Industry News

What are the key takeaways for captive insurers from the recent National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Summer 2017 National Meeting? Model laws for cyber security, corporate governance, financial stability, risk assessment, and triple X captives were all under discussion.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Cybersecurity Working Group approved the "Insurance Data Security Model Law," which, if approved by the NAIC Executive Committee, will promote more rigorous cyber risk management practices in the US insurance market. Concurrently, it will add to insurers' compliance costs and associated risks of penalties for compliance violations.

Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro recently announced that the International Center for Captive Insurance Education (ICCIE) has designated the Delaware Insurance Department Bureau of Captive and Financial Insurance Products as an ICCIE Trained Organization. Delaware is one of only two states that has applied for and received this recognition.

According to the Swiss Re preliminary sigma estimates, global total economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in the first half of 2017 were $44 billion. Severe thunderstorms in the United States resulted in the largest catastrophe losses, with overall US insured losses totaling $23 billion.

Vermont's most current captive insurance figures were outlined by Sandy Bigglestone, State of Vermont director of captive insurance, during a "Hot Topics" panel held August 10 at the Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) 2017 Annual Conference. Vermont's numbers make it the leading captive domicile in the United States.

Register now for the 2017 National Risk Retention Association Conference, happening September 26–28 in Chicago. At "Business to Business: The NRRA Edge," attendees will find out how to solve today's pressing issues and develop solutions for tomorrow's problems.

Vermont's captive bill (H.85), signed into law May 1, added agency captives to the types of captives that can be formed in the state. An agency captive is a reinsurance company formed/owned by an insurance agency or brokerage to provide reinsurance to its insured clients.

The Vermont Captive Insurance Association 2017 Annual Conference provided attendees with sessions from the basics to the most advanced. "Captives 101: Where the Mission Begins" was a foundational course for those new to captive insurance or those needing a refresher. Among other aspects, the session reviewed captive pre-formation and the captive feasibility processes.

The North Carolina Captive Insurance Association (NCCIA) will host its third annual Captive Insurance Conference on August 21–23. Over 200 captive industry professionals are expected to attend. NCCIA board chairman Jeremy Colombik, of Management Services International, will participate in a panel on maximizing the benefits of captive ownership.

Anne Marie Towle, executive vice president and consulting practice leader of JLT Insurance Management, has recently been elected to serve as a director on the Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) board and on the International Center for Captive Insurance Education (ICCIE) board.

On the morning of Wednesday, August 9, US Representative Peter Welch and Governor Phil Scott addressed Vermont Captive Insurance Conference attendees. While it's a small state, Vermont has a huge captive industry, and it continues to productively amend and modernize its captive laws to remain effective and responsive to competitive pressures.

The Connecticut Insurance Department announced the licensure of the state's first healthcare liability captive insurance company: Keystone Indemnity Company, Ltd. Michael Maglaras & Company advised Masonicare and Keystone on the re-domestication. Masonicare is Connecticut's leading provider of health care and retirement living communities for seniors.

Strategic Risk Solutions announced the launch of Strategic Risk Solutions Europe, a firm established in Dublin, Ireland, to serve US and European multinational captive insurance owners operating in Europe. The firm will be led by Stuart King.

The Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) Conference has begun, with the theme "Mission: Possible!" This 2 1/2-day event will host 1,100 people from around the world. Networking and education events are scheduled August 8–10 at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel.

Fred Eslami, senior financial analyst for A.M. Best, has reviewed the most recent "Best's Special Report" on U.S. captive insurers and how they continue to perform when compared with their commercial lines counterparts, mainly due to their loss-control activities and expertise in the coverages that they write.

During the 85th legislative session in Texas, a number of bills became law related to insurance and captives. The Texas Captive Insurance Association has produced a summary of these laws, including those coming into effect on September 1, 2017.

Recent S&P research reveals that, amid continued soft market conditions, global property and casualty re/insurers find themselves riding the merger and acquisition (M&A) rollercoaster through 2016 and into 2017. Declared M&A transaction values over the last 18 months reached $22 billion, as opposed to $80 billion for 2015.

Clyde & Co reports that completed insurance industry mergers and acquisitions (M&A) worldwide continued a downward trend, with 170 deals in the first 6 months of 2017, compared to 186 in the preceding period. Activity is now down 24 percent from the first half of 2015, when there were 225 deals.

IVANS, a division of Applied Systems, recently announced the commercial lines premium results for July’s "IVANS Index: Premium Renewal Rate Index." Premium renewal rate change for the majority of commercial lines products remains in positive territory, but workers compensation has dipped below -1.00 percent for the first time this year.

A.M. Best has released its latest special report on the financial performance of A.M. Best-rated US captives. According to the report, A.M. Best-rated captives and other alternative risk transfer mechanisms posted excellent results in 2016, with pretax profits up by nearly 16 percent year over year.