Vermont Captive Leader Crouse to Retire

Leonard Crouse, Vermont deputy commissioner of captive insurance and a fixture in the state’s captive insurance industry for 18 years, has announced his plans to retire effective June 1.

For more than 30 years Crouse has been a nationally recognized leader in insurance regulation and has been credited as a key figure in advancing the captive insurance industry both nationally and in Vermont.

Insurance Commissioner Paulette Thabault said the division is staffed to “maintain the regulatory continuity and momentum” as it seeks a new director. Thabault said the search is already underway for a successor.

Crouse has served as deputy commissioner of the captive unit since May of 2003. Prior to that, he had been Vermont’s director of captive insurance and a chief examiner in Massachusetts.

During Crouse’s tenure, nearly 600 companies have been licensed in Vermont.

Vermont is the largest captive insurance domicile in the United States and second largest in the world in terms of gross written premium, with $13 billion in 2007.