About Us
What is Captive.com?
Launched in 1995, Captive.com has evolved into the Internet's premier online compendium serving the insurance information needs of all facets of the international captive insurance industry.
Captive.com is the comprehensive professional business hub where helpful news, insightful and in-depth articles, video presentations, podcasts, and leading industry contacts are compiled for the convenience of captive insurance professionals and others interested in this exciting and dynamic industry.
The primary mission of Captive.com is to educate interested parties on captive insurance, to remain as the industry-wide source of information, and to act as a clearinghouse of resources and events. Captive.com is the platform where an exchange of information and services related to captives, risk financing, and the alternative risk transfer marketplace can take place.
Businesses served by Captive.com include captive insurance companies; captive managers; corporations or groups considering creating a captive insurance company—or other alternative risk transfer facility; commercial insurers and insureds; reinsurers; fronting insurers; self-insureds; purchasing groups; insurance pools; domestic, foreign, and alien insurance domiciles; and associations that serve captive, commercial, alternative risk, and self-insured businesses. We support all entities providing professional services or products to these organizations.
What kind of information and services does Captive.com offer?
Captive.com offers free access to all information on the site and opportunities to subscribe to newsletters. News headlines keep you informed of current industry happenings and events. Directories of service providers, captive insurance companies, and other industry organizations provide business contacts in virtually every professional sector that is involved in the captive insurance industry.
A listing of captive insurance associations is also available. A regularly updated calendar of conferences and training opportunities lists upcoming industry events.
Who owns and operates Captive.Com?
Captive.com is owned and operated by International Risk Management Institute, Inc. (IRMI). IRMI has the distinguished accolade of being the first publisher of reference content covering the field of risk finance. This began in 1983 with the publication of Risk Financing, a comprehensive reference resource on all aspects of traditional and alternative insurance market approaches, including captive insurance structures and programs. IRMI is also publisher of the first newsletter to cover the field of captives, Captive Insurance Company Reports (CICR). In addition to these, IRMI offers two comprehensive books about captive insurance, Captives and the Management of Risk and Captive Practices and Procedures, along with four online CPE/CE courses: Forming and Operating a Captive Insurer, Captives as Risk Retention Mechanisms, Captives as Risk Transfer Mechanisms, and Property and Casualty Reinsurance Fundamentals.
How can I find out more about the captive insurance industry?
Get well acquainted with Captive.com and the other captive insurance-related products that IRMI offers mentioned above. It's that simple. With the help of our industry-leading sponsors and domiciles, we make numerous and extensive free resources available to you. Subscribe to Captive Wire and explore Captive Basics and the Online Learning Center. Review educational articles or contact one of the associations that serve the captive industry regarding membership. Many of the landing pages within the Business Center contain outstanding informational material. The Domicile Showcase is also a treasury of information, and the Captive Thought Leader Videos library offers pro tips from experts. As you browse through Captive.com, you will learn a lot about this exciting and growing industry. Finally, follow IRMI and Captive.com on social media.
About the Editors
Editors of Captive.com and IRMI's suite of captive and risk finance products are industry professionals who offer unique perspectives on the industry. Ranging from young professionals eager to see the industry grow to seasoned professionals who have many years of experience and continue to support the sector, the frequency, consistency, and quality of the content output is second to none in the industry. IRMI and Captive.com are committed to excellence in the field.
Joel A. Appelbaum: Mr. Appelbaum is IRMI's executive vice president and chief content officer, and he brings to the role over 30 years of experience with the insurance industry. Before joining IRMI, Mr. Appelbaum was the president of the construction division for ProSight Specialty Insurance. He specialized in providing insurance solutions for the construction industry. Previously, Mr. Appelbaum was the enterprise chief risk officer for Zurich Insurance in North America and the chief underwriting officer at Zurich Direct Underwriters. Before that, he was the construction risk officer at CNA Insurance in many roles working with large risk alternatives such as reinsurance related to client captives, captive formation, fronting, and large risk rating alternatives.
Rodd Zolkos: Mr. Zolkos has spent most of his career as a journalist, including more than 20 years with Business Insurance magazine, where he covered a variety of risk management and commercial insurance topics, focusing largely on captive insurance and alternative risk transfer. He provides articles for Captive.com and is past editor of Captive Insurance Company Reports (CICR).
Prior to joining Business Insurance, Mr. Zolkos reported on public policy and public finance for the magazine City & State. He also spent time earlier in his career doing traditional newspapering.
Much of Mr. Zolkos's recent work has involved helping a variety of business clients and other organizations develop thought leadership and other communications, including working with IRMI on thought leadership projects.
Jerry Geisel: Mr. Geisel is a freelance reporter for IRMI, where he covers captive insurance company issues for Captive.com.
Mr. Geisel worked for nearly 40 years in Washington as a reporter focusing on a wide range of issues, including captive insurance and employee benefit developments. He was a recipient of reporting awards from the Chicago Society of Business Press Editors.
Mr. Geisel holds a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin and an M.S. from the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Steve Bird: Mr. Bird serves as the editor of IRMI's Risk Financing. He is a senior consultant for Risk Versity, an independent risk management consulting firm specializing in liability, workers compensation, and property insurance and alternative risk transfer issues. Over the course of his consulting career, he has developed risk financing solutions for organizations in a wide variety of industries, including manufacturing, construction, security, real estate, banking, utilities, and the public sector.
Mr. Bird holds a B.S. in civil engineering from Purdue University, an M.B.A. from the University of Georgia, and the CPCU professional designation.
Kate Westover: Ms. Westover has over 30 years' experience in the captive insurance industry, designing and delivering captive programs that help individuals and businesses reach their risk management objectives. She has worked with captive insurance companies in Vermont, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, and other captive jurisdictions around the world and served as captive adviser to the District of Columbia Captive Insurance Division and as international business representative for the government of Barbados.
As the author of Captives and the Management of Risk and Captive Practices and Procedures, she assisted in the development of curriculum for the International Center for Captive Education and other captive education groups and regulatory bodies. In 2002, she was awarded the Vermont Captive Insurance Association's Industry Service Award and in 2009 the Captive Insurance Association's Distinguished Service Award. In 2018, she was inducted into the industry's Hall of Fame, which recognizes the most influential individuals in the captive insurance industry over the past 50 years.
Ms. Westover has a B.A. and an M.A. from Oxford University, England. She earned her CPCU designation in 1991.
How can our business become a sponsor at Captive.com?
Contact using this form, or call us at 1–800–827–4242.