Influential Women in Captive Insurance: Nancy Gray

Nancy Gray, Regional managing director–Americas, captive & insurance management, Commercial Risk Solutions, Aon

Nancy Gray is responsible for Aon’s captive and insurance management operations in the Americas, which includes operations in the US, Bermuda, Cayman, Barbados, and Vancouver. In addition to her management responsibilities, Gray acts as a senior advisor to several large captives as well as assisting new clients in evaluating and implementing captive programmes.

Gray has more than 30 years of experience in the captives and insurance industry. She joined International Risk Management Group in 1996, which was merged into Aon Insurance Managers in 2001. She assumed the position of executive director in 2005 and her current role in 2009. She previously worked at Ernst & Young, Johnson & Higgins, and PwC.

Gray has developed extensive expertise within the captives industry. As a captive consultant, she provides innovative solutions and ideas for clients looking to establish or expand their existing captives or deal with coverage challenges or regulatory hurdles. She has an excellent knowledge of captive insurance regulations across the global domiciles and of compliance issues impacting captive insurance companies.

She serves as a director and past chair and treasurer of the National Risk Retention Association and also as a director and officer for a number of captive insurance company clients. Previously, she was a director and treasurer of the International Center for Captive Insurance Education and a director and treasurer of the Vermont Captive Insurance Association.

How did you get started in the captive insurance industry?

My first exposure to captive insurance companies was when I was working for a large public accounting firm in Boston and was assigned to audit captives in Vermont as a senior associate. This was in the early years of the captives industry in Vermont. As I was preparing for the engagements, I recall the difficulty that colleagues had in explaining a captive insurance company as it was such a new concept for many.

After relocating to Vermont in the early 1990s, I eventually moved from public accounting to captive management. Now I have responsibility for Aon’s captive management operations in the Americas. It has been an exciting journey that has allowed me to grow both professionally and personally as I developed many rewarding professional and personal relationships.

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

Captives are a niche sector within the insurance industry. They are much more widely understood and utilised today but there is still a lack of appreciation of career opportunities within this sector. Students in risk management and accounting programmes do not generally consider careers in captives due to the niche market and lack of exposure to this sector.

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

For many years, the insurance industry lacked diversity, but I believe the captives sector has made significant progress with many women leaders overseeing captives in different positions such as captive management, risk management, and regulatory roles. I believe it is much more diverse than the insurance industry as a whole.

What solutions would you like to see?

To allow further opportunities for diversity, it is important for leaders to act as mentors to women entering the profession and encourage women professionals to consider the captive industry. It is rewarding to see the various captive associations encouraging students to attend their conferences and participating in networking events to better understand and get familiar with the sector.

“It is rewarding to see the various captive associations encouraging students to attend their conferences.”

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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