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Early UK election expected to delay domestic captive regime

Richard Cutcher
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Early UK election expected to delay domestic captive regime

News that UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is calling an early general election could delay progress on the introduction of captive regime in the United Kingdom.

Conversative PM Sunak announced this afternoon that an election will be held on 4 July, with the Labour Party holding a significant lead in the polls and expected to get the keys to 10 Downing Street.

Captive Intelligence has reported extensively over the past 12 months on the prospect of a new regulatory framework for captives in London, with the current Conservative government committing to a consultation this spring.

That consultation has yet to be published, but the London Market Group had successfully lobbied Treasury and MPs interested in financial services and the insurance market to get it on the agenda.

Primary legislation should not be needed to amend the insurance rules that would introduce a regulatory framework tailored to captives, but any changes would require a pro-active approach from the government of the day.

While the Conservatives had committed to pressing ahead with the project, Captive Intelligence understands Labour does not have it as a priority to pursue should they enter government.

Labour’s shadow treasury team have, however, been briefed on the feasibility and benefits of having a captive insurance regime and the London Market Group remains committed to the project.

“Our data shows that London is the leading risk transfer market in the world,” Caroline Wagstaff, CEO of the London Market Group, said.

“We very much hope the next government helps us to capitalise on that by ensuring that we can offer clients all the tools in the tool kit and rapidly progressing a UK captive regime. It is a quick win for demonstrating a commitment to growth and competitiveness and would make an important contribution to the UK economy.”

The prospect of a UK captive regime was discussed in depth by LMG CEO Caroline Wagstaff and Aon’s Charles Winter in episode 94 of the Global Captive Podcast, while Chris Lay, CEO of Marsh McLennan UK, co-authored an article in January explaining why the broker was supporting the initiative.

Lay also featured in a GCP episode with Marsh colleagues William Thomas-Ferrand and Matthew Latham debating what would make a successful UK captive domicile.

Captive Resources confirm leadership additions, Steven Gransbury to lead Health Solutions

Richard Cutcher
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Captive Resources confirm leadership additions, Steven Gransbury to lead Health Solutions

Group captive experts Captive Resources, LLC (CRI) has announced the creation of two business units and confirmed additions to its executive committee.

The group captive consultants has experienced significant growth in medical stop loss in the past five years.

As a result, it has now created two separate business units – Property & Casualty (P&C) and Health Solutions.

Steven Gransbury, previously head of specialty at QBE North America, has been appointed president of Health Solutions, while JP Boulus is president of P&C.

Donna Dreuth is now chief financial officer and chief administrative officer, while John Pontin is chief growth officer.

Boulus, Dreuth and Pontin are part of the executive committee also including co-CEOs Nick Hentges and Mike Foley.

CRI has also appointed Mark Knipfer, previously chief operations officer at Zurich North America, as its chief strategy officer, and Terry McCafferty, formerly president and CEO of Falls Lake National Insurance Company at James River Holdings, as its chief underwriting officer for P&C.

“I am very excited about the recent changes and additions to our leadership team,” said CEO Nick Hentges.

“These changes position Captive Resources for the continuing robust growth we’re seeing in both our Property & Casualty and Health Solutions businesses.

“We spend a great deal of time thinking strategically about the future and ensuring we have a management team that will continue moving Captive Resources forward.”

CRI also has two subsidiaries – Kensington Management Group, LLC, a full service captive management firm led by its president Erin Brosnihan, and Edgewater Actuarial Insights, LLC, led by president Bob Effinger.

“The key to our success is providing outstanding service to our clients and their brokers,” Hentges added.

“Building our management team and remaining focused on hiring the very best talent is critical to giving our clients the exceptional captive experience that has become a hallmark of our company.”

Governor Scott signs latest Vermont captive bill into law

Luke Harrison
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Governor Scott signs latest Vermont captive bill into law

Governor Phil Scott has signed Bill H.659 into law making several changes to the Vermont captive insurance statute.

Each year the Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) works with the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) to propose updates to captive insurance statutes based on industry feedback.

“Vermont has a strong foundation of regulators and service providers who work together to ensure our state is as supportive as possible for Vermont’s captive insurance companies,” said Governor Scott.

“The passage of the yearly captive bill is always an important action to further improve the quality of our regulation.”

Highlights of this year’s bill include adding explicit language allowing for conversions of captives into protected cells, amending language for parametric contracts to allow for different parametric contract structures, while statutory redundancies were addressed pertaining to confidentiality requirements. 

There has also been an amendment reducing the minimum capital for an agency captive from $500,000 to $250,000.

A lower minimum capital requirement is expected to compare more consistently with the captive market, without lowering expectations of captive insurance companies. 

While the Bill had been sitting on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature, Captive Intelligence published a long read exploring the Bill in detail and what the amendments could mean for the Vermont captive landscape.

“This process is essential for Vermont to proactively address inefficiencies in its statutes without compromising on quality regulation,” said Brittany Nevins, captive insurance economic development director at the Vermont Department of Economic Development.

“This annual process ensures that Vermont is continuing to regulate captive insurance companies as best as possible.”

Title reinsurance an opportunity to expand captive utilisation in United States

Luke Harrison
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Title reinsurance an opportunity to expand captive utilisation in United States

Reinsuring title insurance is an opportunity for captive owners to expand utilisation and profit from a new line of insurance, according to Clinton Casabella, a title reinsurance expert in the United States, and SVP of business development at Grid151.

Casabella works with Westcor Specialty to sell title insurance to corporates and is now also working with captive owners to help them implement their own title reinsurance programmes.

When a real estate transaction happens, a set of documents, such as a deed and a mortgage are signed by either the buyer, the seller, or both, and those documents are then placed on public record.

“Those recorded documents are indexed and catalogued to a particular property, so when reviewed in reverse chronological order, become what’s known as the ‘chain of title,’” Casabella said, speaking on episode #103 of the Global Captive Podcast.

The job of title insurance professionals is to search the public record, examine that chain of ownership over time and ensure that it is unbroken and without defect.

“Title insurance is, therefore, a type of indemnity insurance, which insures against financial loss from defects in the chain of title to real property and from the unenforceability of mortgages and other liens,” Casabella said.

“With most insurance, a client is paying a recurring premium to cover against something that might happen in the future, whereas with title insurance a premium is paid to cover for anything that may have happened in the past, which could threaten the ownership of the property that you’re purchasing or lending on.”

Casabella said title insurance would be of interest for captive owners who buy or sell real estate frequently, in addition to those who do real estate financing, as well as other players in the real estate market.

“This is an opportunity for captive owners to expand the utilisation of their captive by reinsuring a new class of business and reaping the same advantages and benefits that they’ve experienced in reinsuring the more established traditional risks,” he said.

Casabella said that compared to other lines title insurance loss rate ratios are relatively low at less than 5%.

He said Westcor’s current captive programme works on a quota share basis, with the company working with partners to do preliminary work specific to a client’s book of business.

“We’ll look at their book of business and estimate the amount of premium running through the programme in the first year, and work with actuaries on expected claims, losses, and then we’ll use that to generate the required upfront collateral and so on,” Casabella added

SRS Altitude targeting large corporate clients with complex needs

Luke Harrison
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SRS Altitude targeting large corporate clients with complex needs

The ideal clients for SRS Altitude will primarily be in the large corporate space, where clients tend to have sophisticated risk management and risk financing needs.

Strategic Risk Solutions announced the launch of SRS Altitude in November, with the managing general underwriter (MGU) focusing on alternative risk transfer solutions, led by Loredana Mazzoleni Neglén as Global CEO.

Speaking exclusively on the Global Captive Podcast, Neglén and chief commercial officer Thomas Keist explained the genesis of SRS Altitude, its objectives and why an MGU focused on sophisticated clients can be of benefit for captive owners.

“Those clients will have well-established captives or will be in the process of establishing those captives and want to leverage them in their risk management strategy, and management of their overall cost of capital,” said Neglén, speaking on GCP #103.

“We also believe that those clients and captives think long term.”

Keist said the MGU will provide alternative risk transfer solutions for both clients with and without a captive.

“However, we expect the majority of transactions in the first phase of our business operations will involve a captive,” he said.

“Because of the trend of higher retentions, and how they are managed, this also lends itself to us offering products that emulate the financial mechanics of a captive without the actual legal entity being involved.”

Like managing general agents (MGAs), MGUs do not have their own capacity, and instead use the paper and capacity of a legally unrelated risk carrier.

MGUs also tend to focus on a specific markets or products, whereas a commercial insurer typically covers a broader range of risks.

Keist said the main difference between an MGA and a MGU is that MGUs do not handle the premium invoicing or claims.

“It leaves these two very important functionalities to the commercial insurer or reinsurer who is behind the MGU,” he said.

“This is a very positive aspect for clients as it allows for a direct relationship between itself and the commercial insurer on very critical parts of the transaction.”

Neglén said an increase in premium rates and shrinking capacity in the commercial market has accelerated the need for captives to retain more risk.

“This has prompted the need for the captives to enter into structured reinsurance solutions that are multi-year and multi-line, in order to maintain strong solvency ratios,” she said. “I believe this change is structural and for the long-term in our industry, and we see SRS Altitude as an agile vehicle that will be an important play into to this market.”

GCP #103: SRS Altitude arrives, and is Title Reinsurance a good fit for captives?

Richard Cutcher
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GCP #103: SRS Altitude arrives, and is Title Reinsurance a good fit for captives?
Loredana Mazzoleni Neglén, SRS Altitude
Thomas Keist, SRS Altitude
Clinton Casabella, Grid151

In episode 103 of the Global Captive Podcast, supported by the ⁠EY Global Captive Network⁠, Richard has two interesting and newsy conversations.

02.01 – 17.12: First, he is joined by Loredana Mazzoleni Neglén, global CEO of new Switzerland-based managing general underwriter ⁠SRS Altitude⁠, and Thomas Keist, chief commercial officer.

Loredana and Tom discuss why Altitude has launched, what its focus will be and the unique proposition working with an MGU provides to large corporate insurance buyers.

17.51 – 34.21: Richard is joined by Clinton Casabella, a title reinsurance expert in the United States and SVP of business development at ⁠Grid151⁠. Clint works with Westcor Specialty to sell title insurance to corporates, but is now increasingly supporting captives in writing the line of business.

Clint enlightens us about all things title insurance and why he believes the business line is an appealing fit for captives.

For the latest global captive insurance news, analysis and thought leadership, visit captiveintelligence.io and sign up to our ⁠twice-weekly newsletter⁠.

Diana Hardy and Bailey Roese to co-chair CICA NEXTGen committee

Luke Harrison
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Diana Hardy and Bailey Roese to co-chair CICA NEXTGen committee

The Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA) has appointed Diana Hardy and Bailey Roese as co-chairs of the Association’s NEXTGen young and new professionals committee.

Hardy is a partner at RH CPAs, PLLC, and Roese is a partner at law firm Dentons Bingham Greenebaum.

“Interest and excitement surrounding captives is higher than ever, and it has never been more important to attract top talent and grow new leaders to ensure our industry’s success far into the future,” Roese said.

“NEXTGen has meant so much to me as someone newer to the captive space, and I look forward to welcoming others into the fold.” 

Also serving on the NEXTGen committee are Dylan Feringa, Molly Hentges, Nicholas Hentges, Samantha Jones, Prabal Lakhanpal, Joe McDonald, Adam Miholic, Brittany Nevins, Claire Richardson and Michael Zuckerman.

Hardy said whether someone is new in the captive space or has been around for a while and want to help promote young and new captive professionals, all are welcome.

“It’s great that NEXTGen provides a vehicle to bring us all together,” she said.

CICA president Dan Towle said that combining education about the industry and their personal experiences, NEXTGen members are creating a supportive network for each other, and presenting captive insurance careers in ways that resonate with the next generation.

“Diana and Bailey are wonderful leaders,” Towle added. I look forward to seeing NEXTGen continue to build on the progress the committee has made.”

Vermont’s latest “robust” captive bill addresses confidentiality, parametric and cells

Luke Harrison
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Vermont’s latest “robust” captive bill addresses confidentiality, parametric and cells
  • More concise wording around confidentiality and reporting standards
  • Explicit legislation around captives converting to cell structures
  • Parametric policies can now be defined as insurance contracts under Vermont lawVermont’s latest “robust” captive bill addresses confidentiality, parametric and cells

Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed Bill H.659 on May 20, 2024, which includes important updates to the State’s statutes.

The Green Mountain State is the largest captive domicile in the world by number of captives, adding 15 new captives to its roster during the first quarter of 2024, taking the total number of captives to 669.

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VCIA opens registration for 39th annual conference

Luke Harrison
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VCIA opens registration for 39th annual conference

The Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) has opened registration for its 39th Annual Conference, which will take place 12-14 August, at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Burlington, Vermont.

During the conference, VCIA expects to host more than a thousand captive professionals from throughout the United States and around the globe.

“The industry at large is exploding with growth, and our conference always keeps pace and meets the needs of those who enter the captive space for the first time, and those who continue to build out their captive knowledge and networks,” said Kevin Mead, VICA CEO.

There will be 18 CPE/CRE/CLE and ICCIE-eligible educational sessions during the conference, led by preeminent speakers discussing the latest captive trends and emerging risks.

Attendees will also have access to industry leaders, 75 exhibitors and the Vermont regulatory team.

“Vermont is the gold standard of captive expertise and that’s in no small part due to the robust educational and networking value the VCIA Conference provides,” said Sandy Bigglestone, deputy commissioner for the captive insurance division at the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation.

ClearPoint Health to launch MSL Centre of Excellence

Luke Harrison
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ClearPoint Health to launch MSL Centre of Excellence

ClearPoint Health is establishing a medical stop loss Centre of Excellence (COE) focused on satisfying the “full spectrum” of alternative risk structures, according to Phil Giles, chief growth officer at ClearPoint Health.

Giles joined ClearPoint Health earlier this month and the company’s CEO Jeb Dunkelberger told Captive Intelligence last year that there is no end in sight when it comes to current US health insurance challenges, with SMEs disproportionately being impacted.

ClearPoint develops and scales clinically integrated captives, including clinical providers in the sponsorship of medical stop loss captives.

Giles said ClearPoint has created a COE panel for traditional stop loss and level funded business with a strong grouping of highly rated carrier partnerships.

“We’ve got tremendous growth trajectory and have incepted enterprise-level agreements with several major brokers to be their stop loss COE,” he said.

Giles noted that ClearPoint had recently hired five regional vice presidents and was in the process of hiring another two or three more.

“The regional vice presidents will report to another well-known stop loss captive veteran, Gene Pompili,” he said.

Giles said the regional vice presidents will be placed throughout the United States and will provide localised expertise service to ClearPoint’s enterprise partners.

“One of the things that really appeals to me is not only the capabilities that we’re building on a holistic level as a COE, but also the level of talent and expertise that we’re bringing in to be able to service our stop-loss and captive clients,” Giles added.

The ClearPoint platform covers aspects from level-funded structures to traditional medical stop loss for standalone self-insurers and extending to group and single parent captive structures.

“They’ll come to ClearPoint for much, if not all, of their alternative funding needs, whether it’s level funded, traditional stop loss, or captive.”

He added that group medical stop loss captives are expanding at a staggering rate, with the number nearly doubling over the past three and a half years.

Giles said it is not only that more employers are going in the direction of stop loss group captives, but he is also seeing members shift between programmes.

“Brokers that had a lot of business with existing group captives have expressed interest in moving business away from more established and rigidly structured programmes, and creating their own group captives,” he said.

Giles said this allows more flexibility in delivering an alternative risk platform that can better respond to their client’s specific risk and financial objectives.

He also said the activity he is seeing with single parent captives has been “tremendous”, with existing property and casualty captives expanding the utility of their captives.

“I’d say that well more than more than two thirds of established single parent captives are actively pursuing the addition of stop loss to their captive coverage portfolio,” he said.

“Large employers, that don’t have an existing single parent captive, typically those over 1,000 employee lives, can get into a protected cell company (PCC) or rented cell arrangement very easily, and we see a lot of that happening right now for stand-alone stop loss.”

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