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Special Section—2007 CICA International Conference BIGGER AND BETTER: The Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA) is scheduled to hold its annual International Conference on March 11-13, 2007. The event, titled “Captives Drive the Next Generation: Advancement & Innovation,” will be held at the Westin La Paloma Resort in Tucson, Arizona. Each year, CICA (the only domicile-neutral association serving the captive community) gathers some of the most influential industry professionals to discuss some of the issues and topics of interest to all captive industry participants. And the 2007 event, which marks its 35th annual conference, promises to be one of the best. Keynote Speaker Helen Thomas, known as “The First Lady of the Press,” will certainly make this year’s conference memorable. Thomas has enjoyed a unique vantage point to observe the American political process play out over the past 57 years. She has served as the White House correspondent for United Press International, covering every president since John F. Kennedy. She will provide insight into her work during the “not-to-be-missed” Opening General Session on Monday, March 12. The educational aspects of the conference actually begin on Sunday, March 11, with two overview sessions—“Captives 101” and “Risk Retention Groups 101.” CICA has also lined up a variety of educational sessions over the following two days. Captive experts will be discussing timely topics such as “The Future of Captives,” which will address important issues like taxes, domiciles, fronting, and reinsurance. This information should help attendees to best position their captives for success during the upcoming soft insurance market. Other sessions will address the Department of Labor’s approval process for inclusion of employee benefits. Another session will tackle how the captive industry will be regulated in the future. Another popular, annual session will provide the results of the annual fronting survey. Of special interest at this year’s event will be a session called “The Story of the World Trade Center Captive.” The president of this captive will provide insight into the history and the role this captive has played following one of the world’s most significant events. She will discuss the details of how the WTC captive has operated since 9/11. In addition to the array of educa-tional sessions, captive professionals will find ample opportunity for networking and learning new ideas from the industry’s leading service providers. Representatives from a number of captive domiciles will also be available to discuss and update information regarding their products and/or services. All in all, the 2007 CICA Conference should provide an excellent overview on the current state of the captive market and will provide strategies for how to successfully navigate the upcoming soft insurance market. * The articles in this special section were written by Michael J. Moody, MBA, ARM, Vice President-Alternative Risk, The Rough Notes Company, Inc. |
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