It’s hard to believe that they have deemed it necessary to make not only a sequel to Sharknado, but a third! Now, don’t get me wrong, Sharknado was a cinematic delight with the combination of a tornado coming from the ocean spinning sharks in the air throughout New York – you have to see it to believe it.

I bring this up for two reasons: first, it’s just plain fun; but second, it reminds me of the never-ending “sequels” the captive industry finds itself from time to time fending off the overreach of regulators and quasi government organizations that bring their own version of Sharknado to us year in and year out. Our newest version is an IRS proposed regulation regarding Passive Income for Certain Foreign Insurance Companies. VCIA commented on the potential issue of the sweeping language the IRS uses to define “active conduct” of an insurance business that excludes the officers and employees of related entities and independent contractors. The vast majority of captive insurance companies operate through the use of independent contractors to provide support services to their insurance business and therefore the consequences could come back to bite us later on.

The authors of this proposal utterly misunderstand our industry (once again).  Well, they don’t always get the best screen writers for three-quels. But remember, the heroes always prevail, even if we lose a few fingers in the process. Oh, and I just heard they are already planning Sharknado 4. Stay tuned!

Thank you all very much, and I look forward to seeing you in Burlington in August!

Rich Smith
VCIA President