From: Captive International

Chaired by Nick Hentges, chief executive of Captive Resources, the panel comprised: Dawn Hiestand, executive vice president, Zurich North America; Brian First, president, Arch Insurance North America; and Ryan Gustafson, head of Captive Solutions, AIG.

Asked what the main challenge facing the insurance industry is, the panel agreed that the hard market, which has lasted for at least two years now, means that clients are still looking to save on costs. The panel pointed out that captives can offer nimble solutions to some of the more complex risk management issues that clients face.

The fact that more regulators and domiciles are becoming open to the concept and attraction of captives was also highlighted. Companies are generally also more comfortable with captives as a concept as well.