Recipient of the VCIA Distinguished Scholar Award, Andrew Christie, discusses his experiences of his course
How did you hear about the programme and what attracted you to it?
I found it through a colleague who is involved in the International Center for Captive Insurance Education (ICCIE) and recommends the organisation. He knew this programme existed and with my background thought it could be useful.
Just to give you a little bit of context, my background is in captive management based in the Cayman Islands with Aon, then I moved to New York to perform a captive consulting position.
My colleague was correct in that this programme is very apt for my career. I was attracted to it because of the speakers and lecturers that are involved in the programme, as they tend to be pioneers in the US captive industry in terms of captive set up, captive management and consulting, tax advisory or law.
To be able to listen to these speakers and ask them questions on a subject matter that I deal with on a daily basis is a huge opportunity. Certainly, in the limited courses I have done so far, I have found their insights is useful and a fresh take on subjects I have certainly come across, such as accounting and legal tax.
Their specific experience in the business, and the challenges they have overcome, help those who are relevantly new to the business.
Another aspect that attracted me to the course was improving knowledge gaps or revisiting certain areas; for example, I haven’t worked in captive accounting for a few years now because I have been focusing on consulting—so again, that helps to go back to that area and get up-to-date. For the latest example, I have learnt about recent changes in accounting standards and that’s the sort of thing the course addressed.
How was your first year?
It’s coming on to one year. I have attended a couple of modules. It’s been good—it’s quite interactive, the majority of the grade is based on an exam, but there is also a participation grade and you get some homework assignments too.
Is there a module that you learned during your first year that stands out?
What stands out for me is not a particular course but more the interactive learning aspects of it. In a regular course at a regular university, you’re just sitting in a lecture, listening and taking notes; this course is a little different, as you will have a speaker, and the majority of people are reasonably advanced in their career.
It’s quite a proactive approach with a lot of interaction. It’s great to understand all different angles of the subject matter. Because people are coming from different backgrounds, some are legal, some are tax, some are accounting, some are consulting.
What attracted you to captive insurance in the first place?
For me, I fell into it somewhat randomly, I was actually in London myself working for HSBC and I was really fed up with the winters.
I had been overseas before but just on a travelling basis. So I did my research and had a look at how can I use my background and go somewhere that’s not the UK.
I was looking at the Cayman Islands, that’s where the job came up. I interviewed with Aon and got the job via phone.
What attracted me to stay in the industry once I had the job was the interesting and creative structures that captives offer.
Captives are a relatively new insurance, only 50 years old. It offers solutions to traditional insurance problems that are a little different and involves insurance brokers.
Therefore, the likes of myself and my peers offer different solutions and different ways of approaching problems in a way that traditional insurance in the industry doesn’t tend to do.
You’re taking the risk through your own company as opposed to just buying the risk, and I like that aspect.
Large clients may not have their needs met by a traditional insurance market.
Have you personally learnt any new industry information having taken this course?
The course is pretty robust and covers all the bases of the captive insurance industry. Because of the nature of the speakers, you have industry professionals that provide different perspectives to different problems, as opposed to a single lecturer with one mindset teaching from textbooks.
The practical application of the speakers allows them to be pioneers of sorts, to set up a vehicle that has not been established previously. From that angle, it is much more beneficial than being taught by a textbook.
Would you recommend this scholarship programme?
I would; the programme is ultimately beneficial for people interested or involved in captives.
For someone who is trying to break into the industry, it’s a great course too.
It can only improve your understanding of how to meet your clients’ needs. The modules are pretty high calibre, and yes, overall I would recommend it.
