TDCI Leadership Team Visits West Tennessee Stakeholders

NASHVILLE – As part of a new outreach initiative, Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) Commissioner Hodgen Mainda and members of his leadership team visited this week with a variety of West Tennessee stakeholders to discuss Tennessee’s insurance market.

TDCI leaders were able to see first-hand how local insurers work with customers to help strengthen Tennessee’s economy while emphasizing Governor Bill Lee’s vision for Tennessee.

“Our visits were proactive as we learned more about how we can best support these Tennessee headquartered companies’ successes and how we can lean forward in their future growth.  I am very impressed with Memphis’ economic growth and the role these companies have played in the region’s success. Insurance can play a huge factor in how much a company might be able to reinvest in new jobs, equipment, and facilities. As the state’s insurance regulator, we want to learn as much as we can about these companies’ needs,” said TDCI Commissioner Hodgen Mainda. “We look forward to continuing our collaboration. Additionally, I congratulate them on all of their achievements and wish them continued success. Throughout 2020, my team and I plan to meet with our stakeholders across Tennessee – discussing ways we can better support their economic growth.”

TDCI leaders also met with several companies regarding Tennessee’s favorable captive insurance market. Since Tennessee’s captive insurance laws were revamped in 2011, Tennessee has experienced significant growth in the captive insurance sector and is now the seventh-largest captive domicile in the United States. Through December 2019, Tennessee has 192 licensed captive insurance companies and 460 cell companies totaling 652 Risk Bearing Entities (RBEs). Tennessee’s captive insurance companies have collected $12.9 million in revenues and over $5.1 billion in premium deposits since inception.

Additionally, TDCI leaders discussed the economic impact these companies have on Tennesseans and beyond. Their visit included Farm Bureau’s Jackson regional offices, Memphis-based Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance, FedEx where they were able to go behind-the-scenes to tour FedEx’s global super hub at the Memphis International Airport, International Paper and Service Master. 

“We deeply appreciate the visit and support from the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Mainda and his team. We were delighted to have an opportunity to discuss our growth as the largest privately held independent agency in the Mid-South region of the United States. We look forward to working with TDCI as we continue our growth and success in Tennessee,” said Co-CEO of Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance Johnny Pitts.

TDCI looks forward to continuing these important visits across Tennessee to promote and support economic growth throughout our Tennessee-based companies and build on their successes with unprecedented growth in the years ahead.

To contact TDCI about an outreach opportunity, companies can request a speaker through TDCI’s website.

To see photos from the trip, visit our Instagram and Facebook social media accounts.

###