BVI Captives grow

The number of pure captives licensed in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) rose from 83 in 1998 to 131 by the end of 1999. Peter Bates, BVI inspector of insurance, said the total was due both to the attraction of the BVI as a domicile for smaller companies and to increased consolidation in the insurance industry. He said the shrinking number of consolidated insurers were less keen to handle small accounts.