(Washington, DC) Acting Commissioner Thomas E. Hampton of the Government of the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) will deliver January 17 the key address at the 2006 Captive Insurance Breakfast Series. He will discuss the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)'s current regulatory activities affecting risk retention groups as captives.

The District of Columbia's success in attracting captive insurance companies landed it an A+ grade from independent consulting firm Johnson Lambert & Co. The growth of DC captives has been phenomenal, with DISB licensing 59 captive insurance companies from a variety of industries. A captive insurance company primarily insures the risks of its owners and sometimes related or affiliated firms and returns underwriting profit and investment income. These earnings would otherwise be retained by a traditional insurance carrier. Captives are insurers owned by the insured and organized for the main purpose of funding the owner's risks that actively participate in decisions influencing its underwriting, operations and investments.