On a beautiful fall day, 107 attendees gathered at the Hotel DuPont
in Wilmington, Delaware to understand the Delaware perspective on
captive insurance. For a good number of attendees, this event was
the first captive conference they ever attended, and for some seasoned
veterans, it was one of many in the fall captive circuit. But, despite
the range of captive insurance expertise, everyone walked away having
benefited from the day's program, and it seemed that all those who
attended left feeling that, indeed, "Delaware is open for captive
insurance business!"
The Delaware Captive Insurance Association's first conference
was, by all accounts, a great success and the organizers of the
event could not have been happier with the turnout, both in number
and diversity. The day certainly got off to a great start with
the Founding Members' breakfast, an event attended by invitation
only to the Founding Members, where Administrator of the Captive
Insurance Program, William
White, and Deputy Insurance Commissioner Michael
Vild offered our Founding Members the opportunity to
become acquainted with them in a smaller setting. Attendees of
the conference were greeted in the foyer of the Gold Ballroom
by an inviting continental breakfast, sponsored by the Delaware
Economic Development Office. Framed by the architectural beauty
of the Hotel DuPont's Gold Ballroom, the speakers who generously
gave of their time to help develop the program for the conference
delivered presentations that were well received by all.
Chris
Kramer of Roundstone Insurance gave the novices in
the audience an insightful perspective on the global scale of
captive insurance, providing an historical overview of captive
insurance and the recent trends in the use of captives and domicile
considerations.
Patrick
Theriault of Wilmington Trust and Brian
Johnson of Bartlett Actuarial Group then covered the
basics of captives during their "Captives 101" session, which
covered the types of captives, feasibility studies and sample
captive structures, among other things.
Mitch
Cantor, Executive Director of the International Center
for Captive Insurance Education, winged in from Vermont on his
way to South Carolina to provide the audience with a quick description
of ICCIE and ICCIE's certification program.
A short networking break, sponsored by Naden/Lean, LLC, offered
attendees a chance to catch up with old friends, meet some of
the new faces in the crowd and enjoy the Hotel DuPont's legendary
pastries.
Local Delaware service providers benefited greatly from the panel
discussion entitled "The Role of the Service Provider", during
which representatives of the various aspects of the captive industry
explained their roles. Jeff Kenneson
of USA Risk kicked off the discussion by explaining how captive
managers serve as the quarterback of the process. Dave Pochettino
of MBA Actuaries described the role of the actuary. Geoff Etherington
of Edwards, Angell, Palmer & Dodge LLP then discussed the attorney's
role. The reinsurance aspect of captives was covered by Judy Benson
of Axiom Re. Jessica Toth
of Comerica then discussed the critical role of the banker and/or
investment manager. Todd
Pierce of Engle Martin & Associates discussed the role
of the Third Party Administrator. The panel was concluded with
a presentation by Marc
Smith of Johnson Lambert regarding the role of the
auditor.
The DCIA was honored to have Governor Ruth
Ann Minner in attendance for our luncheon in the DuBarry
Room, which was sponsored by the State of Delaware. In her address
to the attendees, Governor Minner extolled the benefits of Delaware
as a jurisdiction for all business considerations and expressed
her pleasure with the initiative to make Delaware one of the premiere
captive insurance jurisdictions.
The Governor is always a difficult act to follow, but David Mair
of MEDEX Global Group lived up to his reputation as "one of the
most dynamic voices in risk management today", as he was dubbed
by Felix Kolman of Risk Management Reports. Mr. Mair claimed he
might start to sound like a "commercial for Delaware" as he rattled
off the competitive advantages Delaware can count on to woo prospective
captive owners. He stressed the importance of focusing on the
right domicile to fit the intent of the captive, noting that far
too often the domicile choice is almost a reflex decision (while
providing an illustrative audience participation exercise).
As attendees enjoyed their dessert back in the Gold Ballroom,
Dave Ripsom, the President and CEO of Nuclear Electric Insurance
Limited, and Kent Lisenby, President of MAKE Transportation Insurance,
Inc., shared their perspectives on what it is like to be a captive
insurance company in Delaware. Mr. Ripsom discussed NEIL's history
and why it chose Delaware as a jurisdiction. Mr. Lisenby gave
an animated synopsis of his experience forming a captive in Delaware
under the new legislation before the arrival of Bill White, and
stressed the importance of having the right team on board during
the process.
A panel of attorneys then teed up Bill White's presentation by
educating the group about the new Delaware statute. Jeff Simpson
of Wilmington Trust moderated the panel. Bob Symonds and Matt
O'Toole of Morris, James, Hitchens & Williams discussed the policy
considerations behind the revised statute, noting in particular
that the statute was designed to be flexible. Len Togman of Potter,
Anderson & Corroon then covered the "nuts & bolts" of the statute.
Mike Teichman discussed some of the regulatory issues and additional
aspects of flexibility. The panel was concluded by Geoff Etherington's
domicile comparison.
After a short networking break, sponsored by Naden/Lean, LLC,
Insurance Commissioner Matt Denn took the stage to discuss the
Delaware Department of Insurance's commitment to making Delaware
one of the foremost jurisdictions for captive insurance and noted
how happy the Department is to have Bill White leading the charge.
After waiting patiently all day to hear from the new voice of
captive insurance in Delaware, Bill White, the attendees were
treated to Bill's discussion of the strategic plan for Delaware.
While the effort to staff the captive insurance division is underway
and Bill is working on the logistical aspects of his position,
it is clear that his vision for Delaware is already well formed.
A year from now, Bill would like Delaware to be on everyone's
short list for consideration as a domicile. He feels that Delaware
offers comparative and competitive advantages that will set it
apart from other jurisdictions. Mr. White also noted that the
partnership already in existence between the business community
and public sector is evidence that Delaware is off to a great
start as a jurisdiction. He explained that this partnership will
be critical as the jurisdiction develops to keep him apprised
of the business community's needs. When asked what he plans to
do to help educate the small to mid-size business owner about
captive insurance, Mr. White responded that he will work in conjunction
with the DCIA to develop educational opportunities.
After a question and answer period, the conference attendees
adjourned to the ballroom foyer for a cocktail reception sponsored
by the DCIA's Founding Members. There, some of the newcomers to
the captive insurance industry benefited from conversations with
more seasoned captive insurance professionals.
Attendees gave the conference high marks for its one day format,
allowing people to come into town just for the day by car, train,
or plane. The Hotel DuPont's inviting atmosphere and fantastic
food were also appreciated by all. Certainly, the DCIA will have
much work to do to top its inaugural conference - but plans are
already underway. Mark your calendar for the first week in October
of 2007 for the Second Annual Conference, to be held at the Hotel
DuPont. Please monitor the DCIA website at www.delawarecaptive.org
for details.
All photographs courtesy of Kathy Simpson
