A.M.BestTV: Actuaries: Consider The Reasons When Forming a Captive

Business Wire

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- In this episode of ^A.M.BestTV, which wraps up the final day of the annual Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) Conference, a panel of actuaries reviews the path from idea to captive start-up, including why sponsors might consider captives and it sometimes may not be the correct solution. Click on http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=vcia3815 to view the video program. Full conference coverage, which includes an interview with U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, can be seen at http://www.ambest.com/vcia.

“The first service provider for a potential captive formation is the actuary,” said Rob Walling, principal and consulting actuary at Pinnacle Actuarial Resources. “Since actuaries provide funding and feasibility studies, which are core elements of a captive formation, this makes their involvement, even before a captive manager, essential right in the beginning of the process.”

“Feasibility studies are very important,” said Dawne Davenport, consultant, Marsh’s Captive Solutions. “These studies incorporate the data that the prospective captive entity has in its background, as well as what lines of business it may want to consider for captive coverage and retentions.”

“If a company has been making risk management changes or changes to its program, the actuary should be made aware of these changes, since this is information that should be reflected in the feasibility study,” added Michael Meehan, consultant, Millliman Inc.

All agreed that part of an actuary’s responsibilities is to advise a company to make sure that its upper management is receptive to forming a captive, that it has the right service partners and be proactive, since it should be taking full control of its insurance program.

Full-length interviews from the event also are available for viewing:

Abe Kane, vice president, General Reinsurance;
http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=kame815
Joshua Magden, president, Texas Captive Insurance Association;
http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=magden815.
Divya Parikh, vice president of research and risk management; PIAA;
http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=parikh815.
Rory Moloney, global risk consulting, Aon;
http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=moloney815.
Jennifer Stalvey, captive insurance analyst, Tennessee;
http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=stalvey815.
Hank Watkins, president of Lloyd's North America;
http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=watkins815.
Sandy Bigglestone, director of captive insurance, Vermont;
http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=bigglestonei815.
Len Crouse, former captive regulator, Vermont;
http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=crouse815.
U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, democrat, Vermont;
http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=leahy815.

David Provost, deputy commissioner, Vermont Captive Division;
http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=provost815.
Richard Smith, president of the Vermont Captive Insurance Association;
http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=smith815.
John Talley, chief of the New Jersey Office of Captive Insurance;
http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=talley815.
Julie Boucher, captive solutions practice leader, Americas at Marsh
http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=boucher815.

Mike Elliott, senior director of knowledge resources at The Institutes;
http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=elliott815.
Maria Sheffield, captive program manager at the Missouri Department of Insurance;
http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=sheffield815 and
Steve Kinion, director of captive and financial products, Delaware
http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=kinion815.

A.M. Best also recently held a webinar on the state of the captive insurance market. To view the presentation, visit http://www.ambest.com/webinars/captive15.

Recent episodes of ^A.M.BestTV include:

Captive Regulators Worry About Other Regulators: The second day of the annual Vermont Captive Insurance Association Conference, regulators say mounting layers of regulation are making it more difficult for them to oversee their own captive domiciles: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=vcia2815.
Captive Insurance Panel: Domicile Growth, Regulation Add Complexity: The first day of the annual Vermont Captive Insurance Association Conference, a captive insurance panel discusses the current state of captive insurance companies, including developments in regulation and tax considerations: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=vcia1815.
Captives Results Outperform Overall Industry But Reveal Surprises: A new special report and webinar from A.M. Best that reviews financial results, risk issues and business developments ahead of the annual Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) conference in Vermont: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=cappanel15.
Insurance Market Optimism Swells in Nigeria: Associate Director, Analytics Deniese Imoukhuede explains how fluctuating oil prices are hampering Nigeria’s insurance market amid significant growth potential given shifting demographics: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=fmnigeria815.

^A.M.BestTV covers exclusive A.M. Best information and reports, targeted topics and key developments in the (re)insurance industry every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Sign up for alerts of episodes at http://www.ambest.com/multimedia/ambtvsignup.html. View ^A.M.BestTV episodes at http://www.ambest.tv.

A.M. Best Company is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.