Atlas chairman eyes growth opportunities under Risk Strategies umbrella
Martin Eveleigh, chairman of Atlas Insurance Management, is delighted at having secured the sale of his business to Risk Strategies, a deal that completed on March 4, he told Captive International.
Atlas has 27 people spread over two offices, in the Cayman Islands and North Carolina. It is proud of the expertise it already had at its disposal, and its ability to offer captive management services to its clients. But Atlas believed the time was right to become part of a bigger organisation. “There comes a point when it helps to be part of something bigger,” said Eveleigh.
It went through a process of actively looking for a buyer to acquire its business. Having met a number of potential suitors, it settled on Risk Strategies, a company it believed offered scale, without threatening its own corporate culture.
Eveleigh said: “We wanted to find the right partner that would help us secure the future for our employees, help us provide better solutions for our clients, and provide better opportunities for growth. Risk Strategies felt right.”
Atlas will keep its own name and brand, as well as its offices and employees. From the perspective of its employees and clients it will feel like business as usual in many ways, but with new opportunities that being part of a larger company brings, such as increased opportunities for distribution and access to the significant reserves of expertise Risk Strategies has at its disposal.
Eveleigh said: “Increasing distribution was a big attraction for us. This deal gives us a big opportunity to talk to a lot of insurance professionals, brokers and providers, about captive solutions. They can then, when they feel it is appropriate, promote that to their clients.”
Having access to a larger reserve of expertise will also help Atlas serve clients with an increasingly diverse range of risks, said Eveleigh. “We want to grow in conventional lines, of course, but the whole point of using a captive, or another form of alternative risk financing, is to solve problems.
“And problems are often found in emerging industries. I’ve already met the leader of Risk Strategies’ cyber team, but there are opportunities in the emerging cannabis industry, and in things like blockchain and artificial intelligence. There will be risks that none of us have seen coming. But having access to Risk Strategies’ expertise will position us well to help our clients manage those risks.”
These opportunities should set the stage for future growth, said Eveleigh. Atlas will focus on large single parent captives as well as groups and RRGs. Eveleigh said: “We really like profit centre captives, using existing captives to issue warranties and renters’ liability waivers, things like that.”
Eveleigh compared Risk Strategies to a large family, with a strong leadership on the one hand, but considerable trust shown towards the different business units allowing for a considerable level of autonomy.
“Risk Strategies has demonstrated in the past its approach to integrating new businesses. That approach is to let the businesses get on with what they have been doing successfully and not to micromanage them. Risk Strategies’ culture comes from the top: Mike Christian [the founder and executive chairman of Risk Strategies] really embodies its corporate culture.”
Eveleigh said he has already had emails from other companies acquired by Risk Strategies that have given him great optimism for the future. “They have reported nothing but great experiences since they became part of Risk Strategies.”
