Category Archives: VCIA Signature Series

A Busy and Productive Week with VCIA

Posted on by
Reply

Captive Roadshow and Hot Topic Webinar Major Successes on Back-to-Back Days

2022 brings a wealth of enthusiasm and optimism not only for VCIA but for the entire captive industry. The major cause of this excitement derives from the simple fact that we are all getting together again. Catching up. Building out networks. Collaborating on new ideas. The possibilities are endless when we’re all in the same room. (Which is why we’re so thrilled to bring back our conference this August!)

It’s no small feat then, that this week VCIA’s returned with its first in-person Original Captive Roadshow since November 2019!  In Indianapolis on Tuesday an audience of over sixty professionals listened intently and asked great questions as a panel of Vermont industry experts (Sandy Bigglestone, Dave Provost, Brittany Nevins) enjoyed a captive conversation facilitated by Hylant’s Anne Marie Towle. The Vermont team outlined the process and structures of captives in Vermont and why captives can thrive in the Green Mountain State.

2022 brings a wealth of enthusiasm and optimism not only for VCIA but for the entire captive industry. The major cause of this excitement derives from the simple fact that we are all getting together again.

Following that, two captive owners Valynda Laird and Will Lehman explained their business case and development of their own entities that have done so well due to captive formation.  The feedback was very positive and we are already deep in planning for the next two. The Big Apple just might be seeing our Roadshow before the year lets out.

A great turnout it Indy

Not forgetting our Hot Topic Webinar series, the very next day our March webinar had a similar number of attendees for a great session on Strategic Planning for Captive Optimization and Future Success. Many thanks to the erudite panelists, and the State of Vermont’s own Christine Brown who moderated the talk.

These events and others, both online and in-person, have served us well as we identify in-demand topics and exceptional presenters for our August 2022 conference. We are about 6 weeks away from registration, but you can get a ‘sneak peak’ of the entire schedule and sign up for more info at VCIA.com.

Cheers to you, captive learning, and captive collaboration. Happy spring!

It’s a Wrap – Thank You!

Posted on by
Reply

Just a quick thank you to all of you who supported VCIA this past week helping and attending our annual captive conference. By all accounts it was a terrific success, and we could have not done it without the brains, sweat, and time of our volunteer members who made it all happen.

Tina Bukow from KBRA was our indefatigable 2021 Conference Chair, and she kept upbeat and enthusiastic no matter what was thrown her way. She led the wonderful VCIA Conference Task Force starting way back last September to last week’s triumph –  thank you, Tina!

VCIA’s Board of Directors rolled up their sleeves and jumped right into the fray as well. Thank you to Andrew Baillie from AES Global Insurance Company, Jason Palmer of Willis, Donna Blair, Dennis Silvia from Davies Captive Management, Lawrence Cook, Anne Marie Towle from Hylant, Tracy Hassett from EdHealth, Derick White from SRS, Jan Klodowski from Agrisurance Inc., and Board Chair Stephanie Mapes from Paul Frank + Collins.

And finally, to VCIA’s terrific staff! Diane Leach, Elizabeth Halpern, Peggy Companion, Janice Valgoi, Dave Rapuano, Meg Precourt, and our super intern Morgan McCuin. I can’t tell you how proud I am to be associated with such good people!  As Mike Meehan from Milliman and VCIA’s 2021 Industry Service Awardee said in his acceptance speech: it’s amazing that such a small staff can do so much.

Thank you and I look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks at the October 20th Member Mixer!

Rich Smith,
VCIA President  

Captive Review Recognition

Posted on by
Reply

Captive Review hosted its annual Power 50 awards yesterday and I wanted to highlight some of the winners with strong connections to VCIA and Vermont.

First, they gave a shoutout to leaders in the captive owner category, two of VCIA’s board members were recognized: Andrew Baillie of AES and Tracy Hassett of EdHealth. Also recognized in this category were VCIA members Deyna Feng from Cummins and Julie Bordo of PCH Mutual Insurance Company (RRG).

New entrants to Captive Review’s Hall of Fame were former VCIA board member Steve McElhiney with Artex, former VCIA finance committee chair Michael Corbett with Pinnacle Financial Partners, and recent VCIA Industry Service awardee Mike Zuckerman of Temple University.  Also recognized were Captive Professionals to Watch including Alicia Miller of Crowe and Molly Hengtes of Gallagher Bassett.

Finally, congratulations to our colleagues who were named in the Power 50, including Greg Agnone of Midwest Employers Casualty (50), Mike Raybshteyn of EY (45), Rob Walling of Pinnacle Actuarial Services (39), John Prescott of Johnson Lambert (38), Nick Frost of Davies Captive Management (36), Paul Corver of R&Q (32), Renea Louie of Pro Group (31), Amy O’Brien of Gallagher Bassett (30), Phil Giles of MSL Captive Solutions (29), Mike Serricchio of Marsh Captive Solutions (25), Steve Bauman of AXA XL (24), Anj Fowler of Madison Scottsdale (23), Bob Gagliardi of AIG (21), Dan Kusaila of Crowe (19), Karin Landry of Spring Consulting (17), Mike Meehan of Milliman (13), Pete Kranz of Beecher Carlson (11), Anne Marie Towle of Hylant Global Captive Solutions (8), Sandy Bigglestone of Vermont’s Department of Financial Regulation (7), Nancy Gray of Aon (3), and Brady Young of SRS (1).

Congratulations to you all… and even to you Dan Towle of CICA (9)!

Thank you and I look forward to seeing you soon.  

Rich Smith
VCIA

Hit Me with Your Best Shot

Posted on by
Reply

I just received my first shot of the COVID vaccine yesterday, and it provided a real boost of optimism that we are heading out of this weird nightmare. I would never have guessed how excited I’d be about getting a jab in the arm with a sharp needle!

Governor Scott of Vermont, who has been incredibly disciplined about taking necessary precautions, has said he expects the state to be more or less open by July 4th.  As we start to head into nicer weather up here in the Great North, that is  good news. Still a lot to be worried about when I scan the news from around the world: huge spikes in Brazil, slow rollout of vaccines in Europe, the fact that many in the developing world won’t see vaccinations until next year.

COVID is indeed an international issue – not only is there a truly humanitarian issue at stake, but the pace of vaccinations around the world will impact us all.  That’s why it was interesting to hear about the new Global Health Risk Facility (GHRF). The GHRF is a highly collaborative undertaking that insures the transportation and storage of COVID-19 vaccines, and other critical health commodities, for the benefit of low, middle, and upper-middle-income countries. The GHRF has been developed by Parsyl, a Lloyd’s Lab alumni, in close partnership with AXA XL, Ascot and McGill and Partners. AXA XL will lead the risk management and local policy implementation.

What’s also interesting (though maybe not a big surprise) is that  many of the pharmaceutical companies involved with the development and manufacturing of the vaccines chose to base their captives here in Vermont. How cool is that?! Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and AstraZeneca all domicile their captive insurance companies here, for good reason.

I look forward to learning  more about how captives were utilized in these extraordinary times. Which is exactly what will happening as part of the VCIA Signature Series, this coming Tuesday, April 13th! One of our sessions is on disaster (and unforeseen event) preparedness and recovery. We will learn from captive owners whose programs have navigated the treacherousness of the pandemic, sure to be fascinating. Also in the line-up for that day is a great session about cyber-risk and it’s ever-expanding nature of threat. The day ends with a private forum for captive owners to get together, see each other (via camera), share ideas and collaborate. Should be a great day and it’s not too late for you to register! More info at http://www.vcia.com.  

Thank you and I look forward to seeing you soon.  

Rich Smith
VCIA President

Your Signature (Series)

Posted on by
1

Join VCIA for its Inaugural Signature Series Event on April 13th! The Signature Series is an online event consisting of two Captive Education Sessions, each followed by Guided Discussion Groups hosted by Industry Experts. The day also features a Captive Owners Forum.

The first session will be the dramedy  “Disaster! – What’s the Plan?” exploring the reactions, interactions, and strategies to prepare your company and captive program for the next unforeseen event. We’ll illustrate real time issues companies and captives faced in the wake of the declaration of the COVID-19 Pandemic and how to better prepare your company for future disasters and other major business challenges. Our cast of thespians will examine the importance of a disaster preparedness plan, its key components and how to craft such a plan for your company. The stars of this dramady are Julie Bordo, President & CEO of PCH Mutual Insurance Co. Inc. (RRG), Hugo Crawley, Chairman of TigerRisk Partners (UK), Gail Newman, Vice President of Risk Management for Bright Horizons Family Solutions, and Michael O’Malley, Managing Director of Strategic Risk Solutions.  It may be so good we take it into syndication!

Our second session will look to answer many questions around cyber risk and captives. As cyber-attacks become more frequent and increasingly harmful, are you prepared? What risk financing and management techniques are you using today to handle your cyber risk? Are you familiar with regulation and governance required to manage cyber exposure for your organization? How do you design a program which provides appropriate coverage cost-effective price, along with the associated vendor costs, to prepare if a cyber event occurs in your organization?

Elisabeth Case, Managing Director at Marsh, John O’Neil, Corporate Insurance Risk Manager at MassMutual, Dan Petterson, Director of Captive Examinations for Vermont’s Division of Captive Insurance, and Uso Sayers, Managing Director at Johnson Lambert, will share knowledge of best practices, and what coverages you need to ensure for, both in and out of your captive, to protect your organization from this ever-expanding threat.

And finally, for our captive owners only forum, two captive owners will lead a dynamic discussion with other captive owners exploring current industry challenges, solutions, new ideas and industry best practices. Melinda Young of NC3 and Brian Johnson of Alliance of Nonprofits for Insurance, RRG, will corral the issues most on the minds of captive owners using interactive technology.

Click here to register today!

Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you.

Rich Smith
VCIA President