioner Gordon Ito today announced the appointment of Andrew Kurata as acting captive insurance administrator for the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Insurance Division.

Kurata has been with the Insurance Division since 2011 as a captive insurance examiner and captive insurance program specialist. Prior to that, he worked in the audit department at KMH LLP. Kurata replaces Sanford Saito, who transitioned to the private sector.

"The Captive Insurance Branch's team of experienced, dedicated staff has and will continue to provide a stable, committed and business-friendly environment which makes Hawaii one of the premiere domiciles in the world," said Commissioner Ito. "We also want to thank Sanford Saito for his leadership and wish him well with his future endeavors."

Hawaii's captive domicile has experienced continued growth in the total combined asset base and premiums written since enabling legislation was enacted in May 1986, 31 years ago.

"To date, the total number of captives in Hawaii have grown to 223, with 20 new captives admitted in 2017. We hope by the end of the year, we break the record of the most newly admitted captives in a single year in Hawaii," added Ito.

In 2016, Hawaii's captive insurers wrote more than $6.22 billion in premium volume, invested nearly $1.05 billion in assets through Hawaii financial institutions and generated approximately $23 million in economic benefits to Hawaii through various taxes and fees, professional services, annual conferences and visitor industry businesses. Hawaii is ranked third in the U.S. based upon total premium, fourth in the U.S. for largest captive domiciles and 11th in the world based on total number of active captive licenses.

The Captive Insurance Branch staff has doubled since 2009 to better serve Hawaii's growing captive insurance industry. For more information about the Captive Insurance Branch, visit cca.hawaii.gov/ins/captive or call (808) 586-0981.

About the Captive Insurance Branch:

The Captive Insurance Branch was established to provide dedicated resources to assist the Insurance Commissioner with monitoring, regulating and developing captive insurance companies in Hawaii.

The Hawaii Insurance Division oversees the Hawaii insurance industry; issues licenses; examines the fiscal condition of Hawaii-based companies; reviews rate and policy filings; and investigates insurance related complaints.