Influential Women in Captive Insurance: Michelle Bradley
Michelle Bradley, Consulting actuary, SIGMA
Michelle Bradley has spent over 30 years in the actuarial profession. Her professional designations and credentials include Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society, Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, Associate in Risk Management, Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst, and Certified Cyber Insurance Specialist.
Bradley has extensive experience in the areas of actuarial, risk management and enterprise risk management. She has served on the board of directors for the Tennessee Captive Insurance Association, the Society of Risk Management Consultants, the Casualty Actuaries of the Southeast, and the Hawaii Captive Insurance Council.
She currently serves on the Advisory Council for Middle Tennessee State University’s Master of Science in Professional Science Program and the Advisory Board for the Middle Tennessee State University’s Martin Chair of Insurance.
She has published several papers in industry journals, most recently in Captive International.
She graduated with a BS in mathematics from Lipscomb University and an MS in mathematics from Vanderbilt University.
How did you get started in the captive insurance industry?
I began my career in the Advanced Risk Management Services division of Willis Towers Watson (then Corroon & Black). As part of my time in this division, I consulted on numerous emerging analytical and actuarial issues and was heavily involved in developing enterprise risk management consulting processes and tools.
In the mid-1990s, our division had an internal meeting about captives and their potential future in the alternative risk landscape. I understood even then the game-changing nature of captives, as evidenced by my notes from those early discussions. I have been involved in captive insurance consulting ever since.
Who inspired you or acted as a mentor in your career?
There are several, but in terms of the captive, pooling, and alternative risk space, I would say Lloyd Kelly. He was the president of PENCO and Willis Pooling for many years, and we worked together during various stages of our careers at Willis and SIGMA. Lloyd was a pragmatic problem-solver who valued long-term strategies based on collaboration, analytics, and discussion. I am especially grateful for all he taught me.
What do you think deters people from entering the world of captives?
When I speak to college students, there is still an overall lack of awareness of captive insurance as an industry and not just a specific solution. That said, the range of service providers supporting the industry offer career paths for students with many backgrounds, be it through analytics, banking, finance, or risk and insurance.
How can mentorship and sponsorship programmes be designed to better support the career development of women?
Any mentorship programme needs to start early, even for college students. At SIGMA, we routinely offer internships that allow incoming young professionals an opportunity to better understand the actuarial industry. This can be a valuable experience, due in part to the insight they receive on how captives work and how various service providers collaborate to support captives.
“Deliberate action to include multiple voices in the assessment and strategy of risk is vital.”
In what ways can companies in the sector create a more inclusive culture that actively promotes gender diversity at all levels?
Early in my career as an enterprise risk management consultant, I became acutely aware of how inclusiveness at all levels of an organisation was vital to a successful risk assessment strategy. Some of the most crucial identified risks were often highlighted by employees who were not part of the traditional risk management conversation. This made it clear to me that deliberate action to include multiple voices in the assessment and strategy of risk is vital.
What challenges are gender-specific to women in the captives industry?
I recently attended HUB’s fireside chat at RIMS that focused on women in the risk and insurance sector, which reminded me of the power of discussion and shared stories. In my experience, it can be a challenge to consistently have access to these forums and events.
What solutions would you like to see?
Early mentorship, as discussed above. I think highlighting for students the numerous career paths, educational resources, and development opportunities related to captives is a key facet of creating a sustainable future for the industry.
What are your ambitions?
Apart from continuing my actuarial consulting career, I enjoy being involved in the academic aspect of analytics and being active with colleges in their risk and insurance programmes. I hope to continue involvement with Middle Tennessee State University’s actuarial programme and college of business. I also enjoy writing and would like to spend more time in that area.
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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