Great Idea:
#1 Workforce
Talent and Skills in Abundance
Connecticut is home to a
wide-ranging population of smart, resourceful employees who think big and work
hard. The workforce in Connecticut is
well-educated and highly industrious, with deep knowledge of insurance
practices, functions and operations. According
to WalletHub, a credit score and financial information site that publishes
reports on jobs, Connecticut was the 3rd highest ranked state in
terms of education level. Connecticut
ranks #1 nationally in insurance employment as a percentage of total employment
and #1 in the U.S. for the greatest concentration of actuaries per worker.
This uniquely talented, creative
workforce is meeting today’s challenges, defining tomorrow’s captive insurance
innovations and setting the stage for the future of the industry. This can be attributed to the industry’s
workforce of relatively high-paying occupations including management, legal,
computer and math professionals, and business and financial operations. And we’re on the cutting edge - according to
recent data from the Brookings Institution, Hartford, CT is the fourth best
city in the country for tech jobs.
People are your greatest asset as a
business, and captive insurance companies can certainly capitalize on that in
Connecticut!
For a complete list of the Top 10
Reasons to Form a Captive in Connecticut, please see http://conncaptives.blogspot.com/2018/09/top-10-reasons-10.html.
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#2 Competitive Operating Costs for Captives
Connecticut’s operating costs are
highly competitive and among the lowest in the U.S. in the insurance
space. A wide variety of business
facilities are available at highly competitive costs, with prime office rents
among the lowest in the Northeast. Cost efficient insurance is readily
available, and tax and investment professionals are abundant.
With the recent trends to monitor
expenses more closely, companies are choosing more frequently to re-domicile
their captive in a convenient location.
As you saw in Reason #7, CT’s location is ideally suited to keep costs
down!
Come hear why InsurTech start-ups
have chosen Hartford rather than other larger cities on October 16/17 at the
2018 CCIA Collaborative!
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#3 Connecticut Captive Insurance On-Line “Tool Kit”
In 2017, the Connecticut Insurance
Department created an on-line resource for business owners exploring ways to
control insurance costs and manage their risk. It is called CT Captive
Solutions for Business. This tool kit
was launched under the auspices of CT State Insurance Commissioner Katharine
Wade. The tool kit includes instructions on licensing a captive in Connecticut,
a list of recognized captive managers, FAQs and Insurance Department contacts.
Click CT CT Captive Solutions for the “Tool Kit.”
Don't miss the chance to meet
Commissioner Wade, Captive Program Director Janet Grace, and other Connecticut
Insurance Department representatives at the 2018 CCIA Collaborative on October 16/17
in Hartford!
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#4 Innovative Captive Law
In 2018, the Connecticut General
Assembly passed Senate Bill 377, PA 18-151, establishing agency captives as a
new permissible captive type. This is
another example of the collaborative efforts between the Connecticut state
legislature, the Captive Division of the Connecticut Insurance Department, and
CCIA.
This 2018 legislative activity continued
the momentum from 2017, when the General Assembly passed Public Act 17-198 (An
Act Concerning Captive Insurance Companies).
This Act created a number innovative policies that make Connecticut a
tremendous domicile option for new and re-domiciling captives. The law allows the insurance commissioner to
waive capital and paid-in surplus requirements for certain captives and lowers
the minimum surplus requirements for sponsored captives. It also establishes an innovative new
category of “Dormant Captive Insurers” so businesses can stay current through
different economic cycles and re-start quickly as new business opportunities
present themselves.
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The rise of the Hartford InsurTech Hub, along with InsurTech Hartford, is undeniable evidence of how CT is innovative in the insurance space. Captives can most certainly benefit from this innovation, and CCIA has been actively involved with the many (emphasis: many) ongoing events happening in the Hartford insurance innovation “ecosystem.”
Much of this innovation activity originated
from collaboration between state and local leadership and private company
support. CTNext, a quasi-public entity, was created to support the growth and
success of companies and entrepreneurs by providing guidance, resources, and
networks. CTNext and three prominent Connecticut insurers joined forces with
Startupbootcamp to launch the United States’ first accelerator for insurance
technology, in Hartford. The accelerator, part of what’s called Hartford
InsurTech Hub, also receives matching grants from insurers and other investors.
The goal is to bring innovation to the insurance industry in Hartford and to
foster new insurtech companies and growth in local jobs.
CCIA is proud to participate in this
ecosystem and has been active in providing captive education. Earlier this
year, John Thomson and Steve DiCenso took part in a panel regarding captives
and insurtech that was hosted by Upward Hartford, the entrepreneurial worksite
which is the host of our 2018 CCIA Collaborative. The audience became much more
familiar with the benefits of captives and their future uses in the insurtech
age.
Come listen to Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin and these panelists discuss
their experiences with this ecosystem, and see how CCIA and insurtech are
collaborating in Hartford on October 16/17!
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#6 Excellent University & Captive Insurance Linkages
Connecticut’s internationally
renowned universities have been key drivers in the development of the region’s
technology and knowledge industries.
Home to over 40 colleges and universities, including the University of
Connecticut, Yale University, and the University of Hartford, Connecticut’s
higher education programs are unique in the nation and the world.
UCONN has an undergraduate major in
Actuarial Science, which is one of only a few in New England. UCONN's Actuarial Science Program has been
named a “Center of Actuarial Excellence,” one of only 12 chosen by the Society
of Actuaries. The UCONN School of
Business offers an M.S. in Actuarial Science and an M.S. in Financial Risk
Management. And most recently, UCONN has
relocated its West Hartford Branch to downtown Hartford in the renovated and growing
Front Street area.
The Yale Graduate School of
Management offers a unique Masters of Management Studies in Systemic Risk for
employees of central banks and other major regulatory agencies with a mandate
to manage systemic risk. The year-long
program focuses in global financial regulation, monetary economics, capital
markets, and central banking.
The University of Hartford’s Barney
School of Business offers a major in Risk Management and Insurance. The Barney School is second among all U.S.
colleges and universities in insurer hiring of 2012–13 graduates of
undergraduate risk management and insurance programs.
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#7 Location, Location, Location!
Connecticut, strategically and
conveniently located between New York and Boston, is ideally positioned
geographically for captive insurance companies. Connecticut is within 500
miles of one-third of the total U.S. population and two-thirds of the total
Canadian population. It also offers a robust transportation network,
including a growing international airport, an integrated network of major
highways, the new CTrail commuter rail, Amtrak services, bus rapid
transit and bus routes.
And with so many of your insurance
professionals in such a convenient location, it makes economic sense to choose
Connecticut as a captive domicile.
If you have not seen Hartford in a
while, CCIA encourages you to come see how the Insurance Capital of the World
has changed at our upcoming Collaborative on October 16/17 in Hartford.
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#8 Strong and Dynamic Insurance Economy
With over 1,400 insurance companies
licensed to do business in the state, Connecticut’s insurance industry is one
of the largest in the world and a key part of Connecticut’s economy. Connecticut insurers write more than $32.8
billion in premiums annually and contribute $13.7 billion to, or 5.3% of,
Connecticut’s Gross State Product (GSP).
The state also leads the nation in
insurance payroll, which contributes 5.3% of the total state payroll. Connecticut employs over 60,000 insurance
professionals. The insurance industry in
Connecticut ranks second nationally in GSP as a percentage of total gross state
product. Hartford has the highest
concentration of actuaries per capita in the US.
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#9 Pro-Insurance Business Climate
Connecticut has a pro-insurance,
pro-captive insurance business climate. The Department of Economic and
Community Development, Department of Insurance, and all branches of government
are committed to developing new captives and encouraging innovation and
insurance entrepreneurship. The state provides potential companies and
associations with high-quality, abundant start-up tools and a welcoming and
flexible regulatory leadership. The Connecticut Department of Insurance Captive
Division has significant regulatory expertise and a collaborative and
consultative approach that helps support and grow innovative captive insurance
companies.
In a later post, we will focus on
the insurance innovation that is being fostered in Hartford, thanks largely to
the foresight and leadership of a collaborative state government and private
insurance sector.
Our upcoming CCIA Collaborative is a
testament to these efforts.
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#10 Generous Support and Financial Assistance for Captives
Connecticut provides many options
for attractive and lucrative support packages of financial incentives,
recruitment and training, research and development support tailored to each
captive insurance company’s needs. The state works with captive insurance
companies in an ongoing partnership to ensure all the necessary support is
given from the start-up phase and throughout the lifetime of the captive
insurance companies’ growth to develop and expand the business and to improve
legal and financial soundness.
The state offers a wide range of
programs to help companies prosper in Connecticut with financing, tax credits
and other incentives including site selection services. Connecticut also has a strategic venture
capital arm that serves as a leading source of financing and ongoing support
for innovative, growing companies.
For additional information, please visit CCIA's website and review our October 2018 Annual Collaborative agenda. Registration is open. Sponsorships are also available.
