Representatives from the Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) and the Insurance Commission of the Bahamas (ICB) are in attendance at the annual [CICA International Conference](http://www.cicaworld.com/EventsEducation/EventsIntConf.aspx) taking place in Palm Springs, California this week.

BFSB’s CEO Aliya Allen says The Bahamas’ renewed efforts for captive insurance business has not gone unnoticed. *“There has been particular interest in The Bahamas as a domicile for small and medium size captives,”* she says. Ms. Allen is representing The Bahamas at the conference, along with Carl Culmer and Jamell Bodie from ICB and Janelle Sands from BFSB. Nicollete Gardiner is also part of the delegation.

The event has attracted nearly 400 individuals this year, representing captive managers, captive owners, captive domiciles, actuaries and accounting and legal professionals. *“Many of the individuals with whom we met also said the accessibility of our location is a real and distinct advantage given that board meetings for a captive are usually held in the domicile of choice,”* reports the BFSB CEO.

A session on cell captives held yesterday was of particular interest because of the recent growth of cell captives in The Bahamas. *“This is largely driven by the ability of a cell captive to mix the benefits of a standalone captive with the benefits of a group captive: control and economies of scale,”* Ms. Allen says.

She added that there are several factors at play in re-establishing The Bahamas as a domicile of choice for captive and other insurance related business. “*We have taken a number of important and positive legislative and administrative steps and we will continue to do so as a jurisdiction. But this internal groundwork must be balanced with ongoing external initiatives. We need a presence at events like CICA to let the market know that we are very much interested in their business and have the capacity and wherewithal to handle it. And there is the additional benefit and motivation of being exposed to developments, trends and client needs that help shape our evolution as a market-sensitive captive jurisdiction. Along with the Regulator, we have been attending CICA for four years now, and each year we have returned with new insights that have allowed us to continue to build and enhance our insurance platform.”*

The Captive Insurance Companies Association was formed in 1972 and is the only domicile-neutral captive insurance association. Its annual international conferences – this year themed “New Horizons” – focus primarily on educational sessions to provide alternative risk professionals the latest, most up-to-date viewpoints on captive insurance, and more recently, risk retention groups.

*Photo Caption: Bahamas Representatives at CICA Booth: Carl Culmer (ICB), Aliya Allen (BFSB), Janelle Sands (BFSB); Jamell Bodie (ICB). Not pictured is Nicolette Gardiner.*