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Recapping a successful, historic VCIA Trade Mission to Mexico City

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Mexico and Vermont. Aside from the glorious Cabot Habanero cheese (which likely has no content from Mexico!), the links might not be immediately apparent. But we are working on fixing that in the captive insurance space, and it started with VCIA’s triumphant Trade Mission to Mexico City, as our Vermont contingent established quality relationships with our Mexican counterparts that will last for years.

This week has been the most incredible and positive experience for the expansion of both the industry and Vermont as a domicile. I will be providing an in-depth debrief with our member-exclusive special report coming out in the near future, but for now, there are some major highlights that I want to share as we close our memorable visit.

The Roadshow: Many of you reading this may have either participated in or attended a roadshow, but this international one had a different flavor. Simultaneous translation being the most obvious distinction! Before a full room of about 100 attendees, panels and speakers not only reviewed the Vermont process for establishing a captive, but also covered Mexican tax and regulatory implications.  The audience had a great many well-developed questions, and were clearly keen to explore both the background and the applicability to their own insurance challenges.

The meetings: Multiple meetings with trade associations, government entities and business groups revealed the appetite that there is for captives in Mexico. The desire is there and VCIA and Vermont have pledged our investment in figuring out how captive solutions can work for Mexican companies.

The people: The entire delegation has been impressed with the cordial and cooperative attitude of everyone that we have encountered. This trade mission was about forging relationships in Mexico, and I’m confident these partnerships will continue to grow and yield great captive opportunities for Mexico and the Green Mountain State. Bonus if we get some Mexican friends to come out our Annual Conference in August!

Before…about 100 attendees, speakers not only reviewed the Vermont process for establishing a captive, but also covered Mexican tax and regulatory implications.  The audience had a great many well-developed questions…and were keen to explore the background and the applicability to their own insurance challenges.

VCIA President Kevin Mead on the successful Mexico City Trade Mission

The VCIA, the DFR, the DED and our facilitators from within the federal government can all be proud of how we represented Vermont and the industry this week.  All of us have an extensive to-do list, with lots of substantive follow up, not just thank you notes.  We are convinced that this is a market where Vermont can offer tangible value to Mexican entities, and I am looking forwards to providing you with a special briefing on this in the very near future.

Previewing VCIA’s Historic Trade Mission to Mexico Happening Next Week

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With a sixteen-inch storm due at my Vermont house, this seemed like a good time to escape to 80+ degrees in Mexico City!  Aside from the weather, the real reason is the VCIA’s curation of and participation in the first ever trade mission from the Vermont captive sector to Latin America; in particular, our southern neighbor Mexico, the second largest Latin American economy and one with robust industrial and manufacturing sectors. Our goal is simple: to establish lasting relationships between Mexican companies and the Vermont captive community.

Beautiful Mexico City

My colleague, Janice Valgoi, has spent many hours moving this from a standard VCIA roadshow into a fully-fledged multi-day event that will include meetings with industry and financial sector leadership groups as we present the case for captive insurance in general and Vermont as a domicile specifically. My hope is that I will be able to provide real-time updates via my LinkedIn Page, and if we gather enough material, to produce a Special Mexico Trade Mission Report to VCIA Members, just like we did with Legislative Day.

Three years in the making (thanks COVID), these plans were revitalized as travel restrictions were lifted. We are now all delighted to be working on developing this market – one that Vermont already has exposure in – and building a global brand for our Brave Little State.  Joining myself and Janice on this trip are Brittany Nevins from the VT Department of Economic Development (DED), and the Department of Financial Regulation (DFR)’s captive team of Sandy Bigglestone, Christine Brown and Jim DeVoe-Talluto. You can find the State’s informative press release about our trade mission here. In addition, Susan Murray of the US Commercial Service, and Tim Tierney, the DED’s Director of Business Recruitment and International Trade, have been a great help, and will also be joining us in Mexico City.

For our March 1st educational session, the Vermont contingent will be joined on stage by captive owners and managers from Mexico, as we all demonstrate how coverage and pricing challenges can be addressed through captives. We have an extraordinary talented lineup that will offer diverse perspectives on the innovative uses of captives for corporations. As I’m still a captive student, I will be sure to bring my paper and pencil!

Everyone has been so patient with this project, which was planned long before my arrival – and especially tolerant have been our sponsors, AIG & Marsh, as well as the State of Vermont, all who have graciously allowed us to rely on their support despite the delay. My sincere thanks goes out to our sponsors and everyone that has made this landmark trip for our association possible – especially you, Janice Valgoi! I look forward to sharing more once I’m on the ground in “The City of Palaces.”