Influential Women in Captive Insurance: Elizabeth Steinman

Elizabeth Steinman, Managing director, risk finance & captive consulting, Aon

Elizabeth Cain Steinman is the managing director of Aon Risk Finance and Captive Consulting (RFCC), responsible for a team of people who consult with clients to evaluate and develop unique solutions using alternative risk financing methods in conjunction with or distinct from traditional insurance markets.

Steinman joined Aon in 2016. Previously, she was the director of risk management and insurance for the Archdiocese of New York. Prior to her risk management role, she established the captive and insurance management operations in the US for HSBC and grew and managed the captive management business until it was sold to Kane/Artex. In this role, she provided business development, managed a team of domicile captive managers, and serviced a portfolio of captive clients.

In her early career, Steinman was a captive account manager for Johnson & Higgins, a risk financing underwriter at AIG, and an audit and tax manager at KPMG specialising in insurance, reinsurance, and alternative risk structures.

She has served as a director and officer of many captive insurance companies and on committees for captive industry and domicile organisations and associations. She began working in the industry in 1989.

How did you get started in the captive insurance industry?

Very early in my career in Vermont, I had a choice between two job offers: one as a controller for a scale manufacturing company, and the other as a captive account administrator for Johnson & Higgins. I thought the job title “controller” sounded much better than an account administrator but, thankfully, my mentor told me I was taking the J&H job.

He knew J&H was a large company with many opportunities, and the captive insurance industry in Vermont was a growth industry. I reluctantly took his advice but have never looked back.

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

Early on, I had a mentor. Although it was not any kind of formal arrangement, I called upon him for advice or insight from time to time. He was the chief financial officer of a company I had worked for, and we stayed in touch afterwards. Years later, I returned the favour by hiring his son right out of college, although once again, he was doing me a favour since his son was so brilliant and a great addition.

I have not had a mentor since those early years, but many people have inspired me throughout my career, and I have tried to emulate the things I’ve observed that contributed to their success.

Women I’ve been inspired by in the captives sector include Sandy Bigglestone with the State of Vermont, Kate Boucher with Premier, Julie Boucher from the J&H days, and Nancy Gray with Aon. These are women I’ve worked with and observed over the years who I feel have been successful by being intelligent, hard-working, and knowing their business, but also being very inclusive with people around them, sharing the knowledge and opportunities so that they bring others along as well, with no hidden agenda or ego.

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

Lack of awareness may be the most limiting factor. Many people are unaware of the captive insurance industry or understand its significance within the broader insurance market. As a result, they cannot consider it as a career option. There are few captive-specific education and training programmes compared to traditional insurance and risk management training programmes.

The International Center for Captive Insurance Education has provided in-depth educational offerings, information on current captive topics, and a professional designation program that is led by experts in the captives industry as faculty. This has helped the captive industry’s sustainability as demand for captives has increased.

Still, more can be done at the university level to bring more talent to the industry, especially as those like me, who started in the 1980s, require a succession plan.

Over the last 40+ years, captives have become more the rule than the exception, so they are more commonly known in the traditional insurance market. However, we must educate those entering the workforce about captives and the available careers, especially in domiciles where other professions are not as accessible.

The industry needs to highlight that there are good-paying, career-progressing jobs for those coming out of college or looking to change career paths.

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

Creating opportunities such as networking events, conferences, and professional development opportunities specifically tailored to women in the captive insurance industry may help. However, I don’t think it has to be limited to women. Managers and companies should encourage experienced and less experienced colleagues to seek a mentee or mentor they “click” with, support that relationship, and encourage both to explore the expansion of their networks and build relationships with other professionals, within and outside their organisations.

Providing a forum to share successful mentor/mentee experiences so others can learn from good outcomes can help to breed more opportunities for mentorship.

Organisations should offer opportunities to women (and men), including leadership development programmes, executive coaching, and opportunities to take on leadership roles within the captive insurance industry. It should be clear the support the organisation has for them in developing the skills, confidence, and visibility needed to advance their careers and break into senior leadership positions.

What challenges are gender-specific to women in the captives industry? What solutions would you like to see to the above?

As in many other industries, women may leave their careers to have children or reduce their role responsibilities or hours to obtain the work/life balance they desire. One positive outcome of the COVID-19 epidemic is that employers are offering more flexible work arrangements that accommodate employees’ diverse needs and responsibilities, including flexible hours, remote work options, and parental leave policies (for all parents) that support work-life balance and career advancement for women.

This can eliminate the gap in a career that may have been created in the past for women, which may have limited or slowed down their career progression.

“Most successful women I know and admire don’t seek the limelight; they focus on doing a great job every day.”

Companies, industry publications, associations, and other organisations can promote visibility and recognition (like this recognition of women in the sector) by showcasing the achievements and contributions of women in the sector to raise their visibility and inspire other women to pursue careers in the field.

Most successful women I know and admire don’t seek the limelight; they focus on doing a great job every day. For many women, this may have to be brought to the forefront by third parties for others to be aware of the contributions these women make so that others can see their accomplishments and impact.

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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