Bermuda's captive insurance industry is confronting a complex new tax landscape with the introduction of corporate income tax and continuing global trade uncertainties, including tariffs. But panellists on the first day of the Bermuda Captive Conference, held at the Hamilton Princess Hotel & Beach Club, said not to give in to fear.

“Scared money doesn’t make money,” said Mikhail Raybshteyn, partner, global insurance tax, insurtech and captive insurance services, EY. “Don’t be afraid to ask hard questions of your consultants.

“For companies, depending what you do, again, each company was or was not impacted by certain tariffs, depending on countries you operate in, depending on what you do,” he added. “I don't see one-size-fits-all answers, even within the same industry.”

Mr Raybshteyn emphasised that tax considerations are nuanced: “Captives are not set up for tax reasons. Now that doesn’t mean that you should ignore, potentially, the 800-pound gorilla in the room and forego the tax benefit.” He noted that for some companies tariff challenges could actually expand insurance opportunities: “You may actually put more insurance into it, or more programmes into it. You actually grow your benefit.”

Anne Marie Towle, chief executive of global risk and captive solutions at Hylant, highlighted the financial considerations: “You need to have cashflow, and you need to have the ability to support the captive in the situation that you might have in the first year related to your risk that is being written within a captive.”

Amid uncertainty, the conference is showing resilience, with nearly 600 attendees this week, the largest gathering since the pandemic, organisers noted. When asked, audience members identified themselves as captive owners, service providers, students and those considering captives.

Carl Terzer, principal, CapVisor Associates, warned against short-term thinking: “An investment time horizon for a captive is measured in years, not quarters, and you wouldn’t want to undermine a plan that’s basically a sound plan for some short-term or technical considerations.”

Ms Towle stressed the importance of adaptability: “Be innovative. Think bold. Shoot for the stars. You can always scale it back.”