SIIA Defines Captive Manager Role with Professional Standards
January 23, 2019
The Self-Insurance Institute of America, Inc. (SIIA), has released the SIIA Captive Manager Code of Conduct ("the Code"), which provides professional standards of responsibility for captive managers. This foundational code contains standards for captive manager conduct and provides an ethical business guide for the captive community.
The document is meant to serve as a readily available resource for captive managers, captive owners, policymakers, and regulators.
According to John Capasso, president and CEO of Captive Planning Associates and chair of the SIIA captive committee, "The Code is designed to provide captive managers with guidance in conducting their captive insurance and reinsurance business, while simultaneously educating and protecting current and potential captive clients. Among other things, the Code outlines practices related to manager integrity, conflict of interest, and practice management."
The practices encompass several main tenets, according to the SIIA, which include the following.
- Integrity
- Conflict of interest
- Confidentiality
- Advertising
- Practice management
"The Code provides standards that describe the essential components of what it takes to do the proper job of a captive manager for the captive client," according to Martin Eveleigh, chairman, Atlas Insurance Management, and SIIA code of conduct task force member.
Mr. Eveleigh said, "It is helpful to have a resource to which we can direct captive clients when they ask, 'What is the role of the captive manager?' or 'What are the actual services that the captive manager provides?'"
He continued, "If captive clients can become better informed as to how a captive manager should behave, captive owners will be better positioned to navigate the captive landscape and judge the service providers that they are considering working with."
Jerry Messick, SIIA code of conduct task force member and Elevate Captives CEO, said, "This document is a resource for those that want to learn more about captives, and it describes our beliefs about how a captive looks and the standards that should be met in order to create and manage a captive."
SIIA members believe the Code will serve as an important step forward in strengthening overall industry practices and risk management recommendations, further ensuring captive managers observe high standards of ethical conduct by offering a needed level of uniform professionalism to the industry.
Mr. Eveleigh said, "There has been a proliferation of new captive managers over the last decade. While the vast majority work toward the same high standard, it is not necessarily clear that all captive managers are doing so."
Mr. Capasso added, "We believe the Code will serve as a differentiator in establishing 'best in class' captive managers through a set of ethical benchmarks for the benefit of policymakers, regulators, and consumers in evaluating captive manager business practices."
According to Mr. Messick, "The Self-Insurance Institute of America has been working on this path over some years and has done an outstanding job of providing the captive manager community with a solid foundation to collaborate in making our industry stronger."
An ongoing SIIA task force will ensure that the Code is evaluated and updated periodically to reflect an ever-evolving industry, according to the SIIA.
Mr. Messick added, "The Code provides a starting point for ethical benchmarks that hopefully will grow and be adopted by all captive managers."
Ryan Work, SIIA vice president, government relations, said, "As we continue to build upon the Code in the future, we hope it will come to demonstrate the quality and integrity of those captive managers who choose to adhere to it."
SIIA code of conduct task force member Kevin Doherty, member at Dickson Wright, PLLC, said, "The code of conduct was a significant effort by SIIA and represents a milestone in our industry. I believe this will set the standard and help show the commitment our industry has to doing things the right way. All the feedback I have received so far has been positive, and I look forward to seeing how the Code works in practice."
January 23, 2019
