ISMIE Mutual Insurance Company
Captive Insurance Companies Association vice chairman Scott Beckman’s summary of what to expect at this year’s CICA conference
What are some of the highlights to expect at the CICA conference?
The 2014 Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA) International Conference should be a vibrant and thought-provoking industry event. The theme is ‘Captives: Global Opportunities and Solutions’, and we are looking at what captives are doing around the globe and how captives serve the business interests of companies that operate in different countries.
We are kicking off the conference with a dynamic keynote given by a husband and wife team that will make the audience think about life and how it influences working relationships. This keynote should infuse good-natured humour into the early part of day. Following this session, the audience will hear from a leading insurance industry economist, who will project where the industry is going and help provide insight how best to position our captive businesses to continue on a path for success.
What are some of the key topics shaping the conference as a whole?
The session topics are fresh, diverse and will appeal to risk managers, captive owners and attendees of all levels of experience. We placed an extra-emphasis on captive success stories and best practices approaches through a myriad of captive operational and financial issues.
We want to provide our captive owners with the tools to enhance their understanding of business risks, reduce their losses through risk management, be aware of new products within the captive industry that are not being offered by the traditional insurance market and develop sound funding based upon loss experience and industry data. We also developed a couple of sessions focusing on the role of enterprise risk management within captives.
How have the industry events and trends of 2013 affected the conference programme? Was it a positive year for captives?
Heightened scrutiny into 831(b) elections led to the development of a session entitled ‘Best Captive Practices for 831(b)s—Do them right or don’t do them at all’. Additional topics regarding captive governance, complex tax issues, ensuring capital adequacy and financial audits were designed to enhance current knowledge on critical captive operational issues.
Overall, we believe it was another positive year for captives as many domiciles experienced growth with over 66 domiciles and 6000 plus captives worldwide.
What are the new trends to expect in 2014?
We expect the trends of recent past to continue in 2014, with perhaps even an increased examination internationally on regulation.
The programme focuses a great deal on regulation and best practice exit strategies. Do you believe that this represents an inexorable trend, and that the industry is growing more and more tightly regulated?
Yes. This and future programmes will continue to educate captive owners and service providers on the recent developments on the regulatory front whether from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), IRS or other regulatory bodies. CICA is committed to demonstrating the value of captives through data and best practices and advocating on behalf of its membership.
I believe the greater good is a balance between responsible regulation and facilitating the sustainability and growth of the captive industry internationally.
