Inspiring the next generation

It’s a great time to explore careers in captive insurance. The industry is experiencing unprecedented growth during a long hard-market cycle combined with opportunities stemming from the pandemic.This should not be a surprise. The captive insurance industry has regularly seen growth during difficult times because captives have always been looked to for creative solutions and to fill coverage gaps not available in the commercial market.This dynamic captive insurance market offers young professionals opportunities that are both challenging and rewarding.Additionally, captive insurance is a global industry, and many people in the industry travel domestically and internationally for work meetings, conferences and more. A job in captive insurance ticks all the boxes for a fascinating and gratifying career.“Whether it’s coming up through the underwriting ranks, or working in finance, risk management or marketing, there are so many different opportunities in the captive industry and the best part is, they’re high-paying jobs. A career in captive insurance is something you can build on for many years,” says Tim Padovese, president and chief executive officer, Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company.Championing captive insurance careers
Recognising that our industry needs to help promote, nurture and develop careers in captive insurance has served as the platform for the Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA’s) professional development programmes.By offering more than just industry education, our College Student Essay Contest, NEXTGen, Amplify Women, and Mentorship programmes are providing opportunities to network, gain social recognition and build career skills such as public speaking, committee work and more.We have provided a College Student Essay Contest for the past three years that has received entries from students studying risk management, insurance, actuarial science, finance and business. All these areas of study are important to preparing the next generation of captive professionals.Each year I get more excited about the quality and the professionalism of the cases the students present, and we are pleased to hear from students that the essay contest has grown their interest in captive insurance and how it might fit into their future career choices.Along with the essay contest, I have spoken several times at university risk management schools. I have been very encouraged by the students I have met who are majoring in risk management and actuarial sciences. They are interested and very engaged in learning about captive insurance.Students and professors alike benefit from CICA’s programmes. CICA board member Michael Zuckerman from Temple University’s Fox School of Business values his engagement with CICA.“My mission is to train the next generation of risk management, insurance, and captive insurance industry professionals. CICA provides me with access to industry leaders and knowledge. I need to understand how organisations use captives as an enterprise risk management tool. CICA provides me the opportunity to engage and stay current with this important risk management sector and enables me to be a better teacher,” says Zuckerman.Tomorrow’s leaders
The CICA NEXTGen Committee has been focusing on raising awareness of the captive industry with future young professionals and providing networking and career-building opportunities for today’s employees.By creating awareness of the diversity of skills and experiences the captive industry needs we hope to engage a robust pool of talent interested in the opportunities, benefits and mobility the captive insurance industry provides. We also hope that this group will become our best advocates when it comes to spreading the word about exciting professional opportunities.NEXTGen committee member, Joe McDonald of the International Risk Management Institute, says: “NEXTGen is the nexus between those who came before us and those who come after. We are pulling those behind us forward, as we have been pulled along, and we are paving the way and helping those who are entering the industry to get connected and build the relationships they need to move forward.”Whether you are a young professional or a seasoned industry veteran, CICA’s Amplify Women committee connects and supports future women leaders and celebrates the success of current women leaders. Through recognising successful women and role models in the captive industry, and making them more visible, they hope to inspire more future leaders.Anjanette Fowler of PNC Institutional Asset Management and Amplify Women committee chair says: “While I’ve been in the industry for quite some time, I still have much to learn and a desire to grow. I’m fortunate that my involvement with CICA’s Amplify Women Committee and NEXTGen initiatives afford me such opportunities.“I look forward to participating in what I call ‘reverse mentorship’ with someone beginning a career in this dynamic industry—someone who can help me see fresh perspectives, learn new skills, and share new ideas about doing things differently and more efficiently.”CICA’s mentorship programme provides young and mid-career professionals the opportunity to receive counsel, advice and support from seasoned industry veterans from a wide range of skillsets. It also showcases why the captive industry is a great place to work. The people you meet, including a future mentor, can provide advice and introduce paths you might have never known you wanted to pursue.Mentees tell us it is great to have an industry member to go to with important questions, who is only a phone call or email away. Mentors tell us they are developing skills needed to be a mentor and the shared networking with their mentee helped them expand their own networks.The synergy of CICA’s efforts and the momentum created by industry colleagues and associations creating additional programmes will help to position the captive insurance industry as an attractive industry with meaningful work and opportunities to advance quickly in one’s career. I encourage everyone to get involved in these efforts.