Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC) was recognised as the best Asian Domicile for the second year in a row at the Asia Captive Review Awards recently.

The Awards, held in Singapore on 10 October, recognise and reward service providers, captive owners and risk management professionals for their exceptional services and approaches to captive insurance in the Asia region. The Asian Domicile category is awarded to the jurisdiction that demonstrates the highest standards of regulation, accessibility, efficiency and commitment in promoting the captive insurance business in the region.  

“We are immensely proud Labuan IBFC has won for the second year in a row – a testament of our commitment in ensuring the captive industry in Asia continues to grow,” said CEO of Labuan IBFC Inc, Farah Jaafar-Crossby on the win. She added that in 2018, 50% of all captive insurance vehicles incorporated in Asia were domiciled in Labuan IBFC, testament to the leadership of the domicile in this space.

Lubuan had recorded six captive formations by mid-2019, the same number for the entire of last year, leading to a 12.8 per cent increase to US$288 million in gross written premiums in June 2019, compared with US$255 million in the same period last year.

Labuan IBFC is home to more than 200 insurance and risk management licensees and the industry Association, with the Labuan International Insurance Association being the single largest industry group in the jurisdiction. And of these 200, two Labuan players have also netted wins of their own at the Awards: Nicholas Actuarial Solutions for the Asian Actuarial Firm category and AFF Asia Pacific for the Asian Broker of the Year category.

Overall Labuan IBFC's insurance sector registered strong growth in 2018 with total gross written premiums posting a significant increase to US$1.7 billion, rising 19.1 per cent from the previous year, of which foreign insurance business accounted for 64.7 per cent of the total premiums underwritten.

The Labuan captive business first began in the 1990s under the then Labuan Offshore Insurance Act. Since then, the segment has grown from strength to strength, becoming one of the fastest growing centres for the captive business in Asia.