CICA Honors 2012 Recipients of Prestigious Industry Awards at upcoming CICA Conference. Dan Labrie, president and CEO of the Housing Authority Insurance Group (HAIG), to receive CICA 2012 Distinguished Service Award.

Congratulations, Dan!

Rich begins, "While a captive insurance entity can provide many benefits, a solid business case must be prepared for owners considering its creation. To provide the needed answers, an in-depth captive feasibility study must be conducted containing both an Actuarial Analysis and a Financial and Operations Evaluation..."

Recent conference postings on the captive.com Conference Calendar:

• March 7-9 - 26th Annual Legislative/Regulatory Conference
• March 20 & 21 - TCIA Roadshow – Memphis
• April 16-18 - TPA & MGU/Excess Insurer Executive Forum
• May 15-17 - SIIA's 14th Annual Self-Insured Workers' Compensation Executive Forum

Returning to CT today after a terrific World Captive Forum. Great conference!

Live reporting from WCF: Roundtable discussions were a new feature of this year's WCF. There were 8 roundtables, each of which discussed a topic relevant specific issue for approximately 20 minutes. At the end of the 20 minutes, one could choose to stay at the roundtable that would move to another related topic, or move to a whole new issue. So, for example, the Emerging Risks roundtable,chaired by Art Korizitsky from Marsh, began with social media risks, but at the end of 20 minutes moved on to other emerging risk issues such as virtual supply chain (cloud computing), risks emanating from companies shifting from analog to digital, environmental risk, and more.

As go social media like FaceBook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, should your company care about potential risks associated with such media? Yes, indeed! Disgruntled employees, customer complaints, disclosure of proprietary information, and advertising liability surrounding a product can all result in reputational risk or worse. A company-wide policy for social media and close monitoring of such media are high among the essential components of managing such risks.

The 21st World Captive Forum in sunny, warm Miami is underway! Numbers are up significantly from last year's WCF, with some 250 enthusiastic delegates attending the event.

Congratulations to Michael Lusk of Archer Daniels Midland Company on receiving the 2012 World Captive Forum's Award of Excellence!

Joe Plumieri delivered an informative keynote address on the resilience that will define successful companies who are able to anticipate and respond to both insurable and non-insurable catastrophic risks in the coming decade. Joe's well-received style is engaging and entertaining. One quotable quote, "Just what location in the world is NOT CAT exposed?" Amen, Joe!

Most Ask the Expert Forum questions that come in to captive.com are very specific, but once in a while, we get one in that applies so broadly that we want to share it with our readers.

Today, a captive consultant/manager offered up this question: "I have a client, a large native American tribe with large government and gaming operations. Would forming or joining a captive program have as much merit for them, considering there are no tax advantages to them since they are a tax-exempt entity?"

Because this question applies more broadly to other tax-exempt entities, we asked one of our favorite tax experts, Rick Buggy from Saslow, Lufkin & Buggy for his thoughts. Visit the Ask the Expert FAQ page for Rick's answer to his question.

Captive Ratings News: A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Queen City Assurance, Inc.

"A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a” of Queen City Assurance Inc. (Queen City) (Burlington, VT). The outlook for both ratings is stable..." [Full story]

Domicile End-of-Year Recap: Hawai'i Domicile Industry Reaches Record High Number of Captives.

"Hawai'i's Captive Insurance Domicile reached a record high in 2011. The domicile reached 172 captives. Hawai'i gained 10 new captives in a broad range of lines. The domicile saw five captives close, giving the domicile a net gain of five last year..." [Full story]

Microinsurance Network: 10 Years On.

"When 16 experts first sat down in early 2002 to form the CGAP Working Group on Microinsurance, none of them could have imagined what would be achieved 10 years on. The participants of this meeting realised the need for an exchange and learning platform to ensure microinsurance fulfils its potential. The platform, renamed the Microinsurance Network, now has over 60 institutional members representing around 200 experts in fifteen different working and discussion groups..." [Full story]

News from IRMI: New Second Edition of Captive Practices and Procedures Book Provides More Insight into Captive Insurance Best Practices.

Member News: Global broker survey finds insurance buyers concerned about cost and availability of suitable coverage as natural hazard and supply chain risks loom.

"As risk managers and financial executives in various parts of the world renew their commercial property insurance programs, many have significant concerns about the availability and pricing of coverage as well as managing risk with fewer resources and reduced budgets.  These issues are especially challenging for firms with large natural hazard and supply chain exposures..." [Download full story]

Captive.com Member News: "Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings Ltd. (RQIH) is pleased to announce the formation of R&Q Quest Management Services USA, LLC (R&Q Quest USA) as a Captive Consulting and Management Firm to complement the Group’s captive management operations in Bermuda, Gibraltar and Norway.  RQIH’s captive management operations rank in the top ten captive managers worldwide.

"Richard P. Marshall has been named President and Justin Mead, Senior Vice President, both of who come with many years of experience in the captive industry, most recently with Camelback Captive Services, Inc. which has moved its operations into R&Q Quest USA.  They and their associates will continue to operate from their current locations in Phoenix and Chicago." [Download full details]

Congratulations and best wishes to to our friends at the former Camelback Captive Services, Inc. and R&Q Quest!

Captive Ratings News: A.M. Best Assigns Ratings to Instituto Nacional de Seguros

"A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” to Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS) (Costa Rica). The outlook assigned to both ratings is stable..." [Download full story]

We love to keep our readers on top of recent captive conference. Today, captive.com's own John Salisbury gives us the inside scoop on the Inaugural Tennessee Captive Insurance Association (TCIA) Conference. Download Inaugural TCIA Conference Plays to Rave Reviews -- A Symphony of History, Regulatory Progress, and Music in printable format now! We will maintain a link to this article on the News/Library Article Index.

Captive Ratings News: A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of PMG Assurance Ltd.

End of Year Captive Results from Utah: Utah - a Destination for Captive Insurers.

"The year 2011 has been a record breaker for the Utah Insurance Department’s Captive Division. The year concluded with the licensure of 69 new captive insurance companies. This number bested that of 2007 when the Division licensed 63 new captives..." [Download full story]

Captive Ratings News: A.M. Best Affirms Ratings to Pathfinder Insurance Company.

"A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of B++ (Good) and issuer credit rating of “bbb” of Pathfinder Insurance Company (Pathfinder) (Denver, CO). The outlook for both ratings is stable..." [Download full story]

Captive Domicile News: New Jersey Finishes 2011 with Three Captive Insurance Companies Including a Re-domestication.

"New Jersey finished 2011 with its third captive insurance company and first re-domestication. The state’s captive insurance law went into effect midyear. After one of the United States’ largest insurance companies formed the first captive in the state in July, captive regulators approved a re-domestication of a captive insurance company owned by the largest terminal operator and stevedore in the United States..." [Download full story]

A.M. Best News: A.M. Best Sets Webinar Examining the Increasing Number of Impaired U.S. Insurance Organizations.

[Also see February 2 posting and links for this event on the Conference Calendar]

"A.M. Best Co. research shows that 2011 saw a surprising surge in recorded impaired U.S. insurance organizations, including risk retention groups, captive insurers, property/casualty writers and other risk carriers..." [Full story]

The newly-updated and very popular CICR Index 1988 through December 2011 in searchable PDF is now available from all IRMI pages in the News/Library.

International Risk Management Institute (IRMI) is adding a research analyst position to their editorial team. Learn about this career opportunity and many more on the Positions Available page.

Domicile News: Guernsey sees 50%+ rise in insurance licenses issued.

"...Fiona Le Poidevin, Deputy Chief Executive of Guernsey Finance – the promotional agency for the Island’s finance industry, said: 'The latest figures show that there have been far more licenses issued during 2011 than the immediately preceding years and this is across the range of entities from conventional captive insurance companies, PCCs [Protected Cell Companies], ICCs [Incorporated Cell Companies] and in particular, PCC and ICC cells'..." [Download full story, including full captive license stats]

Artex has just launched their brand new website! The new site is easy to navigate and features all of Artex's updated corporate information, brochures, newsletters, articles and webinars and white papers. Visit now! 

We also want to announce Artex's next webinar entitled Introduction to Captives, scheduled for Thursday February 23, 2:00 (EDT), This event, featuring Kevin Heffernan, Senior Vice President and leader of Artex's Captive Strategy, will provide an overview of captive concepts, basic structures and the typical uses of captives. Register here.

A.M. Best Captive Ratings News:

• 1/16: A.M. Best Assigns Ratings to Vine Court Assurance Incorporated. "A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a” to Vine Court Assurance Incorporated (Vine Court) (Burlington, VT). The outlook assigned to both ratings is stable..."
• 1/13: A.M. Best Downgrades Ratings of BancInsure Inc. "A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to B (Fair) from B++ (Good) and the issuer credit rating to “bb” from “bbb” of BancInsure Inc. (BancInsure) (Oklahoma City, OK). The outlook for both ratings is negative..."

11:05 p.m., Eastern Time, Legislative Update: Florida captive insurance legislation H 379 (2012) - Captive Insurance - HOUSE - CS/CS by- Economic Affairs Committee; YEAS 15 NAYS 0 http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2012/379

Kentucky Captive Association News:

• Kentucky Captive Growth Continues in 2011. "Kentucky has grown to 137 captives as of December 31, 2011 up from 127 the year before. Kentucky activated 18 new captive licenses and saw 10 licenses go inactive. The inactive licenses were the result of merger - 1, redomestication - 2 and winding up - 5..." [Download full story]
  
  
• Winslow Hale, ARM named Executive Director Kentucky Captive Association. "I am pleased to announce Mr. Winslow Hale is joining the Kentucky Captive Association as Executive Director. With 137 captives domiciled in KY as of December 31, 2012, the Association continues to evolve to serve its constituency..." [Download full story]

Association News: THE VERMONT CAPTIVE INSURANCE ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES NEW DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT

"The Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) is pleased to announce that Janice Valgoi of Essex, Vermont has been selected as VCIA's new Director of Membership and Development..." [Full story]

The posted Positions Available page remains a popular place, with yet another attractive captive industry position having been posted today by Intuitive Captive Solutions, who is seeking candidates with expertise in 831(b) structures. Have a look at the details for a "Captive Sales Professional--VP" as well as other opportunities on this page.

Legislative News: Florida H 379 (2012) - Captive Insurance - was read for the 1st time yesterday. http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2012/379

Captive Industry News: MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL INDEPENDENT CAPTIVE MANAGEMENT FIRM CONTINUES EXPANSION.

"Simon Owen, Principal of Folio Insurance Management has announced the appointment of Helen Janes to their BVI office to assist in the further growth of their Eastern Caribbean practice, incorporating the BVI, Anguilla and Nevis..." [Full story]

The Captive Insurance Company Reports, published by IRMI, is a mission-critical publication for all captive professionals. You'll see why this is so in their January Highlights. Everybody in our industry is looking ahead to 2012, which makes this month's feature article -- "Insurance Issues and Outlook: 2012" -- valuable indeed.  That is by no means all you'll find in the January CICR! See a summary of other articles in this edition, then order CICR direct from IRMI on captive.com's secure server!

Captive Insurance Company Reports highlights are found on the Captive Headlines and the IRMI index pages in the News/Library.

Risk Retention Reporter is an essential publication for anybody with an interest in risk retention groups, so we have made it easy for you to order this publication and more from a variety of publishers, all from our secure server. [Take me to Captive Headlines]

Two captive industry positions were posted on the Positions Available page today:

• Accountant in either Burlington or Berlin, Vermont (USA Risk Group); and
• Senior Account Manager to assist in opening a new Strategic Risk Solutions (SRS) office in Tennessee

Keeping track: Those of us in the captive industry who remember Lee Stacey, will love to hear about where he landed after leaving Willis! Congratulations, Lee!

Member Company News: Kane completes phase one of HIM integration. Additional capital is raised to fund further growth and expansion.

"Kane, the largest global independent insurance manager, is pleased to announce it has completed the first phase of its integration of HSBC Insurance Management (HIM), which it acquired on 1 June 2011. Following this key acquisition Kane has grown to become the fourth-largest captive insurance manager globally and the largest that is independent of a global broking business..." [Download full story]

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