PCCs were originally developed in Guernsey in 1997, and now exist in other territories such as Malta, Jersey, Cayman Islands, Irish Republic, Bermuda, various U.S. locations, and other domiciles around the globe.
[2] Guernsey developed the concept of the Protected Cell Company (PCC) in 1997 to provide a solution for companies who wanted to take advantage of the risk management solutions offered by a traditional single parent captive insurance but who did not want to establish a captive of their own.
[3] The IRS defines a PCC as a legal entity formed by a Sponsoring Organization under the laws of a specific domicile.
[4] The UK office of HM Revenue & Customs defines a PCC as a type of corporate organization restricted to the financial services sector, in particular insurance, located in an offshore domicile; they are sometimes called "divided companies" or "segregated asset companies".
This structure enables a cell to be run as if it were a separate company although it remains part of the larger corporate body, the PCC itself which is a single legal entity.
[5] The introduction of PCC legislation has proved of particular interest to the promoters of association captives, international group companies with numerous autonomous subsidiaries and insurers writing long term business who wish to separate the life funds relating to different policyholders into separate cells within a PCC.
Since each incorporated cell is a separately registered legal entity the segregation of assets within the ICC is strengthened.