The insurance brokerage Lockton’s New Zealand branch has been licensed to establish captives in the Cook Islands for local and international companies.

Lockton becomes only the second external captive insurance manager to be licensed on the island along with Willis Towers Watson’s (WTW) New Zealand branch.

“We are very excited to have Lockton licensed as an insurance manager in the Cook Islands,” Jessica Schade, head of captives & alternative risk transfer at Lockton New Zealand, said.

“This ensures I am able to continue to support a quality domicile with first-class captive legislation.”

A nascent domicile, the Cook Islands is currently home to six captives.

“The Cook Islands domicile is a fantastic choice for Australian and New Zealand companies due to the legislation, financial services infrastructure, capital requirements, lower administrative cost and proximity,” Schade said. “I believe it will soon be the preferred domicile in this region.”