CP11/26 – A tailored regime for captive insurance

What Changed

• - The PRA proposes to establish a dedicated UK regulatory regime for captive insurers, separate from the standard Solvency UK treatment for commercial (non‑captive) insurers.
• Captive insurers would benefit from proportionate prudential requirements (for example simplified capital, reporting, and risk management expectations) reflecting their limited and group-focused risk profile, while still being subject to core solvenc
• The consultation seeks views on eligibility criteria for captives, likely including ownership (group‑owned), purpose (insuring or reinsuring parent/group risks), and restrictions on third‑party business volumes.
• PRA proposes a UK authorisation and licensing pathway specifically tailored to captives, with adjusted expectations for business plans, risk appetites, and use of reinsurance and fronting structures.
• The regime is intended to sit within Solvency UK rather than as a completely separate legislative framework, implying changes to the PRA Rulebook and supervisory statements rather than primary legislation.
• The paper indicates coordination with the FCA on any conduct‑related implications, especially where captives interact with UK policyholders or markets.

Suggested Considerations

• Review CP11/26 in detail and perform an internal impact assessment on how the proposed captive regime would affect your group’s current or planned captive insurance structures, including domicile and regulatory capital profile.
• Identify whether any existing insurance entities within the group may fall within the PRA’s proposed definition of a captive and assess whether reclassification would be beneficial or would trigger additional compliance work.
• Prepare and submit a coordinated consultation response by 14 October 2026, addressing eligibility criteria, proportionality of capital and reporting requirements, and any operational or tax implications for your captive strategy.
• Map existing governance, risk management, and internal control frameworks for captives against PRA’s proposed expectations and identify gaps that would need remediation ahead of the regime’s expected go‑live in mid‑2027.
• Engage with group legal, tax, and treasury teams to evaluate whether onshoring an offshore captive to the UK, or establishing a new UK captive, becomes strategically attractive under the tailored regime, and model scenarios accordingly.
• Update regulatory change logs and risk registers to include CP11/26 as a material upcoming change for insurance and corporate risk‑financing, with clear ownership assigned in compliance and risk functions.

Key Dates

Who is Affected