Influential Women in Captive Insurance: Mary Ellen Moriarty

Mary Ellen Moriarty VP, property & casualty, EIIA

Mary Ellen Moriarty has engaged in the insurance industry for more than 40 years in positions within national insurance brokerages as well as commercial insurance carriers. She joined EIIA in 2002, as the vice president for property & casualty, focusing her extensive insurance experience on the higher education industry group. In 2002 EIIA’s first captive, College Insurance Company, was formed with College Risk Retention Group following in 2009.

Moriarty received a BSc from Northern Illinois University, an MBA from DePaul University and a Master’s of pastoral studies from Loyola University. She holds the Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriter, Associate in Risk Management, and Associate in Captive Insurance designations. She is the chair of the Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA) for

2024–2025.

How did you get started in the captive insurance industry?

During college I was a special educators major and during the summer of my freshman year I got a job as rate clerk at Travelers. They invited me back for each summer until I graduated. As I was beginning to learn more about insurance, I changed my major to finance with an emphasis on insurance.

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

I am lucky to have had many mentors: Elliott Jones was my boss for many years along with Bob Hughes, the head of the Chicago office of Alexander & Alexander. They both chose the path less followed and did not regard success as having made the most money. They were interested in contributing to the greater good.

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

Lack of understanding. In the wider space of commercial insurance, it is often avoided as it takes revenue away from the commercial carriers.

“For women who identify with their career the playing field is still unfair.”

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

Dan Towle at CICA will be able to claim as his legacy impacting the role of women in the captive insurance area through the development of both Amplify Women and NEXTGen. There are so many great stories that have come out of the networking within these two groups.

We still have a long way to go. For women who identify with their career the playing field is still unfair.

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

The captives sector is kinder to women than the commercial insurance industry at large. We all owe a great debt to the women in accounting who have been able to forge an environment with what seems to be a fair playing field. Women must help women and men must be willing to mentor women.

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

Millennials seem to be much more gender-open so some of the challenges will go by the wayside once the baby-boomers have all retired. As technology brings consolidation, women must fight for their share. The captive insurance industry is a good place for women—but we should not give up on the rest.

What solutions would you like to see?

Taking the time to organise under gender needs creates an environment for collective courage. So many wrongs I have observed were due to isolated thinking where an individual does not believe they are good enough. We need to help each other believe we are good enough.

What are your ambitions?

Working for a not-for-profit provides a place for me to do good work every day.

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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