Building the next 40 years
One year into his presidency of the Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA), Ian Davis (pictured) talks to Captive Review on how the VCIA has sharpened its focus, strengthened member engagement and positioned Vermont to lead the next chapter of captive insurance.
A year ago, when you were appointed president of the VCIA, you said “the next 40 years start now”. Looking back, what progress are you most proud of, and where has reality differed from the vision you outlined when you took office?
I'm most proud of how we, collectively – staff, board, membership – have coalesced around our three strategic pillars of advocacy, education and engagement. That alignment has helped us re-evaluate what we prioritise, how we invest and how we measure success. I’m proud to say that every process, programme and initiative we have today is focused on delivering meaningful, year-round value to our member companies. It’s become the defining characteristic of our work and will continue to guide us going forward.
Where reality has differed from the vision I outlined a year ago deals mostly with pace; some things have moved faster than expected, others have taken longer. But the spirit of what I said – “the next 40 years starts now” – has held true. We’ve built the foundation. We’ve clarified who we are and what we stand for. And we’ve shown that when we focus on the right things, and when we work together, we can make an immediate impact.
One of your priorities was making VCIA more responsive and member-driven. What feedback from members has led to tangible changes over the past year, and what have you learned from those conversations?
We’re fortunate to have an incredibly active and engaged membership community. That’s always been a hallmark of VCIA, and it’s essential for any leader to stay responsive to member needs and create meaningful opportunities for them to get involved. Over the past year – whether improving the conference experience, refining our advocacy priorities or enhancing how we communicate and deliver education – member input has directly informed our work.
“Captives have always been a creative tool for solving complex problems and they're a natural place for companies to incubate new or evolving risks.”
One of the most tangible changes members will see in September is how we gather that input. We’re launching an annual benchmarking survey in partnership with the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development to understand better how we’re performing as an association, how Vermont’s regulatory framework is experienced by captive owners and how we’re viewed as a domicile compared to other jurisdictions.
The survey provides another avenue for members to offer feedback, and it will help guide our priorities, our programming, and the way we support our members in the year ahead.
The captive insurance landscape continues to evolve, with growing interest in areas such as cyber, climate, AI-related risks and employee benefits. Which emerging risk do you think will have the biggest impact on captives over the next five years and is the industry moving quickly enough to address it?
That's the big question. Emerging risks will absolutely influence the captive landscape over the next five years. In some cases, like cyber and employee benefits, they already are. Captives have always been a creative tool for solving complex problems and they're a natural place for companies to incubate new or evolving risks.
That said, I don't see emerging risks fundamentally change the core of what most captives do. The backbone of captive programmes will continue to be things like general liability, property, workers' comp – and that's not going away. Some companies will add these newer risks to their captives, and some already have, but I’m less convinced it will drive a dramatic spike in new formations.
You've worked in government, banking and now lead the industry’s largest trade association. Has your perspective on what captive owners need most from VCIA changed since becoming president?
I wouldn’t say it’s changed so much as it has reinforced my belief that captive owners want more opportunities than ever to connect, learn, and draw insight from their peers. What’s different now is that I see even more clearly how essential that is to their success – and the industry’s success. Whether it’s through our conference, chapter programming, advocacy work or year-round education, the value they’re looking for is rooted in community – and our job is to keep creating the spaces and experiences that make those connections possible.
Competition between captive domiciles is becoming increasingly dynamic. How is VCIA helping Vermont maintain its leadership while ensuring it continues to innovate rather than relying on its established reputation?
Vermont’s captive legacy is a strength, but it’s not a strategy. What keeps Vermont at the forefront is our continued evolution as a domicile. We do that first and foremost through intentional modernization of our regulatory framework – and as the industry advocate, VCIA plays a leading role in that work. We surface emerging issues from members, vet them and translate those into actionable recommendations to ensure Vermont remains competitive and responsive in an increasingly dynamic landscape.
If we were having this conversation at the end of your second year as president, what would you hope to have accomplished that would convince members the “next 40 years” really are taking shape?
The trend line is going in the right direction, and I’d certainly like to see that continue. From our membership numbers to engagement metrics to attendance at the conference, it’s clear that what we’re doing is already having an impact. If we were talking at the end of my second year, I’d hope members would see that momentum sustained – and strengthened – in ways that signal the next 40 years are truly taking shape.
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