The winners of the Captive Review European Awards have been revealed at a luxury dinner in Luxembourg last night.
The first in-person captive awards since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic was lively and well attended, with many of the captive community celebrating the winners the evening before the European Captive Forum (ECF) kicked off.
The Outstanding Achievement award was won by Andrew Bradley, former head of group risk at Nestle.
Actuarial Firm
Shortlist
Allenby Consulting
BWCI
KPMG
Willis Towers Watson
Winner
Willis Towers Watson
With striking analytics capabilities and a close link between Willis’ actuarial practice and captive practice, judges were impressed by their entry. “The growth in their actuarial team shows the commitment to risk financing and the impressive client testimonials sealed them as number one,” a judged commented.
Audit and Accounting Firm
Shortlist
Deloitte
Grant Thorton
KPMG
PWC
Winner
Deloitte
Deloitte has been a long-standing name in the captive world and have continued to excel not only in Europe but around the world. “The Luxembourg practice shows a commitment to the local captive community and an eye for the future,” judges said.
Captive Collaboration Project
Shortlist
Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty
Delvag Versicherungs-AG
Generali Employee Benefits
RMC UK
Willis Towers Watson
Zurich
Winner
Delvag Versicherungs-AG
Delvag, the captive of the Lufthansa group, created a collaborative project named RISE which saved millions of euros for the captive. Judges were impressed by the project, saying “the initiative had achieved large results in short time.”
Captive Compliance Specialist
Shortlist
Avalara
Sovos
TMF Group
Winner
Sovos
Judges were impressed by Sovos’ service offering and their 10% increase in captive clients over the last year. “Clearly a tool providing enormous benefit to its users and lots of positive feedback from its clients,” one captive owner judge noted.
Captive Consultant of the Year
Shortlist
Allenby Consulting
Cutts Watson Consulting
RISCS
Strategic Risk Solutions
Willis Towers Watson
Highly Commended
Cutts Watson Consulting
Winner
RISCS
In a close category RISCS took out the award for Captive Consultant of the Year after a successful 12 months setting up some innovative captive structures across the world. “RISCS is a local firm with a global view,” one judge commented.
Captive Manager of the Year
Shortlist
Artex Risk Solutions
Davies Group
Risk & Reinsurance
RMC UK
Robus Group
Strategic Risk Solutions
Winner
Artex Risk Solutions
Artex’s size while focusing on services and clients set them ahead of the other captive managers, with one captive owner remarking that the manager “Had a really strong, client focused response. Well done Artex.”
Captive Risk Manager of the Year
Shortlist
Heiko Ditzel, Adidas
Marc Heiligers, Akzo Nobel
Samire Korterink, Randstard N.V.
Laurent Nihoul, AcelorMittal
Alison Quinlivan, Google
Tobias Winkler, Delvag Vesicherungs-AG
Winner
Lauren Nihoul, AcelorMittal
A long-time member of the captive community, Laurent takes out the Captive Risk Manager award for his work not only with AcelorMittal but as the chair of FERMA’s Captive Initiative. Laurent has been leading the dialogue with EIOPA around Solvency II and the OECD around BEPS. Judges lauded his “commitment to the industry and advocacy for captives.”
Captive Service Professional of the Year
Shortlist
Lauren Bonnet, Willis Towers Watson
Marine Charbonnier, AXA XL
James Donald, SCOR
Andrea Valacchi, GEB Network
Yannich Zigmann, Risk & Reinsurance
Winner
Marine Charbonnier, AXA XL
With more than 30 years’ experience in the captive industry, Marine became global programmes and captives regional director for Europe. Since then she has led her team through the Covid-19 pandemic and hardening market, with judges calling her work “innovative and excellent.”
Cell Captive Initiative
Shortlist
Artex Risk Solutions
Atlas PCC
Robus Group
Whiterock
Winner
Artex Risk Solutions
Once again Artex’s commitment to their clients got them the win for the Cell Captive Initiative Award. With pioneering rent-a-captive solutions, “innovation in the domicilies and putting clients first set Artex apart,” according to the judges.
Collateral Specialist
Shortlist
Barlays
Ravenscroft
Wilmington Trust
Winner
Barclays
During an increasingly turbulent world, with a health crisis and declining world economies, Barclays has continued to help captives focus on their longstanding objectives. Judges were impressed with Barclay’s continuing commitment to their clients and active management strategy.
Employee Benefits Network
Shortlist
Generali Employee Benefits Network
MAXIS GBN
Zurich
Winner
Generali Employee Benefits Network
Employee benefits networks have been particularly impacted by the pandemic, and Generali demonstrated how they have gone above and beyond for their clients over the last year. “A lot of great work to develop the next generation of talent in the captive space and really positive to link this with the Covid 19 pandemic in terms of workshops,” one judge said.
European Domicile
Shortlist
Guernsey
Isle of Man
Luxembourg
Winner
Guernsey
Still at the top of their game, Guernsey has been extremely innovative in the last year with the implementation of a pre-approval fast-track captive licencing program. “The new fast track solution in Guernsey is outstanding,” judges said. “This is what you want to see from a domicile, there is no competition.”
Fronting Partner
Shortlist
AIG
AXA XL
MS Amlin
Zurich
Winner
MS Amlin
As a fronting partner, MS Amlin is growing rapidly and impressed the judges with their creativity and approach to the market.
“A strong network in Europe with some good ideas to assist clients,” one judge said. “An impressive local network and focus on clients.”
International Domicile
Shortlist
Bermuda
Delaware
Labuan
Winner
Labuan
One of the fastest-growing domiciles in the world, Labuan took out the International Domicile Award. Judges said the domicile showed “healthy growth, an excellent team and a commitment to innovation in APAC.”
Investment Specialist
Shortlist
London & Capital
Ravenscroft Cash Management
Allianz Global Investors
Winner
Allianz Global Investors
With client testimonials and solid growth over not only 2021 but 2020, Allianz takes out the close category of Investment Specialist. Judges commended their customised risk measures and product innovations, saying that it demonstrated “real forward-thinking and commitment to a holistic view of risk management.”
Legacy Solutions
Shortlist
Darag Group
R&Q
Winner
R&Q
The leading name in the captive legacy space, R&Q’s captive deals increased again in the last year including loss portfolio transfers with some of the world’s biggest companies. Judges found their entry to be excellent, saying that “R&Q continues to outdo others, especially with their response to Covid-19 and providing solutions for a range of clients.”
Legal Services
Shortlist
Ganado Advocates
HFW
Walkers
Winner
Walkers
With a Guernsey office that supports captives in guernsey, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and Ireland, the law firm takes out the Legal Services award for 2021. The diversity of Walker’s client base and ability to offer outstanding services in many different areas “showed they are far ahead of the competition,” according to one judge.
Next Gen Initiative
Shortlist
Generali Employee Benefits Network
Zurich
Winner
Zurich
Zurich’s wide scope and impressive innovations when promoting next-Gen saw them win this award, judges crediting Zurich’s commitment to next-Gen from all levels of the organisation.
Software Solution
Shortlist
Delonia Software Solutions
Sovos
Noria
TMF Group
Winner
Delonia Software Solutions
Judges praised Delonia’s solution for making the complex simple, with real world evidence about how they can help. “There are many interesting innovation at Delonia,” one captive owner judge said. “Solvency II is very complex for captives, so anything to help manage that is a winner.”
Underwriting Solution of the Year
Shortlist
Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty
MS Amlin
Munich Re
SCOR
Winner
Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty
With more interest in captive and alternative risk transfer solutions, Allianz have excelled with new clients and modern approaches. “Broadly impressive with fantastic case studies showing an innovative risk management solutions,” judges said. “The example used proved how sophisticated Allianz is and how pleased clients are with them.”
