US students create Bermuda captive

Students from Butler University’s Lacy School of Business in Indianapolis have been given licensing approval from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) to create a captive on Bermuda.

The captive, named the MJ Student-Run Insurance Company, will self-insure a variety of risks for the university, including its celebrity mascot, a bulldog, and its fine art collection. It formally open for business this August, and according to the BMA is believed to be the first of its kind in the world.

Butler students and faculty received the news from the BMA this month during a five-day visit to the island in which they also met with members of industry and the Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA).

“We’re the first university I know of to have a student-run captive,” said Zach Finn, clinical professor and director of the four-year programme he helped launch in 2012. “Other universities have told us we’ve now disrupted the market—that we are basically akin to the first finance programme to have students manage an endowment. Many believe that in the next 20 years, this will be the standard for insurance and risk education.”

“Butler’s recognition reaffirms the fact of Bermuda’s top-tier qualities; its independent analysis validates what many in the risk solutions industry have long determined,” said BDA CEO Ross Webber. “The students’ research and application is a wonderful endorsement of Bermuda’s strengths, responsiveness and robust, agile regulation. These attributes have made our jurisdiction the world’s leading captive domicile for several decades.”

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