As the Bermuda Captive Conference draws closer, the conference’s team has provided CIT with a sneak preview of what attendees can expect from this year’s event
Leslie Robinson
Senior vice president,
Head of underwriting and claims
Willis Towers Watson
Grainne Richmond
Executive vice president, head of captives
Aon
Gemma Godfrey
Chief operations officer
Whitfield Events
Andrew Vaucrosson
Head of development and operations
Bermuda Captive Network
Can you tell us about the history and mission of the Bermuda Captive Conference? How has it evolved since its inception in 2004?
Leslie Robinson: The Bermuda Captive Conference was established with the primary objective of bringing together professionals and stakeholders from the captive insurance industry.
Bermuda has long been a leading domicile for captive insurance companies due to its favourable regulatory environment, robust infrastructure and expertise in the (re)insurance sectors.
The conference aims to showcase Bermuda’s position as a global hub for captive insurance and provide a platform for networking, knowledge-sharing and collaboration among industry participants.
The mission of the Bermuda Captive Conference is multi-faceted, focused on promoting Bermuda as a leading captive domicile, educating industry participants and showcasing innovation.
Since its inception, the Bermuda Captive Conference has witnessed an increase in the number of attendees and participants from different parts of the world, reflecting the event’s rising prominence in the global captive insurance community.
The content has diversified to cover a broader range of topics relevant to the captive insurance industry. Initially focusing on the basics of captive insurance, the event now delves into advanced subjects, risk management strategies, emerging trends and regulatory updates.
With the rapid advancement of technology, the conference has incorporated discussions on the impact of technological advancements, business innovation and digital transformation within the captive insurance industry.
In 2022, the Bermuda Captive Network (BCN) was launched. The network functions as an independent association that prioritises members and effective representation for Bermuda’s more than 650 captives, owners and service providers.
The network continues to promote Bermuda as a world-class domicile in the global risk market.
It aims to deliver best-in-class thought leadership, continuous learning and opportunities to share ideas through an expansion of resources, forums, consultation, data and analytics as well as signature events.
With Bermuda being the largest global hub of captive insurance, what makes the Bermuda Captive Conference stand out from other similar events in the industry?
Grainne Richmond: Bermuda is one of the leading (re)insurance domiciles and one of the largest captive domiciles globally. This widespread insurance knowledge on the island combined with expertise in other financial markets such as trust, banking, asset management and funds, ensures that the conference attracts a diverse group of stakeholders, speakers and experts.
With a strong regulatory environment, Bermuda continues to explore new initiatives and concepts and leads the way by providing solutions to insureds, policyholders and stakeholders. This wealth of experts and knowledge will all be found at the conference as it provides a unique opportunity for all to discuss, explore and review past successes and future risk solutions.
As a jurisdiction Bermuda continues to attract new conferences, in addition to the captive industry. As a result, the experts these conferences gather enables the Bermuda captive industry to gain first-hand experience and knowledge here on island. Over the past year, we have seen life insurance, AI and climate experts all participate in separate conferences. This participation has enabled Bermuda to leverage this expertise to ensure its captive industry and the conference are always forward-thinking.
What can attendees expect in terms of networking opportunities and learning experiences?
Gemma Godfrey: The Bermuda Captive Conference provides an unparalleled platform for networking with key players in the captive insurance industry including insurance managers, brokers, reinsurers, regulators and service providers. They all offer a wealth of knowledge-sharing opportunities.
The event brings together industry professionals for thought leadership, education and connectivity, featuring educational sessions, engaging speakers, interactive discussions and opportunities to connect and network. By examining key trends in the global captive market, attendees can stay up-to-date with the latest trends, regulatory changes and best practices in captive insurance.
Delegates will have the opportunity to participate across an engaging conference alongside captive owners, captive insurance managers, brokers, service providers, corporate risk managers and owners of captive insurance companies. This year’s event will take place across two days and will include thought-provoking sessions and valuable networking opportunities.
Bermuda is a significant hub for the captive insurance market and attending the conference will offer delegates invaluable market intelligence. They can gain insights into the current market dynamics, identify emerging opportunities, hear directly from regulators and understand regulatory changes. Attendees can also benchmark their captive insurance strategies and performance against industry peers to help them identify areas for improvement and align their practices with industry best standards.
Furthermore, the event contributes to professional development, as delegates can enhance their skills and knowledge through the educational sessions offered.
This year’s event is particularly exciting with Carla Harris as the keynote speaker. Could you provide some insights into her role as a senior client advisor at Morgan Stanley and how her expertise will benefit conference attendees?
Godfrey: Carla Harris, as a senior client advisor at Morgan Stanley, brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the Bermuda Captive Conference as the keynote speaker, sponsored by the firm.
As a senior client advisor, Harris provides strategic advice and personalised financial solutions to Morgan Stanley’s high-net-worth clients. Her position involves understanding clients’ unique financial goals, risk tolerance, and investment preferences and then developing tailored investment strategies to help them achieve their objectives.
Her prominent role in the financial services industry and her remarkable achievements make her a highly-anticipated and valuable addition to the event.
Harris is also the founder and creator of the award-winning multicultural innovation lab at Morgan Stanley and the podcast “Access and Opportunity”.
During Harris’ more than 30-year career, she has had extensive industry experiences in the technology, media, retail, telecommunications, transportation, industrial and healthcare sectors. In August 2013, Harris was appointed by US President Barack Obama to chair the National Women’s Business Council.
Harris’s address is titled: “How to be a Powerful, Impactful Leader in Today’s Environment” and will offer delegates some unique insights into her inspirational leadership and strategic thinking, focusing on themes such as leadership, diversity and career development.
She is also an advocate for diversity and inclusion in the workplace and her perspective on fostering diverse and inclusive work environments will provide valuable insights into enhancing diversity efforts within the captive insurance industry.
Attendees can expect to gain valuable insights, practical advice and inspiration from her address, contributing to a highly exciting and enriching conference experience.
As the Bermuda Captive Network (BCN) focuses on growth and innovation, could you highlight any new initiatives or offerings attendees can look forward to this year?
Andrew Vaucrosson: Since the kick-off of the BCN at last year’s conference, we have enrolled more than 150 members, and we anticipate we’ll be able to enrol even more going into the 2023 conference.
We have been instrumental in forging regular standing meetings between our Advocacy Pillar Committee with both the Bermuda Monetary Authority and Registrar of Companies and have participated in several round table discussions and working groups with the minister of finance, minister of economic development and labour, and with the Bermuda Business Development Agency. These interactions have allowed the network to discuss recommendations, concerns and provide praise on behalf of our members to strengthen our captive industry. This is in addition to making business in Bermuda more productive and beneficial to those seeking a premier domicile to take financial control of managing their risks.
Through our Education Pillar Committee, we have hosted several students studying risk management from Bermuda Foundation for Insurance Studies, Bermuda College, University of Georgia, Florida State University, University of Calgary and Eastern Kentucky University.
During these hosted sessions, we crafted an interactive presentation using a subject matter expert (SME) panel of BCN members to engage the students on the historical role and origins of captives, the purpose and type of captive formations, the roles and skills involved with captive management, and the future challenges and opportunities the captive industry faces.
The Education Pillar Committee is also examining ways to better understand the talent gaps potentially impacting the captive industry in Bermuda. Our first step is to create a baseline understanding. BCN has initiated an initial survey to engage its membership base of insurance managers and service providers to find the potential gaps.
The network has also participated with several member companies to host information or training sessions and webinars around topics such as data privacy, protection and good governance. This is available to members via our dedicated member login portal.
What are the key takeaways you hope participants will gain from attending the Bermuda Captive Conference 2023, and how will it contribute to the continued growth of the captive insurance industry?
Vaucrosson: Our theme this year is ‘adaptability’, which is one of the core reasons Bermuda’s captive industry continues to demonstrate strength and stability during these emerging risk challenges facing our current financial markets.
As a participant in this year’s conference, we have ensured the event has a balance of informative sessions, as well as networking opportunities. Each session has been crafted based on the concerns raised by our network members along with the SMEs on our Conference Agenda Committee. The range of topics should stimulate thought and discussion during the networking breaks and provide access to SMEs who are participating in the session panels.
We believe attendees will come away with better understanding of:
- The key macro banking issues facing the captive arena
- Excess capacity opportunities for captives provided by Bermuda’s reinsurance marketplace
- Examining legacy solutions to help resolve any aged claims liabilities
- How captives can invest their assets to deal with both regulatory challenges and market volatility
- What role AI will play in the insurance value chain
- Technical matters relating to forensic claims analysis, differentiating ISAC from SACs and accelerating DE&I progress with a captive
- Governance and regulatory matters from a Bermuda domicile perspective
Additionally, we actively encourage all delegates to join the BCN, as we expand our membership base to bring more diverse thought leadership to the table. This will allow us to host future events, enable our members to network through participating in cutting-edge panel discussions, and be exposed to a wider variety of dynamic speakers.
