Risk Management Advisors: innovation, insight and impact in captive management
Jarid S. Beck argues that better-informed clients ask better questions, make stronger decisions and get more value from their programmes.
When Captive Review named Risk Management Advisors Captive manager of the year in the under $1 bn GWP category, the award recognised more than a strong year. It reflected the way our firm has evolved: pairing technical rigour with creativity, accessible education and a deep bench of professionals who understand how to turn a captive into a strategic business asset.
RMA has always believed a captive should be more than a static insurance vehicle. It should help an organisation make better risk decisions, retain more control, build long-term financial strength and create value that grows over time. That belief shapes how we work with clients, from formation and feasibility through underwriting, claims, governance, compliance and long-term programme development.
The judges highlighted our growth in captives and premiums, client testimonials and focus on innovative solutions. We were proud of that recognition because it captured the balance we work hard to maintain: measurable results, thoughtful service and a willingness to challenge conventional approaches when clients need something better.
“Making a complex industry more transparent and approachable has become one of RMA’s most recognisable strengths.”
Education has been part of that philosophy from the beginning. In 2007, Wesley Sierk published Taken Captive at a time when most captive insurance material was written for industry professionals, not business owners. His goal was to make the subject understandable and useful to the people actually considering these programmes.
That same spirit continues today through our articles, digital resources and expanding video library. With more than 120 videos, 571,000 views and 15,000 hours of watch time, we have built an educational platform that helps clients, advisers and future industry professionals engage with captive concepts on their own terms.
For us, that content is not simply marketing. It is part of the service. Better-informed clients ask better questions, make stronger decisions and get more value from their programmes. Making a complex industry more transparent and approachable has become one of RMA’s most recognisable strengths.
The breadth of our solutions is another important part of the story. RMA works across a wide range of structures and client needs, from single-parent property and casualty captives to medical stop-loss group captives through our New Era programme.
That variety reflects the way we think. We do not begin with a product and try to make the client fit it. We begin with the client’s risks, objectives and operating realities, then build the right structure around them.
The strength of the firm today also comes from the quality of the people delivering that work. Max Jong, our captive practice leader and a member of Captive Review’s Power 50, helps set the direction for the organisation and brings decades of experience to clients and colleagues alike.
Our captive management team combines seasoned judgment with a rising generation of talent led by Kevin McGinley, a FORTY Under 40 and One to Watch award recipient, along with Austin Griffith and Matt Anderson. Together, they represent the kind of practical, responsive and forward-looking leadership clients increasingly expect from a captive manager.
Our connection with Brown & Brown Risk Solutions adds further depth. It gives clients access to broader strategic insight, greater resources and the reach of a leading risk advisory organisation, while preserving the hands-on, specialised service model that has always defined RMA. That combination allows us to remain nimble and relationship-driven while supporting increasingly sophisticated client needs.
Ultimately, this award belongs to our entire team and to the clients, partners and advisers who trust us with their programmes. It recognises a firm that has grown without losing its entrepreneurial character, invested in education before it became fashionable and continued to build new solutions as the risk landscape evolved.
Being named Captive manager of the year is an important milestone, but it is also motivation. The opportunity ahead is not simply to manage more captives. It is to help clients use them more intelligently, creatively and effectively and to keep raising the standard for what captive management can deliver.
Jarid S. Beck is the managing director, Risk Management Advisors. He can be reached at jbeck@riskmgmtadvisors.com
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