Captive Insurance News

AF Group has announced Eric Halter as director of AF Specialty, a new brand focused on providing fronting capacity to insurance carriers, managing general agents, reinsurance intermediaries, and captive managers. Mr. Halter will partner with entities that are seeking a fronting facility to place well-managed, turnkey property and casualty programs.

According to Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO), and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), the private US property/casualty insurance industry saw its net income after taxes drop 42.2 percent in first-quarter 2017 from first-quarter 2016. Its overall profitability, as measured by its annualized rate of return on average policyholders’ surplus, fell from 7.9 percent to 4.4 percent.

Management Services International (MSI) recently analyzed the "Summa Holdings, Inc. v. Comm'r" case decided and filed in February. In its analysis, MSI asks us to consider if this individual retirement account (IRA) tax ruling has favorable implications for the captive insurance industry and moves to the conclusion that the answer is affirmative.

The top risk now faced by the global insurance industry is its ability to confront structural and technological changes (change management), according to a new Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation (CSFI) survey. Cyber risk follows closely, with anxiety about attacks on insurers and the costs of underwriting cyber crime.

Coverys will acquire Randall & Quilter Managing Agency Ltd. (RQMA), a fully authorized Lloyd's of London turnkey managing agency based in London. RQMA is part of Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings (R&Q), a non-life insurance investor, underwriting manager, captive manager, and service provider.

In its second seasonal tropical forecast for the North Atlantic basin for the 2017 tropical storm season, The Weather Company, an IBM Business, now expects a total of 15 named storms, 8 of which are hurricanes and 3 of which are major hurricanes.

Rachel Moir has joined International Risk Management Institute, Inc. (IRMI), as its captive and risk finance products manager. In this role, Ms. Moir is responsible for the quality and growth of IRMI's risk finance and captive insurance product line. This includes "Risk Financing," "Captive Insurance Company Reports," Captive.com, online continuing education, and books on the topics.

An A.M. Best briefing finds that the Reported Solvency II ratios are very strong for the reviewed sample of its rated European captives. The ratios range from approximately 160 to 240 percent. In Best’s view, the disclosures fail to demonstrate the importance of captive risk management and governance practices.

Strategic Risk Solutions (SRS) announced the winners of its first Captivator Awards: NiSource Insurance Corporation, Inc.; Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company; and East Isles Reinsurance, Ltd. The awards recognize the captives that SRS feels have led the industry in the use of captives, through new uses and innovations in captive structures and excellence in operational performance.

Companies around the world use benchmarking to catapult their organizations to the top in their industry. Benchmarking is the process of improving performance by continuously identifying, understanding, and adapting outstanding practices and processes found inside and outside the organization. Almost any activity that can be measured can be benchmarked.