MONTPELIER -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn has established Vermont's 500th captive insurance company, according to the Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance and Health Care Administration (BISHCA). BISHCA has also announced the licensing of captive insurance companies, 501, 502 and 503 respectively. All of the new companies are single parent "pure" captives. Vermont began licensing captive insurers in 1981. "This benchmark gives Vermonters a strong sense of pride and achievement that our commitment to this industry for the past twenty years has been heard loud and clear," said Governor Howard Dean, M.D. in making the announcement. "Rest assured that Vermont will continue to offer a stable regulatory environment, governmental officials that are accessible, and world-class professional support services to the next 500 captives as well." Vermont is presently experiencing strong activity with new applications for captive formation. "We have been extremely busy meeting with some very quality companies and we continue to see an even greater level of interest than in previous years. This could be one of our strongest years yet," said Leonard Crouse, Vermont's Director of Captive Insurance. Vermont's Director of Financial Services says he is not surprised at the current rate of growth for new captive formations. "In this industry a domicile need to be flexible, responsive and innovative. Our consistent and responsive approach to captive insurance has help build a twenty year track record and the 500th license has given us something to celebrate," said Daniel Towle. Towle can be reached at 802-828-5232 or email dan@thinkvermont.com.