Puerto Rico Insurance & Financial Services Sector Continues to Thrive

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PRIIA to Play Expanded Role in Helping to Grow Key Captive Insurance Domicile

While Puerto Rico has most recently been in the news due to the destruction caused by Hurricane Maria, and earlier this year regarding its ongoing budget challenges, there is a real success story on the island that deserves attention. Despite these distractions, the U.S. territory's insurance and financial services sector continues to grow with minimal interruption. Most importantly, Puerto Rico has a strong and bright future ahead for insurance opportunities.

"There is no doubt Hurricane Maria brought great devastation to Puerto Rico. Nevertheless, the financial and insurance industry was able to quickly reestablish operations without major disruption. This attests to the island's solid financial services and insurance sector. It also demonstrates the effectiveness of the business continuity programs that both the public sector and the private industry have in place," said Hugo Cordova, president of the Puerto Rico International Insurance Association (PRIIA).

Mr. Córdova also noted that PRIIA had already acted prior to Hurricane Maria to expand the association's capabilities to promote Puerto Rico as a leading international insurance domicile. In fact, several new initiatives are expected to be announced after the first of the year, with a particular focus on the numerous opportunities and benefits for captive insurance company formations.

Ruben Gely Rodriguez, a senior official within Puerto Rico's Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) confirmed this optimism. "The demand for our Class 5 platform and related captive laws remain very attractive for companies in the United State and elsewhere."

He noted that the OCI was open for business just three days after Hurricane Maria moved over the island, with several company formations and related licenses issued since that time. Mr. Gely also pointed to the most recent OCI Annual Report showing that there has been a 90% increase in premium volume over the past year.

Watch for more exciting news about the Puerto Rico insurance and financial services financial sector coming in January. In the meantime, please contact Rubén Gely Rodríguez at rgely@ocs.pr.goc or 787-304-8000 for immediate assistance regarding regulatory/licensing inquiries.