From: Captive Insurance Company Reports (CICR)
Editor’s Note: This article was written by Dan Towle, president of the Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA). He can be reached at dtowle@cicaworld.com.
Virtual meetings will forever have a new place in our lives and have changed how captive insurance business can be done; however, in-person meetings provide a quality of interaction and an energy that technology cannot provide. I heard many times during our October CICA Fall Forum that attendees could literally feel the energy and excitement of being together. For some, it was their first time traveling to a conference since the pandemic started.
We know the impacts of COVID-19 aren’t going away any time soon, but we are becoming more adept at finding ways to host events that include appropriate safety precautions.
Dan Towle, CICA President
Our Fall Forum experience reinforced how important it is to come together across our entire industry. With all of the growth in the captive industry and the work everyone has been doing during the hard market and pandemic, it was more important than ever to come together to not only share strategies but also recognize the many ways captive insurance is helping organizations thrive. CICA’s domicile-neutral setting creates a comfortable environment that helps newcomers and seasoned professionals alike to explore new uses of captives, engage new talent, and share best practices.
Strategies for Today’s Market
Sessions related to strategies for our current hard market and those related to political or regulatory changes in taxation and regulation of captives were very well attended. I was also impressed with the highly engaged questions asked during the sessions, and our shorter 45-minute sessions left ample time for extended questions and conversations afterward.
We also saw a lot of participation in sessions with strategies for group captives and cell captives. As organizations look to expand their use of captives, they may want to employ several different types of captives for their different business needs.
Survey respondents said they appreciated our forward-thinking sessions and opportunities to network with major players in the captive industry. It was great to hear that people felt they were able to forge new relationships and generate new opportunities.
Engaging the Next Generation
We hear from attendees, particularly younger attendees and those newer to captive insurance, that CICA events like our Fall Forum allow them to immerse themselves in learning across all sectors of the industry and benefit from participating in CICA’s professional development programs. It might be a NEXTGen session where panelists tackled real-life scenarios commonly faced by young and new professionals paired with advice from an experienced professional or a networking luncheon with Amplify WomenTM.