South Carolina captive administrator Kehler steps down to join Somers Risk Consulting

South Carolina's captive program administrator Jeff Kehler will step down from his role at the end of the month to join Somers Risk Consulting as director of captive consulting services.

Kehler was worked in the captive division of South Carolina's Department of Insurance for over 13 years, and has been responsible for regulating captive insurance companies within the state. He has licensed captive and risk retention groups, and been involved in the marketing and promotion of the domicile.

Prior to that, Kehler was a senior account executive and manager at Liberty Mutual Alternative Markets. He has also held roles at CNA and Captive Resources.

Somers Risk Consulting specialises in designing and implementing captive insurance and alternative risk financing programmes, and is based in Charleston, South Carolina.

"The nearly 14 years I have been at the South Carolina Department of Insurance have been filled with challenges, successes, and the occasional failure," said Kehler. "I guess it is a microcosm of life. I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to revamp our captive statutes, line by line, to make sure they are forward-looking and will hold the Captive Division in good stead for years to come. The training and development of our junior team members has also been very satisfying. It is easy to fall into the rut of being a green-eyeshades regulator. The captive marketplace has no room for such an attitude. So, we worked very hard to train our team members to understand the business and the need to create value for the stakeholders in everything we do. As a result, we have a crack team of financial regulators who understand that regulation of the captive companies demands reasonableness and prudence. Balanced together based on the principle of proportionality – the nature, scale, and complexity of the risks insured."

Kehler continued: "I am also very grateful for the people in the industry I have had the opportunity to meet and work with. The folks working in the captive space tend to be like captives themselves. That is, creative, innovative, and dynamic."

Overall, it has been a great ride. I look forward to the next chapter and the challenges that await me. I can hardly wait.