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CAPTIVE EDUCATION ICCIE offers comprehensive core curriculum for captive professionals By Michael J. Moody, MBA, ARM
For the past 30 years, corporate America has been steadily moving toward the captive insurance alternative. During that time, more than 5,230 captives of one sort or another (i.e., single parent, group captives, risk retention groups, etc.) have been formed in various parts of the globe. And it appears that this growth will not stop any time soon. However, 30 years of sustained growth has resulted in some challenges. One of the most persistent challenges has been to find qualified personnel to support this growth. The alternative risk markets in general, and captives specifically, have suffered from a lack of industry-specific training. For the most part, anyone who wished to be employed within the industry had only one way of learning the necessary information—on-the-job training. Certainly, there were some educational opportunities found in the numerous seminars and conferences held around the country; however, there have been no formal training programs for disciplined professional development. But that all changed last year, with the introduction of the Associate in Captive Insurance (ACI) designation offered by the International Center for Captive Insurance Education (ICCIE). Background About four years ago, the Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) began to look for solutions to the problem and decided that a formal training program was needed. As Dan Labrie, president and CEO of the Housing Authority Insurance Group and then chairman of VCIA, notes, “We were looking for a way to move the association to a much higher level of performance and provide added value to the membership.” Once the VCIA agreed on this mission, it then had to figure out, “what is the next higher level for dealing with the needs of the captive industry?” The answer was “to create a program that would meet the continuous educational needs of the professionals involved in the captive insurance industry,” according to Labrie. Nancy Gray, executive director of Aon Insurance Managers, North America, was also involved in the initial planning process. She notes, “It had become quite difficult to find qualified people with specific training to meet our needs.” It took VCIA three more years of research to fully develop the idea. Initially, a committee was formed to explore possible solutions. During the early stages, the committee undertook an informal market study that indicated the need was indeed there. It then commissioned a feasibility study that was ultimately developed into ICCIE’s business plan. This work culminated in the introduction of the ACI program on August 9, 2004. Start-up mode While ICCIE was the brainchild of the VCIA, during its development, it had the input of many professionals from various segments of the captive insurance industry so that it would not be a Vermont-only solution. It was specifically designed, according to Gray, to be “domicile neutral.” She goes on to say, “Many of the industry representatives on the committee recognized that this was an educational need that transcended Vermont.” As a result, the curriculum was designed to provide a broader education about the captive industry. Even the name International Center for Captive Insurance Education was selected “to identify it as more than just Vermont.” Although the program is less than one year old, there are currently 72 participants in the program and it has attracted students from many domiciles. “The response from the industry has been fabulous,” says Mitch Cantor, executive director of ICCIE. “It has been exciting to see the depth and breadth of people in the program.” Cantor notes that both newcomers and experienced professionals are enrolled in the program. In addition to people from Vermont, there are now students from 25 other states and a number of offshore locations enrolled in the program. And while Cantor has indicated that they believe the program will take between 18 months to two years to complete, they have just announced their first graduate: David “Lucky” Lippa has qualified to receive the first ACI designation by completing the coursework. Program elements There are a number of unique features built into the ICCIE program. The program makes creative use of both live, face-to-face training, as well as the online, instructor-led learning. Students can take advantage of whichever method meets their needs, or even mix and match should that better serve their purpose. Each of the five core courses is offered in the face-to-face format one or two times during the year (frequently prior to or following major captive conferences), while the online versions of these core courses are also offered several times a year. The core courses, which are required of all students, include: • An Introduction to Alternative Risk Financing Mechanisms • Understanding Risk and Retention Mechanisms • Forming and Operating a Captive • Protecting the Captive: Predicting Risk, Reinsurance and Other Transfer Mechanisms • Business Ethics in the Captive Insurance Industry In addition to these core courses, students must also take two electives. The electives are offered through either the American Institute of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters (AICPCU) or the Insurance Education Association, and include offerings such as INS 23 — Commercial Insurance; CPCU 551 — Commercial Property, Risk Management and Insurance; CPCU 552 — Commercial Liability, Risk Management and Insurance; ARM 54 — Essentials of Risk Management; ARM 56 — Risk Financing; AU 65 — Commercial Underwriting: Principles and Property; and AU 66 — Commercial Underwriting: Liability and Advanced Techniques. In addition, AIAF 111 — Statutory Accounting for Property and Liability Insurers, which is also offered by the AICPCU, can be used as an elective. The final component of the course work is that the student must participate in three “Hot Topic” teleconferences, which are offered by either ICCIE or VCIA. Subject matter for these sessions will vary according to industry trends. However, it is expected that at least eight such teleconferences will be held each year. Universal appeal The curriculum has been designed to provide the student with a broad and comprehensive knowledge of the captive insurance industry. Instructors include many of the most knowledgeable industry experts available. It’s the access to these industry experts that is one of the biggest advantages, according to Cantor. He adds, “Subsequent to the program introduction other experts have come forward and expressed an interest in being on the faculty.” Dan Labrie points out that another important aspect regarding the instructors is that they are accountable to the organization. “It’s important that we pay our instructors,” he says, “so that we can be certain that a quality product is being provided.” Both Gray and Labrie are ICCIE board members and, in an effort to maintain the universal aspect of the program, the original board “has been expanded to include people from various domiciles, from around the world actually,” Gray notes. Cantor says that in the short term, ICCIE will concentrate on making certain that the program meets the educational objectives of its students; however, ICCIE does have plans for additional growth. He realizes that there is still much work to do to get the word out to the captive insurance industry. But the risk management community is not out of his vision. “There are 10,000 people who go to the RIMS Conference and most have not heard about our program,” he notes. Further down the road are possible relationships with several colleges and universities that have advanced risk manage-ment programs, but no captive-specific courses. ICCIE has responded to a major need within the captive industry and has established a comprehensive program to answer that need. Students from a variety of disciplines, captive managers, brokers, captive owners, regulators, lawyers, and other service providers all see the universal appeal of this program. As a result, we can anticipate that the ACI designation soon will be the accepted standard within the captive industry. The captive industry would do well to actively support this important educational effort since it is a positive sign that the industry is serious about better serving its customers. * |
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