Articles
The 3 Categories of Risk Retention Groups
A panel discussion on corporate governance of Risk Retention Group (RRG) at the 2017 Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA) Conference provided a useful way to categorize RRGs. RRGs can be divided into one of three categories based on whether there is a sponsor and, if so, the type of sponsor. Read More
Loss Disclosures for Short-Duration Insurance Contracts (GAAP Filers)
The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued ASU 2015-09 for nonpublic, calendar year-end insurance company filers. This Accounting Standards Update requires additional disclosures to provide better insight into an insurer's initial claim estimates and subsequent adjustments and to help financial statements users understand the frequency, severity, and timing of future cash flows related to the estimated claim costs. This article summarizes the new requirements. Read More
The Case for Centralized In-House Loss Control with Captive Insurance
Written by a practicing risk manager, this article outlines some of the potential advantages of embedding centralized loss control within a captive and how doing so can reduce the cost of risk. Read More
Captive Insurance Assets and Investment Policies
It is important for captive board members to be conversant in certain key concepts. This article, fourth in a series, looks at assets of captive insurers and the components of an investment policy. Read More
Uncertain Times Squared: The Future of Investing for Insurers
What new ideas, technologies, and ways of conducting our lives do we see impacting our economy and financial markets? The future of investing for insurers, in the next 7-10 years, will see artificial intelligence and especially machine learning having a very pronounced impact on our careers, companies, and daily life. Read More
What Is a Reciprocal Insurance Company and How Is It Taxed?
A reciprocal insurance company is an arrangement through which mutual promises of the participants are exchanged with respect to their insurance risks. While not a separately incorporated company, it is characterized as an insurance company for federal tax purposes. Read More
831(b) Micro-Captive Challenges
Currently, there is great uncertainty as to how the Internal Revenue Service's challenges to micro-captives will be resolved. With this in mind, a panel of captive insurance experts discussed ways to mitigate the challenges during last month's 2017 World Captive Forum. Read More
The Basics of the 831(b) Election for Captives
Section 831(b) of the Internal Revenue Code may be elected by qualifying captives to exempt the captive insurer's underwriting profits from federal income tax. This article discusses the prerequisites that must be met as well as the transactions of interest reporting requirements. Read More