Hugo Laing
Hugo Laing is a partner in the Debevoise & Plimpton Corporate Department and a member of the Insurance Group.
Hugo advises on a wide range of transactions in the insurance market, including traditional M&A, Part VII transfers, distribution arrangements and risk transfer transactions. He also advises on key insurance regulatory issues, and on significant transactions in the wider financial institutions sector.
Hugo is ranked as a Band 1 lawyer by Chambers UK (2026), which states “Hugo's knowledge of complex and innovative structures is second to none… (he) is incredibly experienced and has deep market knowledge.” He is also ranked as a leading partner by The Legal 500 UK (2026), which states “Hugo Laing is at the top of his game, very personable to deal with and unfazed by complexity - our first choice as lead transaction counsel on reinsurance deals.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Experience
- Eversheds Sutherland (2016 - 2025)
- Clifford Chance (2006 - 2016)
Qualifications
- Legal Practice Course (BPP, Holborn branch) (2005 - 2006)
- Graduate Diploma in Law (College of Law, York Branch) (2004 - 2005)
Education
- University of York (BA in Economics and Politics) (2000 - 2003)
1 Contributions by Hugo Laing
PRACTICE NOTES
Captive insurance: structures, legal and capital considerations, protected cell options, and the evolving UK captives regime
What is a captive?
Captive insurance is a self-insurance approach. A captive insurance company, put simply, is an insurer or reinsurer owned by the ultimate policyholder (or reinsurance policyholder) whose exposures it covers. As a regulated (re)insurer in its home jurisdiction, a captive can accept risks like any other market participant; however, its defining feature is that it writes risks arising solely or largely from its corporate owner or within its wider group. HM Treasury notes that, in 2021, there were about 7000 captives worldwide, with premiums of roughly US$69bn.
Captive arrangements span the spectrum from straightforward to highly intricate.
The most basic model is a single company owning a single captive to which it insures its risks.
More layered designs may see risks ceded to a fronting insurer (typically an independent third party) and then reinsured back to the captive.
Alternatively, the captive may reinsure some or all exposures to external reinsurers.
Organisations usually deploy captive structures to satisfy commercial needs that the conventional insurance market cannot readily meet...
Insurance & Reinsurance
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