I have spent the last two months buried in data, talking to captive regulators, collating responses and analysing figures, all in preparation for our biggest edition of Captive Review’s World Domicile Update ever.

Now the numbers are in and I can announce that there are at least 9,343 captives in the world (including individual cell captives and special purpose captive vehicles).

To give you all the information you need we have a massive 22-page cover feature with all the facts and figures. This year we have a record 71 domiciles that have provided their 2020 captive figures, with regulators providing figures not only of new formations, licence surrenders and total captives, but also a breakdown of the types of captives in each category.

It is important to note how we count captives for the purposes of the World Domiciles Update. It is always a contentious issue, and we strive to be as fair, transparent, and detailed as possible. Due to large variants in the way different domiciles count cell captives and special purpose captive vehicles (SPVs) we don’t include these numbers in a domicile’s overall captive count.

We have, however, provided a separate figure for individual cell captives. This figure represents a minimum number of cells in the world, and doesn’t include complete figures from some large domiciles (such as the Cayman Islands, Vermont and Luxembourg) which do not always count cell numbers.

The full feature starts on page 15, but our entire issue focuses on captive domiciles worldwide. In our news analysis feature on page 11 I examine legislation changes made by the domiciles in the last year, and new legislation scheduled for 2021. The surge in captive interest has propelled this, with many domiciles trying to make themselves as attractive as possible to potential captive owners.

Our mega-edition of the magazine also features our LatAm report on page 48 which dives into the captive market in Latin America with contributions from the State of Vermont and Maxis GBN. The report wraps up with our Final Word feature on page 57 where we have Adriana Scherzinger, Head of International Business and Captive Services Latin America, and Juan Carlos Realphe Guevara, CEO of Zurich Columbia interviewed by Captive Review.

I hope you all enjoy this edition of Captive Review and learn something new from it. As always, I hope you are all staying safe and well during this extremely challenging time.