Senior Megan Moore and Junior Natalie Kojababian proposed a group captive insurance solution to provide liability coverage for cannabis association members.

MINNEAPOLIS ─ University of Southern California students Megan Moore and Natalie Kojababian received first place honors in the Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA) college student essay contest “Captive Insurance Solutions for Emerging Industries.”

The winners were announced today during a webinar hosted by CICA Essay Contest sponsor Strategic Risk Solutions. During the webinar the three finalist teams presented their essays and fielded questions, followed by the announcement of the winning team.

This year’s contest was very competitive with a tie for second place. Marissa Dias and Samantha Kane, from Saint Joseph’s University, proposed a risk retention group for the Home Healthcare industry; and Magda Olivas Carmona and Rudy Martinez, from St. Mary’s University, proposed a group medical stop loss captive for the Craft Brewing industry.

“Not only did we have more entries this year, it was great to see how close the judges scores were,” CICA president Dan Towle said. “That level of interest and excellence from the students is exactly what we’re looking for as we help them learn about the exciting career opportunities in captive insurance,” Towle explained.

Both Moore and Kojababian are studying business administration with minors in risk management. They share a passion for risk management and were interested to see the added benefits captives provide that traditional insurance may not.

Brady Young, chief executive officer, Strategic Risk Solutions, said “We’re very pleased with the students’ work and their willingness to dig in and learn about captive opportunities not only for today, but for growing and emerging industries that can benefit from captive solutions.”

Captives are known for innovation and that’s what was needed to wrap up this year’s contest. “Writing your essay is one component of the contest. We also want to give the students the opportunity to present to industry organizations that might become their future employers, “ Towle said. Normally that happens at the CICA Conference, which was canceled this year due to COVID-19. “Today we were able to have them present and celebrate their success,” Towle said.

The teams also win cash prizes, $2,500 for first place and $1,500 for both second placed teams and the opportunity to have their essays published later this month by Captive Insurance Times.

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