Annual Impact Report Professional Education Legislative Advocacy Industry Networking
MESSAGE FROM THE President VCIA has been working hard to meet your needs in this ever expanding and evolving industry! Under the leadership of Board Chair Bill Motherway, VCIA continues to look for ways to maximize our value to you, our members. Of course we re proud of the progress, but we are even more proud of the reputation for quality that has led to such outstanding growth. VCIA forged legislative changes at the state level and advocated on many federal issues, including discussions with Vermont s Congressional Delegation. This is only possible with the active participation of you, our members. You support the association by attending our webinars and Road Shows; by sharing your expertise as panelists and discussion leaders; by making the trek to Vermont in January for our Legislative Day; by sponsoring events and advertising; and, of course, by attending our annual conference. Your support means VCIA will remain the voice that matters for the captive industry in Montpelier and Washington. It is my privilege to work for this industry that means so much to our state. Thanks for your tremendous support and contributions to VCIA s success! MESSAGE FROM THE Board Chair It has been my pleasure to serve as the VCIA Board Chair this year and I am proud of what VCIA has accomplished. We continue to work hard to create long term value for our members, as we support the captive insurance industry through legislative advocacy, education, networking, communication and marketing. This impact report will give you a snapshot of the activities and work your association has accomplished in 2014. I am happy to report that the organization is financially sound and structurally strong as VCIA strives to be the premier captive insurance association in the world. Without question, Vermont remains the gold standard for domestic captive domiciles. It is continually evolving to meet the risk management needs of an increasingly diverse set of captive owners, in a continuously changing risk climate. And VCIA has been a key link to this continuing success. We are very excited about our 30th Annual Conference in August and hope you can join us in beautiful Burlington, Vermont! Best regards, Bill Motherway VCIA Board Chair Rich Smith VCIA President Board of Directors William Riley Esq. Principal, Paul Frank + Collins P.C., Burlington, VT Steve Bauman Senior Vice President, Zurich North America, New York, NY Michael Horning Vice President, United Educators Insurance, Chevy Chase, MD Bob Gagliardi Senior Vice President, AIG Insurance Management Services, Burlington, VT Steven McElhiney CEO & Chairman, EWI Re, Tall Pines Insurance Co., Dallas, TX Richard Smith President, Vermont Captive Insurance Association, Burlington, VT Dan Kusaila Tax Partner, Crowe Horwath, LLP, Avon, CT William D. Motherway President, Conner Strong & Buckelew, New York, NY Heather McClure Executive Director of Operations, Academic Physicians Insurance Company, Oklahoma City, OK Edward S. Koral Specialist Leader, Deloitte Consulting, New York, NY Siri Gadbois President, College Insurance Company, Inc., Chicago, IL Diane Hanson Local Practice Leader, Aon, Burlington, VT
Legislative Advocacy The Vermont Statehouse The VCIA Legislative Committee assists the Board by assessing federal, state, and international legislation and regulation, and policy issues of interest to the membership. Membership means clout. VCIA s advocacy efforts ensure that the voice of its membership is accurately heard at both the state and federal levels. With over 460 member companies many of whom are well known and respected industry leaders VCIA is recognized as a leader during important regulatory and legislative discussions that affect our industry. In 2014, VCIA spent over $100,000 on legislative advocacy. The industry is facing a number of threats that we anticipate will continue over the next few years: (1) excessive regulation resulting from insufficient knowledge; (2) the weakening of sound regulatory structures based on a desire to attract business; and (3) efforts to impose new or increased taxes. Other challenges include the proliferation of captive domiciles and the potential negative impact of 831(b)s. Working with CICA and other captive organizations, VCIA will continue to monitor all of these ongoing challenges. The Clarity for Captive Insurers Coalition (CCIC). A coalition was formed under the leadership of VCIA to push for legislation that would clarify the intent of the federal Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA) was never intended to apply to captive insurance. Through VCIA s efforts, a bill was reintroduced this year in Congress by Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina to address the issue. Legislative Tracking. A comprehensive legislative tracking system started in 2014 allows VCIA to monitor potential bills and regulations not only at the federal level, but state-by-state. Captive Owner Membership Growth 234 245 254 2012 2013 2014 150 Associates 19 Affiliates 260 Captive Owners (Chart does not include trial or honorary memberships) VCIA s legislative agenda for the Vermont General Assembly passed early in 2014. The establishment of dormant status for captives that have ceased transacting insurance and writing insurance policies is now being utilized by a number of our members and has received positive feedback. The authorization of a reciprocal insurer to establish an incorporated protected cell separate from a sponsored captive insurance company of which it is a part, has also been well regarded and resulted in a few new captives being licensed in Vermont. These new initiatives became a reality in March 2014. May 2014 Launch of the VCIA Resource Center! Rich Smith and VCIA Members at Legislative Day VCIA launched the Resource Center in May, 2014 as a way to share needed captive educational materials with our members and the broader industry. It is full of in-depth, high quality digital recordings and video links to VCIA seminars and webinars for purchase in packages and individually. The content continues to grow and has received high marks. [Check it out on www.vcia.com]
VCIA Communications VCIA stays increasingly connected with our members and the broader industry these days, and that trend is growing. Our social media engagement is up, especially on twitter, and we have a large group on LinkedIn. We have a modern, responsive website (responsive meaning that it reads well on a smartphone), our app usage is high, and we are now using video clips to further engage and inform. Rich Smith s weekly blog Captivated is a great way to stay in touch. We continue to publish a substantive quarterly e-newsletter, and issue legislative alerts as needed. All these things help provide timely information to you, our members! For the second year, VCIA used a custom app at our annual conference. Over 80% of all attendees downloaded the free app to participate in Q&A sessions, plan their schedules and network with other professionals in the captive industry. App Downloads 525 137 Follow Captivated the VCIA blog Rich Smith blogs every week about all things captive! This mixture of news and levity makes a great read! Check it out at blog.vcia.com. Social Media App Use Grows Apple: Web: Blog Started in June 2014 Join the conversation! Follow our Twitter feed #VCIAConference Connect with us on LinkedIn Android: 133 Blackberry: 18 Like our Facebook page Total downloads: 813 Watch videos on our YouTube channel Captive Education VCIA hosted 11 educational and networking events in 2014 with over 1890 registrants! Future webinars will compliment the conference line up, build on packages in VCIA s Resource Center, and bring hot topics of broad appeal to the industry. VCIA s Resource Center features great packages geared toward new captives, new employees in training, RRG s, and captive board governance VCIA s Road Show visited Los Angeles and Boston in 2014. In 2015, Philadelphia and Chicago are our destinations.
Annual Conference 51 volunteers from 32 companies helped to make the conference a success. A 2014 Snapshot: 1,040 conference attendees 25% of the attendees were captive owners First time attendees increased to 16%, compared to 11% in 2013 Ninety-seven exhibitors were featured at the Sheraton and eight at the UVM Davis Center Twenty two seminars and three interactive discussion forums with participation from over eighty expert panelists On a scale of 1-5 (with 5 the highest ranking), seminar ratings ranged between 4 and 5 with the average score being 4.8. (compared to 4.6 last year) 88% of survey respondents rated the conference the best or better than most (compared to 80% last year) The 2014 conference was referred to as A home run! When asked What surprised me most about the conference, one attendee Dennis Silvia summed it up well The emerging topics affecting captives and the number of vendors that are there to support the industry. Also the hands-on approach of the regulators participating and their sincere interest to try to know all of the folks that work with or are domiciled in Vermont. There is a tremendous amount of energy and passion. Another indicated VCIA has created a quality brand best in class captive conference! We wish to thank our task force members, volunteers and staff for their energy and tremendous work. A terrific team of people worked hard to create VCIA s 2014 conference, and the success was a direct result of their efforts. VCIA Member Mixers in December and June First-rate captive education in person, by webinar and through our Resource Center Dennis Silvia (2014 Conference Chair) Diane Leach (staff liaison) ANNUAL CONFERENCE RESOURCE CENTER LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY The VCIA provides superior educational tools and extraordinary access to fellow captive owners during the VCIA Annual Conference each August. The depth of information presented by practicing subject matter experts has been consistently exceptional. I appreciate VCIA watching out for captive owners interests on issues affecting captives in DC and Montpelier. Siri Gadbois College Insurance Co. Phillip C. Giles, CEBS QBE North America Steve McElhiney Tall Pines Insurance Co.
www.vcia.com 180 Battery Street, Suite 200, Burlington, Vermont 05401 Membership In 2014: 130 volunteers from 78 companies lent their expertise on VCIA committees 1,000+ participants In August 2014, VCIA s Annual Conference welcomed over 1,000 participants from 8 countries and 40 states. - states with VCIA members - states with no VCIA members VCIA members come from almost every state, plus Bermuda, Canada, England and Japan! Our Mission VCIA will provide members with legislative leadership, education, opportunities for information-sharing and a network of mutual support with others who share objectives in order to ensure an environment favorable to the continued growth and health of the captive industry and the Vermont captive community. Our Vision VCIA strives to be the premier captive insurance association in the world. 25% captive owner participants A remarkable 25% of the conference attendees were captive owners, attesting to the value of this unique event. 1890 captive professionals attended VCIA s 11 events. 463 VCIA member companies over 50% of those are captive owners 6 VCIA full time staff plus one part time and a summer intern Number 10 Richard Smith named number 10 in Captive Review Power 50.