CICA
Dan Towle, president of CICA, discusses what attendees can expect from this year’s conference in Arizona
What is the main focus of this year’s conference?
Our conference theme is the “Challenge of Change”. Today’s risk management professionals are seeing more simultaneous change than ever before. Being able to operate and succeed in a constantly changing marketplace is the challenge that captives and risk management professionals will need to navigate. By bringing together some of the most creative and innovative captive leaders and service providers in the world, the Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA) can help the captive industry address the challenges of this continuous change. Captive insurance professionals need to be nimble in identifying opportunities to harness those changes. It is important to stay current and hear from thought leaders about new strategies. The educational sessions and networking opportunities put forth at the CICA conference will keep delegates prepared for handling today’s “Challenge of Change”.
Are there any sessions you are particularly looking forward to?
I am excited about many of our sessions this year. We received more than twice as many session proposal submissions than we ever have before. As a result, our programme committee was able to choose from the top submissions, which I believe has made for some extraordinary sessions at this year’s conference.
We are an international association, as such, we have some incredible sessions from an international perspective. For the first time, a session will feature the leadership of the European Captive Insurance and Reinsurance Owners’ Association (ECIROA), who will cover challenges facing European captive insurers. I’m also excited about several of the sessions addressing mentorship and young professionals. We have students from both Butler University and Temple University participating on several sessions.
We have sessions designed to help captives and risk managers address external changes such as cyber risk and new technologies. Joe Deems of the National Risk Retention Association (NRRA) will be leading a session focused on insuring cutting edge technologies. We also have sessions on new programmes, such as how captive insurance programmes are significantly contributing to healthcare cost containment.
One of the changes we are seeing is brand new industries, such as the cannabis industry, that may be entering the captive insurance market. We’re pleased to have Camille Dixon, from the California Department of Insurance, and Joe Holahan of Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP and Greg Fanoe of Merlinos and Associates as a panel session on the opportunities for captives related to the rapidly expanding cannabis industry.
The Avrahami decision was big news this past year. We are pleased to have a great panel of captive tax experts, John Dies of Aliantgroup LP, Chaz Lavelle of Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP, and former senior Internal Revenue Service (IRS) trial attorney Brandon Keim of Frazer Ryan Goldberg & Arnold LLP who successfully litigated Avrahami v. Commissioner, which should make for a great session.
How have your first nine months as CICA president been?
My approach as CICA President has focused on connecting with our members and our many partners across the industry. I have appreciated everyone’s willingness to ask questions and engage in productive dialogue. The information and ideas generated have provided the foundation for new strategies to increase member value and enhance CICA’s industry leadership and advocacy. I am pleased to report we have created significant positive energy going into 2018.
I am proud to have such a supportive board of directors and an engaging membership. The energy and excitement from speaking with our membership has been invigorating. Heading into the conference we have more speakers than ever, attendance looks extremely positive and our sponsorship commitment is very strong. I am looking forward to another outstanding CICA conference.
What does CICA have in the pipeline for 2018?
We want to continue building on the momentum and excitement that I see from our members. Our members want us to be more visible and active in the industry and that’s our focus. Being domicile neutral means we have a holistic view of the industry, which gives us a larger potential audience than simply being aligned with a single jurisdiction. It also arguably gives us the most unbiased voice in the industry.
We also want to expand our professional development offerings. We plan to continue to grow our mentorship programme with more participants. I look forward to continuing our partnership with Butler University and we are open to partnering with other colleges and universities; and we will continue to enhance our professional development track at the conference.
We feel this is an area where CICA can play a significant role in the overall marketplace and our members are very excited about this. We want to help nurture and develop those new to our industry and to raise the awareness of great career opportunities in captive insurance.
CICA has a long history of leading the efforts for industry best practices. We are in the process of updating our publications and other guidance and I look forward to sharing those items later in the year. Our best practices guidelines are a standard in the industry and it is important that these are continuously updated to reflect current market conditions and other changes.
We are also working in cooperation with ECIROA on hosting the European Captive Forum in Luxembourg in November. CICA is excited to be partnering with ECIROA on this event and hope many of our members will consider attending.
What is CICA doing to help educate current captive professionals and the next generation of captive leaders?
We know our members and their companies need to have the skills and insights to be successful in their roles. Broadening CICA’s focus to include professional development seemed like a good fit.
The professional development track is focused on skills captive and risk management professionals need to successfully engage human resources, finance, risk management, and executives in developing strategies for optimal uses of captive insurance companies.
CICA is taking a leadership role in promoting the dynamic nature of the captive industry and the career opportunities it provides. We are partnering with educational resources like Butler University as a way we can both learn from each other. Our industry needs to do a better job in both attracting and developing the next generation of captive leaders. I believe this is a role that CICA can play an important part.
Earlier this year, we announced our mentorship programme as one such way to help develop our industry by connecting leaders with newer to the industry individuals.
Any final thoughts as you are headed into the conference?
I am really looking forward to this year’s conference. Putting together a successful event is a year-long endeavor with so many volunteers who have committed their time, expertise and energy to this event. I want to thank our programme committee and our programme chair, Joel Chansky of Milliman for all of the committee’s and his efforts.
We have a record number of speakers this year and we appreciate all of the time they have committed to showcasing top-notch educational sessions. Attendance is extremely strong at this point, the exhibit hall is full, sponsorship is at an all-time high and all indicators are that this will be another CICA Conference not to miss. I hope to see you there!
