Global Captive Podcast

In this GCP Short, produced in partnership with Friend of the Podcast AXA XL, Richard is joined by Marine Charbonnier and Julien Guénot to discuss a very topical theme - the growing interest in home domiciling in Europe. This conversation was recorded at the European Captive Forum in November with Marine, Head of Captives and Facultative Underwriting in APAC & Europe, and Julien, Regional leader of the Southern Europe markets at AXA XL, which includes France, Spain and Italy. Stories referenced during Richard's introduction and the podcast discussion: Enel forms first Italian captive. Four French captives formed to date in 2023. UK captive consultation to launch in spring 2024. For more information on AXA XL's captive services, visit its Friend of the Podcast page here. For the latest news, analysis and thought leadership on the global captive insurance market visit Captive Intelligence and sign up to our twice-weekly newsletter.

In episode 96 of the Global Captive Podcast, supported by the EY Global Captive Network, Richard brings three distinct segments including a quarterly investments update, and discussions on voluntary benefits and captive solutions for the US middle market. 01.25 - 19.55: Andy Jeckells, co-CEO at I-RE, discusses why he is targeting America’s middle market for further expansion and uptake of captive solutions. I-RE are captive underwriting specialists based out of London, Bermuda and Miami. Andy shares his history, the I-RE proposition and his views on the captive landscape more broadly for the US middle market. 20.27 - 32.14: We have our latest quarterly investments update from London & Capital with Shadrack Kwasa, executive director, and Rabbani Wahhab, senior fixed income fund manager. 32.56 - 43.54: Kirk Watkins, founder and president of Promethean Risk Solutions, discusses captive-backed voluntary benefits and affinity programmes with Gary Osborne and Dave Provost, two of his advisory board members. For the latest captive insurance news, analysis and thought leadership visit Captive Intelligence and sign up for our twice-weekly newsletter.

In episode 95 of the Global Captive Network, supported by the EY Global Captive Network, Richard is in Nashville, Tennessee to find out the latest independent captive manager, Strategic Risk Solutions. 01.55 - 13.27: CEO Brady Young and president Ron Sulisz discuss the firm's recent inward investment from Integrum Holdings LLP and its future plans for growth. 13.57 - 26.50: Captive owner Tony Sanchez, CEO of OneNexus Environmental, explains his fairly unique captive in Oklahoma, with Andrew Marson, a managing director at SRS. Read more about OneNexus here. 27.20 - End: Our last discussion is with Jeff Fitzgerald, who returned to the firm in August as managing director of a new division, SRS Benefit Partners, and Wendy Dine, an experienced benefits specialist with SRS for 11 years. SRS announced today it had launched SRS Altitude, a managing general underwriter based out of Zurich. Read that story here. For the latest captive insurance news, visit Captive Intelligence and sign up to our twice weekly newsletter.

In this GCP Short, produced in partnership with Marsh Captive Solutions, Richard is joined by Lorraine Stack, International Sales and Consulting Leader, and Maria Arana, Marsh's ESG Leader Europe. Maria and Lorraine discuss how the commercial market is factoring ESG metrics into underwriting decisions, the ways we are already seeing captives contribute to ESG efforts and the direction of travel for both the commercial market and captives. For more information on the ESG Risk Rating, referenced by Lorraine, click here. To download the ESG Underwriting Survey, referenced by Maria, click here. For more information on Marsh Captive Solutions, visit their Friend of the Podcast page.

This GCP Short, produced in partnership with We Are Guernsey and the Guernsey International Insurance Association, discusses the evolution of the governance landscape in Guernsey specifically, the role of independent non executive directors (iNEDs) on captive boards. Richard hosts an engaging debate on iNEDs, the demands of the role, the possible restriction on the number of appointments, and whether more captive domiciles should make them a requirement. The guests are: Airmic CEO Julia Graham, an iNED on three captive boards in Guernsey Peter Child, CEO for Europe at Strategic Risk Solutions Nick Wild, a local iNED with a long background in captive management. In the introduction Richard references a previous GCP Short episode featuring a group European iNEDs debating the value of outside board directors. Listen here. The updated Airmic Captive Governance Guide is referenced. You can download it here. The Non-Executive Director (NED) Development Programme is referenced and discussed by Nick. For more information on the course, visit the GTA University Centre website. For more information on Guernsey as a captive domicile, visit its Friend of the Podcast page here.

In this GCP Short, produced in partnership with MAXIS Global Benefits Network, Richard shares a live discussion recorded with two experienced EB captive users: Marc Bentley, Director of Risk Finance at IHG, and Matthias Helmbold, Vice President of Global Risk Benefits, Health and Wellbeing at DHL. Marc and Matthias explain when, why and how their respective companies started reinsuring international employee benefits in their captive, lessons learned along the way, how their programmes have evolved over time and what they want to achieve in the future. The episode is introduced by Richard and Aaron Brown, Regional Manager for Business Development in the UK & Ireland at MAXIS. For more information on MAXIS and its captive services, visit its Friend of the Podcast page. Stay up to date with all major developments in the captive market by signing up to the twice-weekly Captive Intelligence Newsletter.

In this GCP Short, produced in partnership with Spring Consulting Group, Richard shares the cast study of the Haskell Company deciding to move out of a group captive structure to form its own single parent captive in Vermont. Haskell Company’s CFO Bradford Slappey and Jeff Caudill, Vice President of Risk Management, discuss the profile of the company, the lines originally insured through the group captive and why they came to the decision to establish a pure captive. Prabal Lakhanpal, senior vice president at Spring, explains the process involved and why Haskell and why its risk profile made a good candidate. For more information on Spring Consulting Group, visit its Friend of the Podcast page on Captive Intelligence here. Stay up to date with all major developments in the captive market by signing up to the twice-weekly Captive Intelligence Newsletter.

In this GCP Short, produced in partnership with Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, Richard explores the viability of more captive adoption of parametric policies. Thomas Keist, Global Captive Solutions Leader, and Jan Bachmann, Head of Innovative Risk Solutions, explain how a captive can be utilised to absorb that basis risk that usually exists in a parametric policy. Adrien Norulak, Head of Risk Analytics and Director of Innovation & Technology at Swiss Re, discusses how Risk Data Services (RDS) can also be used to minimise the basis risk and contribute to more accurate modelling and parametric triggers. Adrien will be presenting on this topic at the European Captive Forum alongside client Fabien Couillard, insurance manager at TetraLaval, from 4.15pm on Wednesday, 8 November. Read the Captive Intelligence long read on parametric insurance and captives here. Stay up to date with all major developments in the captive market by signing up to the twice-weekly Captive Intelligence Newsletter.

In episode 94 of the Global Captive Podcast, supported by the EY Global Captive Network, Richard debates the potential for the UK to become a captive domicile after the Government hosted a roundtable on the topic. 02.18 - 26.00: Caroline Wagstaff, CEO of the London Market Group, which is lobbying hard for the initiative, and Charles Winter, Head of Strategic Risk Consulting at Aon Global Risk Consulting, discuss the background and analyse its potential for success. 27.25 - 44.00: Matthew Latham, formerly of AXA XL, Risk Transfer Leader in the Financial Solutions Group at Marsh, discusses reinsurance trends and solutions for captives, parametric policies and the legacy environment. Read the Captive Intelligence coverage of the UK captive domicile developments here, and Airmic's response here. Stay up to date with all major developments in the captive market by signing up to the twice-weekly Captive Intelligence Newsletter.

This GCP Short, produced in partnership with We Are Guernsey and the Guernsey International Insurance Association (GIIA), shares another story of a new captive owner and the rationale behind its risk financing strategy. Joshua Cryer, Director of Risk and Insurance at THG, a fast growing UK plc, tells us about THG, why a captive became a relevant option for the group two years ago, how they went about forming the captive and how he hopes to utilise it in the future. Alex Symons, associate director at Aon Insurance Managers in Guernsey, provides the captive manager perspective on formation and utilisation, and explains why Guernsey is home to so many UK Plc-owned captives. There is also a good discussion on governance and the value of non-executive directors. For more information on We Are Guernsey and GIIA, visit their Friend of the Podcast page. For the latest breaking news, analysis and thought leadership from the global captive market, visit Captive Intelligence and sign up to our twice weekly newsletter here.

In episode 93 of the Global Captive Podcast, supported by the EY Global Captive Network, and hosted by Richard Cutcher. Richard brings listeners live interviews from the Bermuda Captive Conference that took place 12-14 September. 01.43 - 07.04: Eduardo Fox, a consultant to Appleby law firm and Davies Captive Management, is the latest recipient of the Fred Reiss Lifetime Achievement Award, in recognition of his contribution to the domicile, particularly in business development for Latin American captives. 07.35 - 11.00: Michelle Sivanayson, recently appointed as Marsh Captive Solutions’ new islands practice leader, based out of Bermuda. She discusses her new role and plans for further development of the captive practice in the region. 11.53 - 20.38: Local reinsurance broker Michael Woodruffe, president of Kirkway International Limited, is focused almost entirely on North American captive and MGA business. He explains why "captive business is the best business" for reinsurers. 21.14 - 27.25: Grainne Richmond, executive vice president and head of captives at Aon Bermuda and director and lead chair of the Bermuda Captive Network. Grainne shares the lates update on developments and progress of the Bermuda Captive Network and why it is important to attract new talent. 28.00 - 32.00: Pierrick Livet, senior manager in insurance advisory at KPMG in Bermuda. Pierrick and Richard were on the opening panel of the conference where we discussed evolving captive ownership structures, emerging risks and multi-captive strategies. For the latest breaking news, analysis and thought leadership from the global captive market, visit Captive Intelligence and sign up to our twice weekly newsletter here.

In this GCP Short, produced in partnership with Marsh Captive Solutions, Richard is joined by two vice presidents from the consulting team discuss their career progress to date and the variety of client projects they have been working on. Domenico Pettinari and Finky Yan address the growth in third party risks, new captive formations and an enlightening comparison of cell captives to a Manhattan apartment, which I particularly enjoyed and pretty sure I will be using in the future. For more information on Marsh Captive Solutions, visit their Friend of the Podcast page here. For the latest breaking news, analysis and thought leadership from the global captive market, visit Captive Intelligence and sign up to our twice weekly newsletter here.

In this GCP Short, produced in partnership with Hylant Global Captive Solutions, we bring you another new captive owner story. Richard is joined by Hylant's Anne Marie Towle and Adam Miholic, who discuss with Adam Binder, Category Director for the Indirect Spend Program at Topco Associates, LLC, how and why the company formed a sponsored captive in Vermont in November 2022. For more information on Hylant's captive services, visit their Friend of the Podcast page here. For the latest breaking news, analysis and thought leadership from the global captive market, visit Captive Intelligence and sign up to our twice weekly newsletter here.

In episode 92 of the Global Captive Podcast, supported by the EY Global Captive Network, Richard is joined by three guests to debate what impact and relevance the unfolding fraudulent collateral scandal concerning insurtech Vesttoo has for cell structures and collateral in the captive market more broadly. 04.22 - 16.13: Joseph Holahan, Partner at BakerHostetler, reacts to the Vesttoo case and explains some of the potential legal ramifications for cell structures in Bermuda and beyond. 16.18 - 22.00: EY's Andrew Christie explains the different types of collateral captives typically use, shares insight into how captives and fronting companies usually work together on collateral and what impact, if any, the Vesttoo fallout might have on fronting and collateral arrangements for captives. 22.00 - End: Sandy Bigglestone, Vermont’s deputy commissioner for captive insurance, explains why she took the step of writing to local captive managers requesting they report if they have any exposure to the Vesttoo case. Further reading: Richard recommends the Artemis.bm coverage of the ongoing Vesttoo story and to keep up to date with each development. For the latest news, analysis and thought leadership on the global captive market, subscribe to the twice-weekly Captive Intelligence newsletter.

In this GCP Short, produced in partnership with the State of Vermont, Richard has another really interesting, and high profile, captive case study, as listeners hear from the John Deere captive team. The manufacturing and agricultural equipment giant has owned a captive in Vermont since 2004. Aileen Krehbiel, manager of captive insurance programs at John Deere, and Sammi Jones, senior financial analyst at the company, discuss the captive’s profile today, and how its grown and evolved over near 20 years. We also hear from Heidi Rabtoy, chief examiner at the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, to provide some perspective on how they regulate older, larger captives and the unique considerations concerning extended warranty business. For more information on the State of Vermont's captive sector and regulation, visit their Friend of the Podcast page. For the latest breaking news, analysis and thought leadership from the global captive market, visit Captive Intelligence and sign up to our twice weekly newsletter here.

In episode 91 of the Global Captive Podcast, supported by the EY Global Captive Network, Richard shares five short interviews he recorded at the VCIA annual conference in Burlington, Vermont earlier this month. 01.05 - 04.17: New Spring Consulting hire T.J. Scherer discussed his role as vice president with a focus on propery & casualty and his captive background. 04.36 - 08.20: Kelly Mahncke, CFO of USA Hockey, details how the sports organisation utilised its Vermont captive, Hockey and Rink Protection, Inc. 09.16 - 16.09: Dale Sagen, recently appointed as Vice President and Business Development Leader for Cell Captive and Accident & Health at QBE North America, discusses the insurer's formation of Champlain Insurance PCC in Vermont and how it will support its medical stop loss services. 16.38 - 22.21: Dan Duncan, captive specialist at Agile Premium Finance, a business that is working with captives on providing premium financing. 22.55 - 29.53: Bill Hodson, of Gulfstream Risk Advisors, and Rick Wiseley, co-founder of insurtech Stere, explain embedded insurance and why they see an opportunity for collaboration with captive insurers and risk retention groups (RRGs). For the latest news, analysis and though leadership from the global captive market, sign up to the twice-weekly Captive Intelligence newsletter.

In episode 90 of the Global Captive Podcast, supported by the EY Global Captive Network, we bring you the first set of interviews recorded at the Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) annual conference. Richard is joined by Jim DeVoe-Talluto, Assistant Director of Captive Insurance at the Department of Financial Regulation. We also catch up with Dan Youngs, CFO of Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (LCSWMA), which formed a Vermont captive in 2021. Dan updates us on the organisation’s captive journey and how having a captive has re-focused efforts around risk management. Finally, Richard speaks to Jennifer Gagnon and Danielle Brown, two captive professionals heading up the new Vermont Captive Insurance Emerging Leaders initiative. For more information on the State of Vermont, visit its Friend of the Podcast page on Captive Intelligence. For the latest news, analysis and though leadership from the global captive market, sign up to the twice-weekly Captive Intelligence newsletter.

In this GCP Short, produced in partnership with HDI Global, Richard is joined by Marco Hensel, Senior Vice President and Underwriting Lead for HDI Global in the US, and Jason Tyng, ARM Vice President and Captive Lead. Marco and Jason, who first appeared on the pod earlier this year when interviewed at RISKWORLD, give listeners a breakdown on how international programmes work, the respective roles for a captive and fronting partner, and the key elements to get right. For more information on HDI Global, visit their Friend of the Podcast page on Captive Intelligence. For the latest news, analysis and though leadership from the global captive market, sign up to the twice-weekly Captive Intelligence newsletter.

This GCP Short, produced in partnership with Captive Resources, is all about medical risk management and the benefit to group captive members. Richard is joined by: Joan Enoch, Human Resources Manager at Lift-All Company, Inc, a member of the Well Health group captive Mike Van Ham​​​​, Senior Vice President for Health & Wellbeing at Captive Resources. And Joe Parrilli, Senior Vice President for Medical Stop Loss at Captive Resources. Joan shares her first-hand experience of being a group captive member and some of the benefits her and her company get from specific medical risk management initiatives. For more information on Captive Resources, visit their Friend of the Podcast page here. For all the latest news, analysis and thought leadership from the global captive market, sign up to the Captive Intelligence twice-weekly newsletter.

This GCP Short, produced in partnership with TMF Group, is all about the tax considerations for non-US captives writing insurance in the United States. Richard is joined by US-based tax attorney Asher Harris and Joseph Finbow, IPT Assurance Director at TMF.  Asher and Jo discuss the relevant IPT, federal excise and other taxes relevant for captives doing business in the United States, the impact of using different domiciles and closing agreements. For more information on TMF Group and their captive services, visit their Friend of the Podcast page on the Captive Intelligence website.