Off to a slow start: offering federal exemptions to captives to encourage the administration of...

Last year, when the U.S. Labor Department approved an expedited procedure for granting exemptions to captives looking to administer ERISA-regulated benefits such as life insurance, disability or retiree medical benefits, many observers thought this would fuel the growth for employee-benefits programs based in captives.

But it hasn't turned out that way. Since Risk & Insurance[R] reported on captives last August, only Alcoa Corp., the metals manufacturing giant, and Alcon Laboratories Inc., a health-care company, were granted exemptions.

Whirlpool Corp., a ma