The number of captive insurers writing non-traditional risks such as supply chain, cyber liability and political risk rose substantially last year, according to global broker Marsh.

Its latest Captive Benchmarking Report examines the increasing role played by captives in insurance and risk management.

Based on data from 1139 captives managed by Marsh, the study finds most companies (54%) cited increased discipline and control purposes as the reason for using captives.

Use of captives for multinational employee benefits programs more than doubled in last year, increasing by 143%.

And captives are providing access to more comprehensive cyber coverage and higher limits, the report says. For example, it notes a 17% increase in Marsh-managed captives accessing coverage under the US Terrorism Risk Insurance Act.

The use of captives is also growing in emerging markets, including in Asia.