Seniors Matia Daskalos and Vincent Palmieri from Temple University have been awarded first place honours in the Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA) College Student Essay Contest. The winners were announced today during the opening session of the CICA 2022 International Conference at the JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort & Spa in Tucson, Arizona. Daskalos and Palmieri will receive a cash prize of US$2,500. Sponsored by Strategic Risk Solutions (SRS), this year’s contest was entitled “Using Captive Insurance Solutions to Address Coverage Gaps”. Daskalos and Palmieri proposed a captive solution for the case study of the American Cannabis Association seeking to form a captive to provide liability coverage for general, product and automobile liability insurance, as well as cyber risk. Connor Thomson and Nicholas Vagnozzi of Saint Joseph’s University were awarded second place, winning a cash prize of $1,500. Thomson and Vagnozzi proposed a solution to the second case study, relating to the Craft Breweries Association (CBA) using a captive to provide medical stop-loss coverage, help members control future health insurance costs, and administer a form of voluntary benefits. Katie Strohl and Blake Babec of Butler University were awarded third place and a cash prize of $1,000 for their essay on the CBA case study. Commenting on this year’s essay finalists, CICA president Dan Towle says: “We are always pleased to see the bright and talented students who enter the competition. Their commitment to tackle a new challenge and develop a broader knowledge of insurance solutions gives them a leg-up on managing an organisation’s risks. “Students tell us they enjoy learning about the complexities of captive insurance and how captives can provide solutions that might not otherwise be available.” Brady Young, CEO of SRS, adds: “We are pleased to sponsor this initiative. It spreads the word about how great the captive industry is in terms of being an interesting place to work and providing fantastic growth opportunities for bright, motivated individuals. “We hope this will help generate long-term interest in working in our industry and help supplement the captive industry’s needs as the current generation of leaders retire.” All students will present their cases during an education session of the CICA International Conference tomorrow, and will have their essays published in the next issue of Captive Insurance Times as the Essay Contest media partner. Last year, juniors Ashley Martin and Max Bernstein from Saint Joseph’s University were named winners after proposing a group captive solution to provide insurance coverage for 30,000 US college student housing rentals.
