Dubai is a global centre of business, connected to both regional and worldwide markets, and offering an experienced reinsurance set-

up, access to brokers from across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia markets, and a highly-skilled workforce.

The domicile’s unique selling point is its legislative and regulatory framework that complies with global standards in a favourable tax environment.

Captives are licensed by the financial services regulator, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). The DFSA rulebook authorises three classes of captive. Class one captives insure only the operations of the business or the group and are subject to a lighter regulatory regime than traditional insurers. Class two captives have at least 80 percent of gross written premium from the same group and are subject to a slightly stricter regulatory regime. Class three captives insure risks of members of the same industry and are subject to a stricter regulatory regime reflecting the standards of a traditional insurer.

The minimum regulatory capital requirements for Dubai are as follows:

• Class one: USD 150,000• Class two: USD 250,000• Class three: USD 1 million

Dubai also authorises the formation of protected cell companies (PCCs), which offer lower formation costs and capital requirements. PCCs must operate and be authorised as class one, two or three captives, and have minimum cellular assets of USD 50,000 and minimum non-cellular assets of USD 50,000.

Captives and PCCs in the domicile are subject to risk based solvency and capital requirements. There is no company tax, but a 5 percent VAT applies on non-life premiums for UAE risks.

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Dubai