Monetary Authority Of Singapore Consults On Protected Cell Company Framework To Support Growth Of Alternative Risk Transfer Solutions In Insurance

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today issued a consultation paper proposing to establish a legislative framework for a new Protected Cell Company (PCC) corporate structure. The proposed framework aims to support the growth of alternative risk transfer solutions and deepen Singapore’s role as a risk management hub. The consultation paper follows the announcement   on the PCC framework by Mr Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Minister for Trade and Industry and Chairman, MAS, at the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) Annual Dinner on 25 June 2026.

2.  As DPM Gan highlighted in his speech, risks today are more complex, more connected, and harder to price, and Asia remains significantly underinsured. For example, in 2025, natural disasters caused about US$65 billion in economic losses across Asia and more than 90% of these were uninsured.[1] This is increasing the need for alternative risk transfer solutions, including captive insurance, insurance-linked securities, and risk pooling. Companies globally are seeking to retain greater control and flexibility in risk financing and retention or procure risk coverage to complement traditional insurance capacity.

3.  The current suite of corporate structures in Singapore requires risk owners to set up individual legal entities such as special purpose vehicles to legally ringfence the capital, assets and liabilities for each risk programme or coverage. The effort and costs required for this can deter the broader adoption of these solutions that would support better risk management and protection.

4.  A PCC structure operates as a single legal entity comprising a central “Core” and one or more separate and distinct “Cells”. The assets and liabilities of each Cell are legally segregated from those of other Cells and the Core. This allows multiple insurance solutions to be managed independently in individual Cells within a single PCC, with the Core providing centralised governance, and oversight, resulting in a more cost-effective and operationally efficient structure.

5.  The PCC framework is designed to support the following insurance use cases for a start:

a. Captive insurance[2] – With the PCC framework, companies can establish dedicated captives, where a firm can manage multiple self-insuring programmes through separate cells within a common umbrella core, or participate in “rent-a-captive” insurance solutions[3], to use a segregated cell to run its own risk programmes, within a shared captive facility provided by a service provider. This reduces setup and operating costs, increasing accessibility of captive solutions that would otherwise be commercially unviable, particularly for smaller firms.

b. Insurance-linked securities[4] (ILS) – Insurers can tap on the capital markets to secure additional risk-bearing capacity by issuing ILS through separate cells within a PCC structure, without the need to establish a new special purpose vehicle for each transaction. This enables faster execution, lowers issuance costs, and makes smaller or more bespoke transactions (such as sidecars and collateralised reinsurance) more viable.

c. Sovereign risk pools[5] – PCCs can support insurance facilities that pool risks across multiple countries or participants, such as disaster risk financing initiatives. The ability to segregate different risk exposures within a single structure provides flexibility to manage diverse portfolios.

6.  MAS invites interested parties to submit their views and comments on the proposed framework set out in the Consultation Paper  . The closing date for the consultation is 7 August 2026.

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[1] Swiss Re Institute, 2025.

[2] Captive insurance is a self-insurance programme for a firm’s own or its affiliates’ risks, allowing it to manage its risks and premium rate volatility arising from reliance on the commercial insurance market.

[3] For the rent-a-captive model, individual client companies can procure the services of a captive facility, which is typically sponsored by the insurance management arm of a licensed broker, to establish and use Cells of a PCC for their captive insurance activities for a fee.

[4] ILS are financial instruments that securitise insurance contracts, allowing insurers and reinsurers to transfer specific risks to the capital markets. This enables third party investors to participate in insurance markets, and provide an additional source of reinsurance capacity to traditional reinsurance.

[5] Sovereign risk pools are typically set up by multiple participating governments to share and manage risks in a diversified portfolio and secure insurance coverage against catastrophic events such as natural disasters or climate shocks