Vermont Captive Insurance Association Special Section

2010 VICA Conference preview

Next month’s conference will build on past successes

By Michael J. Moody, MBA, ARM

Anyone who is familiar with the Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) knows the role that Molly Lambert had played in that association, and in the captive insurance industry as a whole. Under her watchful eye, Vermont remained the leading U.S. captive domicile and the third largest captive domicile in the world. But about a year ago, just prior to the 2009 conference, Molly was presented with an opportunity she could not refuse, an Obama appointment as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s State Director for Rural Development for Vermont and New Hampshire.

The VCIA board performed an exhaustive search for a new presi­dent after Molly’s departure. Late last year they named Richard Smith of East Montpelier, Vermont, as its new president.

Smith has been involved in various positions with Vermont government, most recently serving as the deputy commissioner of the State of Vermont’s Public Service Department. Among the factors that the VCIA board high­lighted were his extensive experiences in state government, including both deputy commissioner of Economic Development and policy analyst in the Office of the Governor.

According to Michael Bemi, prior chair of the VCIA Board of Directors, Smith had a perfect blend of political savvy; along with ease in relating to CEOs and assisting them to understand workings of complex management techniques such as captives and, finally, years of significant administrative accomplish­ments. Smith began his duties with VCIA in October 2009. Obviously, high on his “To Do” list was working on the 2010 Conference.

Staying true to core concept

Set for August 10-12, 2010, this year’s conference—“Passport to Captive Success”—promises to be the major educational opportunity that it has always been. The quality of the conference is a result of year-long work by numerous people. Smith points out, “Just about the time that the current year’s conference is in the history books, the planning starts for the next year’s event.” And he notes, “We also make certain that the conference is more than just a networking opportunity.” In order to do that, he says, “We get the best speakers and the best content”

The 2009 conference featured a number of changes, one of which was the movement of some of the sessions to the Davis Center at the University of Vermont, due to the conference’s growth.

Many of the mainstay educational offerings will appear in this year’s conference, which features 56 presenters who will highlight the most current information on their various topics. CPE/CLE credits are available. The initial day will feature the popular extended Captives 101 class, which will cover captive basics, and also the Captives 102 session designed to address tax issues associated with captive operations. The 102 session was new last year, and it received a very favorable response.

The conference has also scheduled sessions on several other popular and topical ideas. Among these are:

• Medical Benefits in Captives

• Best Practices for Captive Governance

• Understanding Loss Reserves

• Captive Reinsurance Programs

• Capital and Collateral in Crisis

All of these sessions will be pre­sented by professionals from within their practice areas and were selected by VCIA’s Captive Owner Advisors.

Innovative options

While the main aspects of the educational sessions remain the same, VCIA has made some small changes to this year’s schedule. One area that has been “beefed up” is the peer-to-peer sessions. In prior years, similar peer-to-peer sessions were limited to the health care field. With such positive feedback last year, they have expanded the industry segments this year. Smith notes that these forums are, by design, industry-specific for risk management professionals “to be able to sit down with each other, face-to-face and have an open discussion about indivi­dual experience.”

This year includes forums for banking and insurance, manufacturing, and a health care roundtable. Additionally, there will be a captive owner’s roundtable and a group captive roundtable.

The association has also planned several other innovative features, beginning with the Opening General Session variation on the game show favorite “Jeopardy.” This session of “Captive Jeopardy” will feature Deputy Commissioner of Captives for Vermont David Provost as the game show host. Smith says the session will “test the knowledge of some of the audience members.”

According to Smith, the Keynote Speaker during the closing luncheon should also be well received. VCIA has scheduled John Jacobs, co-founder and chief creative optimist of the Life is Good Company. In 1989, John and his brother, Bert, designed their first ..t-shirt. Shortly thereafter they began selling the t-shirts in Boston, and then the entire East Coast.

The shirts were not an initial success until the introduction of “Jake” shirts with their “Life is Good” logo; then they began seeing a significant jump in sales. Since that time, the company has continued to emphasize a wide variety of products that continue the simplicity, humor and humility themes. In these trying times, Jacobs’ message is sure to strike a helpful tone.

Conclusion

The VCIA has long been known for the quality of their product, and this 25th year should continue that tradition. Smith is committed to giving the participants what they want. In that regard, the Conference Committee depends on the feedback from the attendees and adjusts to their suggestions. In this way, the Committee assures that the agenda stays fresh.

Smith says, “While we are willing to tweak the agenda a little, we will not sacrifice the quality.” With 25 years of successful conferences to build on, it is a safe bet that everyone will leave satisfied but ,just in case, VCIA again is offering its money back guarantee. That sounds like a win/win situation.