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FCA

FCA

Financial Conduct Authority (UK)

Medium Impact

FCA consults on tailored UK conduct regime for captive insurance

Published

Jul 13, 2026

Topics

Captive insurance, General insurance, Insurance authorisation, Conduct regulation, UK financial services competitiveness, Consultation

Executive Summary

The FCA has published CP26/29, opening consultation on a new, proportionate conduct framework for captive insurers in the UK. The consultation opened on 14 July 2026 and closes on 14 October 2026. The FCA is consulting alongside the PRA, whose separate paper is intended to form part of a coherent overall UK framework for captive insurance. The FCA states that there are currently no captive insurers established in the UK and that businesses commonly use other jurisdictions for this structure. The proposals focus on single-parent, or “pure”, captives, reflecting the FCA’s view that these entities generally present lower conduct and market-integrity risks because they insure or reinsure risks within their own group. This is not yet a final rule change: the FCA will consider feedback and publish a Policy Statement setting out final rules and responses. Firms should treat the publication as a strategic planning and engagement trigger, particularly where they are assessing UK domicile, captive feasibility, intermediary services, or future authorisation readiness.

What Changed

newConsultation on a bespoke UK captive regime

Previous

The FCA states that there are currently no captive insurers established in the UK, and businesses typically use other jurisdictions for captive structures.

New

FCA CP26/29 proposes a tailored conduct framework intended to support UK establishment or relocation of captive insurers.

newScope focused on single-parent captives

Previous

No bespoke FCA conduct framework for UK single-parent captives was identified in the FCA publication.

New

The proposed framework is designed around captives that generally insure or reinsure risks within their own group.

newCoordinated FCA and PRA policy development

Previous

Captive insurers did not have a dedicated UK regulatory framework under the FCA publication’s description.

New

Firms need to assess both conduct and prudential proposals when considering UK captive structures.

modifiedConsultation response window and channels

Previous

No CP26/29 response process existed before publication.

New

Responses to the FCA consultation are requested by 14 October 2026, including via captives@fca.org.uk or the FCA online form.

newFinal rules to follow later

Previous

No final FCA rules for this proposed captive framework have been published in the source.

New

The publication is consultative; implementation timing and final rule text remain pending a future FCA Policy Statement.

Business Impact

Who is affected

Directly affected

existing insurers and reinsurers exploring captive insurance structures, firms ceding business to or reinsuring captives, insurance intermediaries, captive managers, advisory firms, legal firms, actuarial firms and other professional services providers.

Indirectly affected

trade bodies, industry groups, other regulators and public authorities, and corporates considering UK-domiciled captive risk-financing options.

Jurisdictions

United Kingdom

Business processes

Captive feasibility and domicile assessment, Insurance and reinsurance strategy, FCA and PRA authorisation readiness planning, Conduct risk framework design, Governance and board approval for group risk-financing structures, Consultation response coordination, Intermediary and captive-manager service model review

Estimated effort

Medium

Compliance risk

Medium

Affected Reports

CP26/29 consultation response and internal policy position paperUK captive feasibility and domicile assessmentCaptive insurer authorisation readiness packGroup insurance and reinsurance programme governance paperCaptive manager or intermediary service model review
FieldValidation rule

Recommended Actions

6 suggested next steps· derived from source analysis
  1. 1
    AI generatedStep 1 of 6

    Assign joint ownership across insurance, legal, regulatory affairs, tax and treasury teams to review CP26/29 and the related PRA consultation before the 14 October 2026 deadline.

  2. 2
    AI generatedStep 2 of 6

    Decide whether to submit an FCA response, particularly on proportionality, scope, authorisation expectations and how single-parent captive arrangements should be treated in conduct rules.

  3. 3
    AI generatedStep 3 of 6

    For groups considering captives, refresh feasibility and domicile assessments to include a potential UK option, noting that final rules and implementation timing are not yet confirmed.

  4. 4
    AI generatedStep 4 of 6

    Map likely governance, conduct-risk and service-provider requirements against existing captive or insurance programme controls, but do not implement rule-specific controls until final FCA and PRA policy is published.

  5. 5
    AI generatedStep 5 of 6

    Intermediaries, captive managers and professional advisers should identify affected client propositions and prepare briefing materials that distinguish consultation proposals from final regulatory obligations.

  6. 6
    AI generatedStep 6 of 6

    Monitor the FCA Policy Statement after consultation close and reassess authorisation planning once final rules, forms or guidance are available.

Timeline

publication

Jul 14, 2026

FCA CP26/29 consultation opened and was first published.

consultation deadline

Oct 14, 2026

Deadline for responses to FCA CP26/29.

Sources

AI-generated analysis is based on the following primary sources. Always verify against the official publication.

Related Evidence

Verified source support for this analysis

The evidence agent checks whether the drafted finding is supported by official publications and relevant public source material.

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