Full Capacity: Asian regulators race to unlock the captive boom

October 24 2026 by

Welcome to Full Capacity, a weekly briefing on all the most important developments of the past week with a personal take on the news from our editor-in-chief, Mithun Varkey, delivered to your inbox every Saturday.    

Nat cat update. Taiwan has shut down as Typhoon Champi, the most powerful named storm this year, skirted north past the island’s east coast, bringing strong winds and torrential rain.  

Champi formed as a Super Typhoon before weakening to a category 5 typhoon, passing southeast of Taipei on Friday morning with winds up to 175km/h, triggering emergency warnings across Taiwan. 

Global insured losses from natural catastrophes reached US$92 billion in the first nine months of 2026, the lowest year-to-date total since 2019, according to Gallagher Re’s Q3 nat cat report. 

In APAC, the July earthquake in Japan’s Kumamoto region was the costliest catastrophe event, resulting in about US$1.3 billion in insured losses and US$8 billion in economic losses 

M&A spotlight. Insurance sector deals continued to make news across the region. IAG said that it remains confident of closing its RAC Insurance acquisition next year even as it awaits a decision on its public benefits application with the anti-trust regulator.  

Meanwhile, AUB Group announced its acquisition of Aon’s One Underwriting Australia earlier this week. 

In Malaysia, MS&AD Group is reportedly exploring a deal for Malaysian insurer LPI Capital, owned by lender Public Bank.  

RHB Bank announced that it has secured a deadline extension to finalise the merger of its general insurance business with Tokio Marine Insurance. Bank Negara has given until February 11 to conclude the deal. 

Dramatic swing. Australia’s cyclone pool swung back into profit in FY26, reporting a US$492 million positive operating result, up from an US$840 million loss a year ago. 

Take no captives

Asia’s regulators are no longer content to watch their largest companies insure themselves through captives in Bermuda, Hawaii or Guernsey.  

They want the premiums, the expertise and the risk-management infrastructure onshore and are now competing openly for them. 

Japan’s recent plan for a captive regime has turned up the heat on the regional contest among Singapore, Labuan and Hong Kong. 

The timing is no accident. Climate volatility, cyber aggregation, supply-chain disruption and geopolitical instability are producing risks that are expensive, fragmented or simply hard to insure in the conventional market. Risk managers are responding by taking more control and captives are increasingly becoming the vehicle of choice. 

The numbers support the thesis. Global captives rose by 3.8% year on year in 2025, to 6,549 from 6,037, according to a Zurich report last month.  

For years, Asia has been a source of captive demand rather than captive supply. Japanese multinationals, in particular, established offshore vehicles in Hawaii and Bermuda because no domestic regime existed to accommodate them. 

Now, Singapore, Hong Kong and Labuan are each trying to convert regional risk retention into local licences, jobs and premium, and Japan’s entry raises the stakes considerably. 

Singapore retains the strongest claim to be Asia’s risk-management hub. It has an established captive framework, deep reinsurance capacity and a credible innovation agenda.  

Its proposed protected cell company (PCC) framework is designed to lower barriers to alternative risk transfer, widen access to risk capacity and reinforce its position as a centre for insurance and risk-financing innovation. 

Hong Kong isn’t backing down. Chief executive John Lee made the city’s ambition explicit in his policy addresses and first five-year plan.  

The government is also exploring legislative amendments to introduce a PCC structure. Captives have been a strategic priority for the Insurance Authority, which plans to double the number of captives in next 12-18 months and has been courting corporates beyond mainland China with some success.  

Japan is the most consequential new entrant. Japanese mega-corporations have long used offshore captives, often in Hawaii and Bermuda, but the country has lacked a purpose-built domestic regime. 

The rationale is straightforward: up to 162 Japanese companies have established captives abroad, primarily in jurisdictions such as Hawaii. If Japan gets the design right, it could become the natural home for the country’s vast industrial and trading groups. 

Labuan, meanwhile, was the first mover in the space and deserves credit for spotting the opportunity early.  

It has positioned itself as Asia’s PCC domicile, offering flexible structures that can separate distinct risks and share common operating costs across cells, giving it a credible niche in regional risk aggregation and cross-border programs.  

The competition is not confined to Asia. The UK has proposed a bespoke captive regime expected to take effect in mid-2027. 

PCC structures, lighter-touch licensing and home advantages could be transformative for Asia’s underserved middle market, and the region has plenty of companies with meaningful retained risk. 

The industry is already positioning for that growth. FM recently announced an expansion of its ART offering to include captives, while Zurich and Willis have made senior hires to support their captive ambitions. 

People moves

Chubb has appointed former AIG Australia CEO Kathleen Warden to lead its Australia and New Zealand P&C business. The insurer also promoted Jay Santos to head of property for Singapore.  

Helvetia announced a leadership transition in Asia with Siew Choo Tan to succeed Ivan Chan, who is stepping down. 

In Singapore, Tysers confirmed the appointment of William Furness-Smith as CEO, while Oneglobal tapped Diot-Siaci executive Maxence Servelle to lead Asia Cargo. 

P&I club Skuld announced a reorganisation of its units and has appointed Wei Fan as successor to long serving Hong Kong head Patrick Wang, who will take over as Skuld Far East chair.   

Indian insurer IndusInd named Sharad Mathur as CEO. 

Do check out our weekly people move round-up to stay up to speed on the most important appointments in the region. 

MORE FROM: Round ups
Partner Content
Join the mailing list Designed to help you stay ahead, our daily newsletter provides a round-up of the latest news and insights, delivered straight to your inbox.
Print Edition
Subscribe to receive our quarterly print magazine.