Recap from RISKWORLD by Angie Armour

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I don’t think anything can quite prepare you for your first RIMS Conference. The insurance industry descends on San Diego and completely takes it over. All over the Gaslamp District, meetings are taking place, deals are being struck, and relationships are being cultivated. Massive exhibits are constructed using state-of-the-art technology and you can walk miles every day looking at exhibits ranging from a 16-foot bobblehead dog to a professionally crafted sandcastle and everything in between. So glad I heeded the “wear comfortable shoes” tip.

This is my third conference of the year, and it’s so different than World Captive Forum or CICA, that it’s truly in a category by itself. The sheer scale of it makes it so, with roughly 10,000 attendees filling the San Diego Convention Center and an exhibit hall that is at least three football fields in length.  It also encompasses so many different aspects of industry, and not just the more specific captive space we occupy (although safe to say it’s becoming more popular). I’ve learned a lot at each of the conferences I’ve attended, and RIMS was no exception.

My favorite thing about the past week was being a part of the State of Vermont delegation. Getting to know my Vermont-based colleagues from the DFR, captive managers, asset managers, lawyers, bankers, etc. was truly a highlight. We had a well-rounded team of Vermont representatives and I feel so fortunate to be surrounded by genuine, kind people in the captive industry. These folks work hard, but they also know how to have fun, and trust me, fun was had!

CEO Kevin Mead and I were also fortunate to meet up with a few of VCIA’s exhibitors, sponsors and members, and it’s always a joy to put faces with names and make a lasting connection. Seeing these folks and how excited they are to come to Burlington this summer made us that much more excited for the August conference.

Speaking of the conference, registration opens next week! All signs point to big attendee numbers and the VCIA team is hard at work to make it our best one yet. There are very few exhibit booths remaining and a couple of sponsorship opportunities available so do reach out if you’d like to be a part of the largest US captive insurance conference.

Cheers from San Diego!

Angie

May 16th Webinar Preview by Content Advisors Taylor O’Brien and Aaron Ciullo

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Vice President, Senior Account Manager at Marsh Taylor O’Brien
Vice President, Senior Account Manager at Marsh Aaron Ciullo

Insurance companies are facing challenges due to inflation and its impact on their investment portfolios, operating costs, and claim payouts. To address these challenges, the Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) is hosting a webinar on May 16, 2024, titled “The Balancing Act of Captive Management: A Unified Approach to Actuarial Analysis and Audit Requirements.”

Register for the webinar here!

The webinar will focus on the complex task of estimating liabilities for unpaid claims, which becomes even more challenging with changing variables. Panelists will highlight new auditing standards that emphasize the importance of loss reserve estimates and the use of an actuarial specialist. Attendees will gain practical methods to evaluate actuarial loss reserves, including considerations for methods and assumptions, data analysis, and supporting management’s selected point estimate.

The webinar aims to provide guidance for insurance companies and management to effectively manage their loss reserves and comply with auditing standards. Participants will gain valuable insights from consulting and industry perspectives, ensuring that their captives are sustainable, powerful, and successful as long-term risk management tools.

Learning objectives include understanding the challenges faced by insurance companies due to inflation, volatility in investment portfolios, and higher operating costs and claim payouts. Participants will also learn about the process of estimating liabilities for unpaid claims and its impact on an insurance company’s financial condition. The webinar will familiarize attendees with new auditing standards effective in 2023, emphasizing the importance of the loss reserve estimate and the use of an actuarial specialist.

Actuaries play a crucial role in estimating unpaid claim liabilities, and the webinar will cover common methods used by actuaries, such as loss development methods, expected loss methods, Bornhuetter-Ferguson methods, and counts and averages methods. Participants will also gain insights into the data elements provided to actuaries for estimating unpaid claim liabilities, including numerical and qualitative data.

Don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights and guidance on effectively managing captive insurance. Register for the webinar today and take a proactive approach to managing your captives!

Previewing The 2024 San Diego RIMS Conference

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I used to travel a lot. When first flying into India the person in the seat next to me, on learning that this was my first time to visit, said, “nothing prepares you for India.” How right he was!

The same applies to Riskworld, the RIMS conference in San Diego that starts soon, the week after next, May 5-8. 

San Diego, the host of the 2024 RIMS Conference

Firstly the size. This thing is huge, with 20+ hotels in play and an exhibit hall and education sessions that can only be hosted in some of the larger exhibition/conference centers in the country. 

Secondly, scope. While the major players within risk management are there, and, yes, Vermont is a major player, there are huge numbers of risk managers, health and safety folks and many other making up a crowd that is likely around 5 figures in size. 

And captive insurance is on the menu in San Diego! For example, four people with strong Vermont connections (Anne Marie Towle, Melissa Hollingsworth, Kristen Peed, and Will Lehman) are presenting their  ‘Captive Board Games’ session on May 6th.

My goals for RIMS?

  • Chatting with folks who are just learning about captive insurance and discuss why it might be a smart risk management move for their organization.
  • Meet as many Vermont captive owners as possible and have them sign the Vermont poster in the booth – it’s an annual tradition!
  • Support the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation and Department of Economic Development as they talk with current and future captive owners, risk managers and service providers about starting and growing a Vermont-based captive.
  • Conduct interviews for the ‘Just One Question’ feature, the occasional mini report I publish on our blog whereby I ask (usually) a singular question to a prominent captive professional about what’s going on in the industry and what they anticipate next.

I will be joined at RIMS by my VCIA colleague Angie Armour, so, if you are traveling to San Diego please make sure to visit us on the Vermont stand – the only place in the entire exhibit hall giving away genuine Vermont maple syrup!

Lifting Up our Volunteers During National Volunteer Month

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Last week, we posted about it on LinkedIn, and this week I want to expound on the importance of our supporters. It’s been said before, but it really just cannot be said enough – organizations like the VCIA could not exist without volunteers. In fact, we thrive on them!

There are many ways to get involved and impact how VCIA functions. From serving on the Board, to participating in one of our committees, to speaking at conferences and other events, literally hundreds of committed and dedicated people provide the fuel, the lubricating oil and the spark that the VCIA motor needs.

Legislative volunteer!

April is Volunteer month, and it makes it an appropriate time to reflect upon the fact that the VCIA was founded by volunteers, is guided by volunteers, and would come to a crashing halt were it not for this group that gives of their time and talent so freely. In return, they get a line for their LinkedIn profile, but more importantly, a tremendous level of satisfaction in a job well done while successfully collaborating with friends and competitors alike. The great value of the captive community becomes vividly apparent when you account for how many talented individuals choose to volunteer in our association and others.

VCIA Board volunteers!

The VCIA exists both for you and because of you. In the end, we’re deeply fortunate to be the great “melting pot” where the experience of various captive professionals–and industries–pour in to make us a dynamic and forward-thinking organization.

So, thank you! Please join me in thanking all our stellar volunteers in whatever capacity they choose to work within.  As we proceed into our strategic planning, the value of our volunteers and committees will be top of mind!

P.S. For those of you not currently volunteering, do please look for our recruitment notifications later this year or just reach out to me. Let’s keep the conversation going at kmead@vcia.com

Catching up with VCIEL: On Giving College Presentations, Developing Resources, and Reflecting on One Year In

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Officially, The Vermont Captive Insurance Emerging Leaders (VCIEL) is a shade over one year old. In fact, tomorrow, April 12th, marks the day last year when we had our launch party and celebrated our start with the Vermont captive community. In a way, it felt like our supporters were bidding us good luck as we enthusiastically set sail to discover new land—which is, in this poor metaphor of mine, the next generation of captive professionals to preserve and advance this vibrant industry.

Students at the Vermont Roadshow

One year in, I report back with good news—and challenges ahead. The good news begins with the incredible people who form the VCIEL. The VCIA is deeply grateful for the dedication and hard work these members have put in. The team is focused, collaborative, and genuinely committed to raising awareness about the captive industry. The general VCIEL group meets every other month, and on top of that, three subcommittees—Networking, Education, Marketing & Resources—meet on a frequent basis to map out the plans and goals of the group.

At Champlain College

The Education Committee, for example, has built relationships with local colleges and converted those connections into in-class presentations. A VCIEL group gave Captive101 presentations at Norwich University and Champlain College, and other members delivered a “How to Network” lecture to the UVM Entrepreneur Club.

At UVM

All VCIEL interactions with “new prospects” have been accompanied by important information that students and others can use to explore (and find career opportunities in) the captive industry. That’s where the Marketing & Resources committee has been so effective, producing a Vermont Captive Career Directory, a Vermont Captive Internship Roster, and a forthcoming Guide for First Time VCIA Conference Attendees.

The challenge remains exposure—how, even as Vermont reigns as the world’s top captive domicile, public awareness, especially among youth, is still low. But VCIEL is moving the needle on this, and we are taking the “long game” approach where we believe building solid relationships with campuses will yield fruitful returns. We’ve already had positive feedback that reaffirms this strategy. Norwich University wants us back next year for another presentation; UVM wants us back at their Career Fair. A Champlain College professor loved the Vermont Captive Roadshow event for her students: “We had a wonderful event with the VCIA roadshow and student luncheon!”

Just by reading this update you are supporting the VCIEL cause. We thank you and we need your assistance in promoting our initiatives and raising awareness about the industry. The VCIA Conference Student Sponsorship presented by VCIEL is a perfect way to get skin in the game. We just received our first student sponsorship, and we want this to snowball into many organizations sponsoring students! Please review all student sponsorship details here and connect with VCIA’s Angie Armour. P.S. VCIEL will actively recruit bright students for you if you don’t have one lined up, and we know a fair share of students excited about their captive prospects!

One year in, VCIEL is making solid progress. But it’s also a game of patience and resolve. I am beginning to understand this with my two year old. He crawled and crawled until finally a few months after his first birthday, he began walking. Now he runs like the Tasmanian devil, and I’m confident VCIEL is ready to hit full stride too.

Behind the Scenes of the Newly Released #VCIA2024 Official Logo!

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On behalf of The VCIA Board and staff members, I proudly share with you our 39th Annual Conference logo. You can get a taste for #VCIA2024 just by looking at it, and as remarked in this LinkedIn post, the logo captures the essence of our conference.

  • #VCIA2024 will be fun! We haven’t earned our top notch conference reputation on outstanding educational content alone. Simply put, The VCIA Conference is a great time, thanks to the friendly captive atmosphere, pleasant setting, and the plethora of quality pubs and restaurants to enjoy in downtown Burlington.
  • #VCIA2024 is completely welcoming! Like the rich colors that the logo bring out, our conference invites ALL members of the captive world – and those who wish to enter it. That means other state regulators and associations, international delegates, non members, students, and everyone under the sun has a place at our conference.
  • #VCIA2024 is visionary and forward-thinking. A good conference, regardless of industry type, is a reliable bellwether, serving as a platform to gauge how the industry is doing in real-time, and also forecasting where it is heading. #VCIA2024 will be no exception. Thanks in large part to so many industry thought leaders and key players who will be attending and presenting! Indeed, our logo is fresh and new, indicative of the creative juices that so many of you harness in the captive industry.

Interesting Behind-the-Scenes Facts about Forming the 2024 Conference Logo

  • Similar to our entire conference process, developing and finalizing the logo each year is a painstaking process, taking months and going from brainstorming, to drafting/editing, and then publicizing.
  • In the generative process of producing the logo, we scour the Internet and our local shops for logos that are simply pleasing to the eye. Then we identify different visual characteristics (Fonts bold or thin? Colors cool or warm? What about icons to supplement the logo? Etc.) we want to inform the logo. Based on our wish list, two or three mock ups are done until we determine the finalist.
  • Still a dear friend to VCIA, we thank Dave Rapuano, our former in-house graphic designer, who was contracted to produce another stunning conference logo.
  • Did you know? There used to be themed conferences? For instance, “Lights, Cameras, Captives!” These were fun, but we’ve done away for them and retain our evergreen conference tagline, “Where the Captive World Comes to Meet” because it reflects the global audience it attracts and showcases our captive conference as the largest in America.
  • The way the red Coca-Cola logo is engrained in public consciousness, so we hope our conference logo will be a familiar sight to everyone across the captive spectrum! Expect to see it in the captive media and on all of our conference communications.
  • What pops to mind when you see our new conference logo? Shoot me an email at kmead@vcia.com, and then we can continue the conversation at the conference! Remember, registration opens May 15th!

Takeaways from VCIA’s First Home Roadshow in 7 Years

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The captive excitement was palpable at the waterfront Hilton Burlington Hotel this week.

On Tuesday, our Board conducted its quarterly meeting—hashing out some important details on membership engagement, charting our strategic planning timeline, and hearing from staff on conference updates and the database transition, among other things. We then continued the conversation at Burlington’s charming Gryphon pub for our traditional staff/Board dinner and anticipated the fun to come at VCIA’s Annual Conference in August.   

The following day—VCIA’s home roadshow—resulted in a celebration of our great captive industry here in Vermont. I’m happy to report that 157 people attended the big event, including 33 students/faculty from the University of Vermont, Champlain College, and Saint Michael’s College. That’s 21% of our total crowd, and to my mind, a huge success!

You could see the productive student engagement unfold at VCIEL’s student luncheon, where tables full of students, Board members, VCIEL members and VCIA staff, chatted about the basics of captive insurance and entry ways to captive careers. The food was good, the questions were excellent, and already a couple of students expressed interest in attending our Annual Conference. Furthermore, VCIEL is actively following up with students to set up informational interviews for them to learn about the different roles service providers play.

I’m happy to report that 157 people attended the big event, including 33 students/faculty from the University of Vermont, Champlain College, and Saint Michael’s College. That’s 21% of our total crowd, and to my mind, a huge success!

KEVin Mead, VCIA CEO

I am also glad to say that my cold did not dampen the roadshow one bit. Francis McGill, VCIA’s Senior Director of Marketing, delivered the roadshow welcoming remarks without a hitch. Sandy Bigglestone replaced me as moderator for the day, and she might have another job as interviewer or TV anchor, because she was a dynamite facilitator!

I must thank our panelists, from Zaw and Kim who presided over Captive 101, to the familiar faces of the Vermont Captive team—Sandy, Christine Brown, and Brittany Nevins, who make captive regulation and set up so accessible in our State. The captive owners panel, made up of UVM Health Network Sunny Eappen, Carris Reels CFO Dave Fitz-Gerald, and Alberici Constructors VP of Risk Management (and a VCIA Board member) Melinda Young were in a word, phenomenal! The insight they gave has so much value to not only prospective captive owners, but to peers and the service providers who help maintain and advance the captive.

To that end, I want to relay some valuable information I personally picked up from the captive owners.

               Insurance is a personal thing. Once you sift through the administrative tape, this might be obvious, but UVM Health Network’s Sunny Eappen gave a convincing account of how that really works for his physicians. Check out the video below on how important – and personal – professional liability can be.

               Commercial insurance can supplement your captive portfolio. Again, this might be obvious to the seasoned captive professionals in the room, but the panelists reminded the audience that commercial insurance is not the boogey man, and in fact, even if prices might be inflated for certain lines, they might be the better option—cyber for example—than your captive choice.

               Your business plan is not a one and done proposal! Dave Fitz-Gerald of Carris Reels emphasized this point. Carris Reels is just about one year old with its captive, so it entered the space prudently. However, Dave has already found opportunity for expanding lines of coverage and potential capital gains. Melinda Young of Alberici’s agreed and cited the DFR regulators as a captive’s best friend; for where it might take a few weeks to months to approve updated captive business plans in other domiciles, the DFR works with you in a swift and accurate manner to position your captive where it wants to go.

How about you, what did you learn? I’m reminded just how essential VCIA’s educational platforms are because so many people and organizations continue to migrate to the captive space!

A final thanks to our great sponsors who helped us achieve a wonderful home event. The State of Vermont, Aon, and Downs Rachlin Martin.

Vermont Roadshow Finally Arrives Next Week! Plus: a big win for RRGs

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VCIA has had March 27th, 2024 circled on its calendar for, well, close to a year. So it would be an understatement to say we have been very active in promoting the event and deliberate in reaching new audiences. The work has paid off: by my count, we currently have 125 people registered for the event next week! Online registration closes Monday 3/25, but walk-ins are of course welcome to register on-site. Save your seat by registering now!

Since we are on home turf, VCIA and the Department of Economic Development’s Brittany Nevins have strategically engaged local businesses, and made a convincing case that it would behoove them to attend our captive roadshow to learn about a valuable and flexible risk management tool.

Additionally, we have invested time and resources in recruiting college students & faculty to the event. I need to thank the VCIEL and their tireless effort in building higher-ed relationships that will benefit the industry not just for this roadshow, but for the long term. VCIEL has incentivized the roadshow by offering something college students surely cannot pass on–free food. The luncheon prior to the roadshow will include VCIA staff, Board members, and VCIEL members sharing captive insights and hearing the students’ career aspirations.

Our home roadshow will be a substantial one. We have a tremendous lineup of speakers and captive owners, who manage or support significant operations in big industries. The healthcare, construction, and manufacturing sectors, needless to say, have a huge global economic impact, and that’s why we are pleased to present 3 captive owner leaders with much to share. Moreover, two of our captive owners are Vermont-based businesses! Vermont loves nothing more than the “local movement” and we look forward to hearing the stories of Carris Reels and the University of Vermont Health Network.

We’ve got a dynamite lineup for our roadshow next week!

Finally, I do want to specifically acknowledge our friends who are sponsoring this event. Many thanks to Aon, Downs Rachlin Martin, and The State of Vermont, for helping us put on this wonderful event. Our conference slogan is “Where the captive world comes to meet” and I can say for certain our roadshow will be “Where the Vermont captive world comes to meet.”

A Big Win for RRGs

Something important recently occurred and I would be remiss to ignore it.

Those of you with longer memories, especially those with an interest in RRGs will recall the concerns expressed last year over a Florida bill that would have had a severely limiting effect on the use of RRGs for Florida-based transportation entities.  At that time, the NRRA and their Executive Director, Joe Deems, mobilized a coalition (of which the VCIA was a part) to lobby against that egregious intrusion.  Those efforts were successful, and the bill died.

Fast forwards to 2024, and again through the efforts of Joe and the NRRA there is a much more beneficial (CS/HB 215) bill sitting on the Florida Governor’s desk awaiting signature. 

This is a considerable success for the NRRA and they have pledged to build on this in the future.  The VCIA congratulates all within the NRRA for showing the benefits of effective pro-active advocacy.

Report from CICA 2024 by Angie Armour

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Earlier this week I saw the dry, dust covered hills of Arizona for the first time as I touched down in Phoenix for the 2024 Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA) annual conference held at the Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale. I’m obviously partial to my Green Mountains, but what Vermonter doesn’t love bluebird skies and 70-degree weather in mid-March?  

Enjoying dinner with conference friends after the day’s events

The conference kicked off with a golf tournament and a beer tour, and because I’m a bit of a shy golfer, I chose to attend the beer tour and I’m so glad I did. A group of roughly 50 of us visited three of the area’s best microbreweries for a tour, tasting, and lunch. It was a great way to meet and connect with other attendees and enjoy some of the local Scottsdale culture.

Kudos to the CICA crew, led by Dan Towle, who put on a truly first-rate conference and welcomed a record 650+ attendees, a significant bump over the past few years. Congratulations also to Nick Hentges and the CICA Board for their leadership in creating interesting and educational sessions, and a tear-jerker of a keynote given by Lt. Col. Dan Rooney, a true American hero, who spoke about the Folds of Honor program he started to create scholarships for family members of military veterans.

Hanging with VCIA Board member Ryan Gadapee and VCIEL member Peter Dysart

As one would expect, there was a large and lively Vermont contingent at CICA, and aside from meeting some great folks from around the country, I really enjoyed spending time with VCIA’s Vermont-based members and volunteers. I was able to connect with both current and potential exhibitors and sponsors for the VCIA Conference in August, and time and again, I heard from many who are eagerly looking forward to being in Burlington for our big August 12-14 event.

You know it’s been a good conference when you have a lot of work to do upon your return, and I’m thrilled to be following up with many people I met this week. I have only a few booths left, a few sponsorships remaining and I’m working on membership strategies that will keep VCIA strong for years to come. Please reach out if you have any questions!

Signing off from CICA, Angie

Angie Armour, Director of Sponsorships, Exhibitors, and Membership

…Just One Question with Captive Intelligence’s Richard Cutcher

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Back by popularity …Just One Question poses a single inquiry to an individual in the captive community and captures their assessment of where the industry is and where it’s going.

For this edition of …Just One Question I aimed to shift from the micro to the macro level. I pondered who might have a keen insight into the global pulse of the industry, ultimately settling on Richard Cutcher of Captive Intelligence as an ideal subject. Richard Cutcher is the founder and editor of Captive Intelligence, home to the industry’s preeminent podcast, Global Captive Podcast.

Thus, I transformed him from the ‘hunter’ to the ‘hunted,’ posing the question, “where is this industry going?”

“We are well on the path to mainstreaming,” remarked Richard. “Not only within the insurance realm but also among major corporate entities.” Coincidentally, Richard and I conversed the day following the successful AIRMC captive event in London. “For the third consecutive year, the ‘Captive Bootcamp’ was fully attended,” Richard noted. “Over 50 UK-based entities were exploring captives as a strategic tool. An intriguing trend is the growing interest from non-profits such as universities and charities.”

We are well on the path to mainstreaming [the captive industry]. Not only within the insurance realm but also among major corporate entities.

Richard Cutcher, Founder and Editor, Captive Intelligence

Many of us have been keenly observing the emergence of new European captive domiciles, and Richard provided an intriguing perspective on this matter. “Primarily, these represent new players in the market – in France, for instance, it’s not a matter of redomesticating from Luxembourg or another traditional captive domicile but rather establishing entirely new ventures. Should the UK pursue its own options, a similar scenario is likely to unfold.”

For Richard, all these developments suggest that captives may now be beyond just being counter-cyclical to the commercial market. “Previously, captives were viewed as a flexible tool in times of crisis. However, the prolonged hard market, compounded by COVID, catastrophic risks, and other factors, has led both corporates and traditional insurers to recognize the necessity of actively considering captives.”

It was truly insightful to ‘turn the tables’ on Richard – his perspectives consistently offer a broad view, particularly when many of us (myself included) are entrenched in our specific domains.

I want to thank Richard for being the second guest of …Just One Question. I look forward to asking more questions at CICA and reporting back to you readers!