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Mancini's Musings #8 on the VCIA Conference 2008 -- Solving the Risk Management Puzzle
Conference Summary and a Glimpse of VCIA 2009

Live reporting from the 2008 VCIA Conference
By Chris Mancini, CIC
CEO, Captive.com, LLC

VCIA 2008 is in the history books, and what a conference it was! The number of delegates attending this premier event exceeded the expectations of all, totaling close to 1,350 attendees from 42 states and 11 countries. 20% of the delegates were first-time "newbies." We were delighted to learn that 23% were captive owners. In tough economic times, these numbers are truly incredible.

VCIA even cooked up impressive weather this year, despite the frequent deluges that had plagued the New England states for much of the spring and summer. Thursday qualified as one of the "10 best days of the year," attested to by the number of informal meetings taking place outside the Sheraton conference area.

At a Wednesday afternoon press conference attended by representatives of several publications that serve the captive industry VCIA's president, Molly Lambert, introduced a distinguished panel of Vermont VIP's, including Vermont's new Deputy Commissioner, David Provost, who succeeded the iconic Len Crouse upon his retirement.

David told the group that 9 new captives have already been licensed in 2008, with 6 applications in the hopper. From David's comments, it is clear that the transition from Len's leadership to David's has been smooth, and plenty of experience remains within Vermont's insurance department. Provost views 2008 as pretty much an "average year" for Vermont.

Pete Raymond, the State of Vermont's Director of Captive Insurance, emphasized that Vermont's focus remains on attracting and licensing high-quality captives, as opposed to focusing on large numbers of captives.

Dan Towle, the Director of Financial Services for the State of Vermont, Agency of Commerce & Community Development, expanded on Pete Raymond's comments by adding, "You can judge a domicile by the company they keep." Who can argue with that?

"All on board are excited about the energy level of this year's conference," offered Mike Lusk of Agrinational Insurance Company, as he turned the reins of VCIA's Chairman of the Board responsibilities over to Mike Bemi of The National Catholic Risk Retention Group. Bemi stressed that VCIA will focus on critical issues for the association that can be acted upon in the coming year. He further explained that the VCIA Board spent considerable time in a Critical Issues Forum over the past year, surfacing a number of priorities that will be addressed in 2008.

Mitch Cantor, the Executive Director of the International Center for Captive Insurance Education (ICCIE) then took the floor and reported that by the end of 2008, ICCIE will have served 500 students since its inception five years ago -- a milestone for the organization. Cantor continued, telling the group that 65 captive professionals will have achieved the Associate in Captive Insurance (ACI) designation by the end of the year. Mitch was excited to report that a new curriculum entitled "Accounting for Captives" will roll out, with part 1 beginning in November. Part 2 will be offered in a follow-on course, with timing to be announced.

When asked how the soft market as well as economic and banking industry challenges were affecting captive formations, Provost reported that with Letters of Credit being harder to come by, new Special Purpose Financial Captive formations are down in 2008. This sector was "hot" in Vermont in 2007, but has slowed considerably. The trends in captive formations for 2008 appear to favor med mal, construction, and TRIA captive formations. Michael Lusk added that the Critical Issues Forum revealed that Vermont values the importance of paying attention to middle-market captive formations in the coming months.

VCIA Conference Enhancements Coming in 2009...alternatively, "Here we Grow Again"

Finally, Molly Lambert closed the meeting by enthusiastically reporting to the group that a number of exciting format enhancements are in the works for the 2009 VCIA conference. As we all know, VCIA has outgrown the limits of the Sheraton Burlington. The conference fills every nook and cranny of the hotel's space, including the parking lot where food service moved several years ago. Short of using rest rooms in the hotel, no additional space is available. Lambert revealed that a brand new, state-of-the-art, 186,000 square foot building -- the Davis Center on the UVM campus directly adjacent to the Sheraton -- has been reserved for next year's conference! The association is excited that the proximity of this building allows the conference to maintain its intimate atmosphere, while opening doors to options that were never available to the conference in past years.

My understanding is that the exhibit hall space will remain in the Sheraton, as will most of the sessions. VCIA is committed to keeping the exhibit hall full, so we anticipate lots of activity in our booths, as in the past. Special sessions, meetings, and workshops, however, can be held in the Davis Center. This opens the door to interactive options that never existed in the past, purely by virtue of lack of space. Shuttle buses will run continuously between the two venues for those who would prefer not to utilize the walking path from the Sheraton's parking lot that leads to the Davis Center. If VCIA can cook up weather like this year's weather, I have every confidence that many of us will opt for a pleasant walk.

Dan Towle added that it's hard to beat meeting space that offers amazing facilities, impressive comfort, and a view par excellence in all directions, overlooking Lake Champlain, the City of Burlington, and the surrounding mountains. Sounds like a day-dreamer's paradise to me!

The 2008 conference was terrific, and we can hardly wait to hear more about the exciting and innovative options that will become available to all of us in 2009. Stay tuned....we'll let you know what we're hearing during the course of the year.