From: Captive International
Acknowledging the success of the captive insurance industry and the important role that CICA has played in it, Nick Hentges of Captive Resources says we must embrace change and look to the youth to shape the industry’s future.
Fifty years of captive industry advocacy, guidance, and innovation is an achievement indeed and I wholeheartedly congratulate the Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA) for its leadership and perseverance.
We’ve all benefited in some way from its work. I’m grateful for my association and involvement with CICA through the years and there is much I could relate here about those experiences. However, in the last several years, promoting careers in captives and attracting young people to our industry has truly resonated with me and fueled my passion for the industry even further.
We acknowledge and look back with pride on the history and evolution of the captive industry. To continue to thrive—particularly given the workforce challenges we currently face—we must look to the future and be thinking every day about how we can shape our industry into what we want and need it to be.
What is the future of our industry? It is not me or those like me who have been fortunate enough to have enjoyed a long, rewarding career in captives. Rather, it is the young professionals of today who will determine the future of our industry, and I believe that it is our responsibility to recruit, develop, and show them the great careers available in captive insurance. To do this, however, we must embrace change and become more comfortable implementing it in our organizations.
If the moral argument is insufficient, then consider some of the other benefits based on research, such as higher revenue growth.”
NICK HENTGES, CAPTIVE RESOURCES
An image problem
In 2018, we began to grapple with the staffing shortage—the “talent crisis” arising from the 400,000+ retirements projected for the insurance industry by the Bureau of Labor Statistics over the next several years. The industry became painfully aware that Millennials and the next generation of young professionals were not finding a career in insurance particularly interesting, often because they lacked familiarity with insurance and the careers it has to offer—and they most certainly knew even less about captives.
So the gauntlet was laid before all of us in the captives industry—we must find a way to reach and educate young professionals about our industry and its many interesting and rewarding career paths while competing within the broader insurance industry for top talent to fill the massive gap.
In 2019, within the captive insurance industry, CICA led the way with the introduction of its NEXTGen initiative, the objective of which is to develop the next generation of captive insurance professionals. CICA reached out to young professionals to become involved in planning and advising on their educational and networking needs to advance their careers in captives.
The initiative is growing as young and new professionals respond, and CICA continues to encourage them to become involved and to develop broader opportunities for engagement.