New Captive Company Established in Maine

A new captive company has been established in Maine, the first since lawmakers updated the state's captive law last year, said Maine Insurance Superintendent Mila Kofman.

First Maine Captive Inc. is an initiative of three Maine workers' compensation group self insurers, she said. It is the only captive domiciled in Maine.

Maine has had a captive law on the books since 1997, but no new captives set up shop after 2003. Last year, state lawmakers updated the captive law to make it more attractive to companies, Kofman said.

"The new law creates incentives and addresses the reasons that captives did not want to come to Maine -- the result is one captive that has been licensed already and more interest expressed by others," Kofman said in an e-mailed statement. "More broadly, the laws passed during the last legislative session give companies more investment freedom, based in safety and soundness, as well as creating an opportunity to take advantage of Maine?s Pine Tree Zone benefits.?

The Pine Tree Zone gives tax credits to eligible businesses, according to the State of Maine's website.

First Maine Captive will be administered by R.A. Peterson Associates LLC of York, Maine. m,./;kl