Influential Women in Captive Insurance: Amy Klatt

Amy Klatt, SVP of captives & programs claims, Skyward Specialty Insurance

Amy C. Klatt has more than 20 years of experience in insurance, specialising in workers’ compensation since 2007. Maintaining licensure and expertise across multiple states, she provides oversight of claims and defence litigation to ensure state-specific compliance, reduce claims exposure, and promote effective return-to-work strategies.

In her current role at Skyward Specialty Insurance, Klatt provides day-to-day direction of captive programmes, their insured clients, their brokers, and managing third party administration operations to effectively resolve and mitigate risk for high-exposure claims. In addition to her claims and litigation expertise, she works directly with clients to understand risks, responsibilities, and strategies for employers to maintain a safe workplace.

How did you get started in the captive insurance industry?

When I came to Skyward Specialty Insurance five years ago, I had already been in the insurance field more than 15 years. I was looking to broaden my experience, and immediately began working with captive clients. Building on the models of success our team and I established with those clients, we’ve improved claims handling for and communication with captive clients under our One-Point Contact protocol.

Who inspired you or acted as a mentor in your career?

As a woman in the insurance industry, I was fortunate to have an example and mentor in my own mother, who worked in the field for more than 30 years before retiring. Her own career growth and advancement inspired me, and allowed me to see where I could grow and succeed.

What do you think deters people from entering the world of captives?

The single limiting factor is the need for increased industry education and awareness around captives and the benefits they can provide.

How can mentorship and sponsorship programmes be designed to better support the career development of women?

The most important thing a mentorship and sponsorship programme can offer women is greater access and exposure to the leaders in the captives  space, opening that opportunity to women from across the insurance field.

In what ways can companies in the sector create a more inclusive culture that actively promotes gender diversity at all levels?

I look to my company, Skyward Specialty Insurance, as an example of the right way to promote an inclusive culture and gender diversity, as it begins right in our company values. That leads to great programmes that actively mentor women, and it creates an awareness of the importance of inclusion in everything we do. The success of that thinking is shown in having multiple women as senior leaders in our company, creating a path for others.

“The success of that thinking is shown in having multiple women as senior leaders in our company.”

What challenges are gender-specific to women in the captives industry?

The basic challenge for women is that in serving a number of traditionally male-dominated industries, the captives themselves came to be male-dominated. The next phase of that old challenge will be to create awareness of the captives space and broader opportunities for women as we recruit the next generation into the field.

What solutions would you like to see?

We are already seeing the answer to those challenges emerge within the industry. For example, I’ve been proud to be part of the CICA Amplify Women programme. As we bring new blood into the industry through Gen Z, there is an opportunity to have a truly balanced and gender-inclusive space open to women and men.

What are your ambitions?

I never set out to have a specific title or position. I start from the mindset of: “How can I serve my company and clients to the best of my ability?” Part of that service, as a woman and a leader in the captive insurance space, is showing other women that there is a place for women and a path to follow.

I hope to be able to do that in whatever challenge I take on next.

Click here to read Captive International’s first Influential Women in Captive Insurance publication, celebrating the women transforming the captive sector through their sustained excellence and leadership.

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