Insurance

 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS
Insurance Division

NEIL ABERCROMBIE
GOVERNOR

KEALII S. LOPEZ
DIRECTOR

GORDON ITO
INSURANCE COMMISSIONER

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 21, 2014

Sanford Saito Appointed as Deputy Commissioner
and Captive Insurance Administrator

HONOLULU — Hawaii Insurance Commissioner Gordon Ito announced today that Sanford Saito has been appointed deputy commissioner and captive insurance administrator for the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) Insurance Division. He previously held the position in an acting capacity.

“Sanford is a dedicated team member who has played an integral role in the success of our captive insurance industry,” said Ito. “The Insurance Division will benefit from Sanford’s continued leadership in maintaining our prudent regulatory and business-friendly environment, which makes us one of the top domiciles in the world.”

Saito is a certified financial examiner and has been with the Insurance Division since 2004 as a captive insurance examiner. Prior to that, he worked in the department’s Division of Consumer Advocacy as a public utilities auditor.

Hawaii is ranked fourth in the nation for largest captive domiciles and 11^th in the world based on our total number of active captive licenses. In fiscal year 2013, the Captive Insurance Branch brought in $2.13 million in premium taxes and fees for the state. In addition, $18.4 million in economic benefit is attributed to Hawaii’s captive insurance industry through various professional services, annual conferences and visitor industry businesses.

Since Hawaii’s captive legislation was enacted in May 1986, 279 captive insurers have been licensed. Over the past five years, there has been continued growth with an increase in the total combined asset base from $7.2 billion to $15.6 billion. The Captive Insurance Branch has increased staffing by 50 percent since 2009 in order to better serve Hawaii’s captive insurance industry.

For more information about the Captive Insurance Branch, visit www.captiveinsurance.hawaii.gov or call (808) 586-0981.

The Hawaii Insurance Division oversees the Hawaii insurance industry, issues licenses, examines the fiscal condition of Hawaii-based companies, reviews rate and policy filings, and investigates insurance related complaints.

The Captive Insurance Branch was established to provide dedicated resources to assist the Insurance Commissioner with the monitoring, regulation and development of captive insurance companies in Hawaii.

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Media Contact:
Lindsay Chambers
Multimedia Education Specialist
Insurance Division
(808) 586-6735
[email protected]