Captive Review has published, for the first time, an industry-wide Hall of Fame recognising the most influential individuals the captive insurance industry has produced, or been served by, over the past 50 years.
There are thirteen inductees to the first edition of the Captive Review Hall of Fame, which will be reviewed and added to each December.
Commenting on the initiative, Captive Review editor Richard Cutcher said the magazine aimed to provide a global perspective and recognise those individuals who have shaped and driven the captive journey over the past half century.
“The captive insurance industry has been blessed by innovative and forward thinkers ever since Fred Reiss set up Steel Insurance Company of America in 1953,” Cutcher said.
“This industry-wide Hall of Fame is the natural evolution from the increasingly popular Power 50 list that we will continue to publish every year. Once an individual graduates to the Hall of Fame, however, they are deemed beyond the reach of the Power 50 and will have permanent residence in this new exclusive club.”
The thirteen inductees this year are made up of nine Americans, three from the United Kingdom and one from Continental Europe.
Of those Hall of Fame inductees below, two are no longer with us – Fred Reiss, who passed away in 1993, and Edward Meehan, who passed away in 2014.
Captive Review welcomes future nominations for the Hall of Fame, with the next list of inductees to be announced in December 2017. The 2016 inductees are listed below.
Captive Review Hall of Fame
Leonard D Crouse
Len Crouse is synonymous with the State of Vermont and its crucial growth period through the 1990s and beyond. Arriving in Vermont from Massachusetts in 1990, Crouse began work in the Green Mountain State as Director of Captive Insurance before being made Deputy Commissioner of Captive Insurance in 2003. He retired in June, 2008. More than 600 new captives were licensed during his 18 years at the department, overseeing a period that firmly established the State as the leading onshore American domicile and a strong competitor to Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. The headcount within the captive division also grew from four to 28 during his tenure. After retiring, he joined JLT Towner Insurance Management USA as a partner where he remains today.
Malcolm Cutts-Watson
A career that spans three decades and three of the leading captive insurance domiciles has given Malcolm Cutts-Watson a broad perspective on the past and a sophisticated outlook on the future of the alternative risk industry. He worked for Johnson & Higgins from 1982 to 1993, first in Bermuda and then Vermont, before joining the Willis captive practice in Guernsey in 1994. He retired as chairman of Willis’ international captive practice in 2014. He won the coveted Outstanding Contribution by an Individual award at the UK Captive Services Awards in 2015. Cutts-Watson’s consulting practice in Guernsey is proving successful, providing him with the opportunity to share his expertise with a range of service providers and emerging domiciles while still engaging with the industry that he loves.
Guenter Droese
One of the staunchest protectors and outspoken advocates of captive insurance of the past two decades, Guenter Droese was the driving force behind the foundation and management of the European Captive Insurance and Reinsurance Owners’ Association (ECIROA) in August, 2008. The Association lobbied the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) during the design of Solvency II and while captives were not carved out, the principle of proportionality was put in place. While still heavily involved with ECIROA, Droese has stepped down as chairman with Udo Kappes taking on the role. Droese also enjoyed a long and influential time at Deutsche Bank – establishing its in-house broker, running the bank’s four captives in Luxembourg, Vermont and Bermuda and acting as Global Head of Corporate Insurance.
Alan Fleming
A former Chairman (2000-2001) and interim CEO (2007-2008) of Airmic in the United Kingdom, Alan Fleming has demonstrated a consistent passion for the captive insurance industry. He remains chair of the Captive Special Interest Group at Airmic. His former employers include Imperial Chemical Industries, Guinness PLC, Diageo and Railtrack Ltd. After working as an account manager for Aon, Fleming served the Guernsey Financial Services Commission from 2003 to 2006 as its director of insurance regulation. Fleming has continued to share his expertise and passion for captives with the risk management community in the UK and abroad and remains an influential voice within Airmic.
Julia Graham
A passionate and innovative thinker on captive insurance in the United Kingdom and Europe, Graham has become a strong leader for the industry and dedicated serious time and effort to spread the word on good risk and insurance management. A director of risk management and DLA Piper for more than 10 years, Graham oversaw the running of its Guernsey captive and sits on two further captive boards today. She was president of the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) from 2013 to 2015 and is now technical director of Airmic. In her current role, she is working to give captives a bigger profile and more attention within the risk management community.
Tom Jones
An invaluable aid to giant multinationals and American domestic companies on all things captive concerning both state and federal tax, Tom Jones is respected and trusted across the US captive industry. Although still practicing today, Jones’ contribution and commitment across a range of North American and Caribbean domiciles will leave a lasting impact and his dedication and commitment to presenting on tax across the region will be missed badly once he retires. Jones has also made the US healthcare industry a particular specialism and has received numerous captive industry awards, including number one on the 2014 Power 50 and the Outstanding Contribution by an Individual award at the US Captive Services Awards in the same year. He also received the 2005 Industry Service Award from VCIA and 2008 Distinguished Service Award from CICA.
Arthur Koritzinsky
A captive veteran of more than 30 years, Art Koritzinsky is recognised as being among the leading captive consultants in the global alternative risk financing space. Still serving multinationals already owning or considering a captive, Koritzinsky remains a key cog in the Marsh machine. A recipient of the Outstanding Contribution by an Individual award at the 2016 US Captive Services Awards, Koritzinsky was one of the few captive consultants to have been involved in the early days of Vermont and onshore US captives. He joined Marsh from Johnson & Higgins in the 1980s and in recent years has focused on taking Marsh into new markets. He has been particularly involved in the enterprise risk captive space, those captives taking the 831(b) tax election.
Edward Meehan
Appointed by Governor Richard Snelling as Vermont’s first captive insurance director in the 1980s, Edward Meehan was one of the early pioneers and architects of onshore captive insurance in the United States. Prior to moving to Vermont, Meehan worked in the Massachusetts Division of Insurance and brought Len Crouse, another Hall of Fame inductee, to Vermont in 1990. Meehan is widely regarded as the man to kick-start Vermont’s captive insurance journey and set it on the road to the ‘Gold Standard’ status it holds today. Upon his retirement from the State of Vermont, Ed entered the private sector and remained active in the captive industry, working with USA Risk Group until 1999. Ed passed away in May, 2014.
Robert ‘Skip’ Myers
A managing partner at DC law firm Morris, Manning & Martin for more than 20 years, Skip Myers is one of the most recognisable faces in the global captive industry. General Counsel to the National Risk Retention Assocation (NRRA) and a board member at CICA, Myers is arguably the most important and influential captive insurance advocate in Washington and was instrumental in the drafting and passing of the Liability Risk Retention Act of 1986. He has been a regular member on a number of captive association boards and committees and also had input into the design of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act in 2002.
David Provost
Arriving at Vermont’s Department of Insurance in 2001 after more than 10 years of captive management experience, more than 500 new captives have been licensed during David Provost’s time at the State. After working as an examiner within the Department, Provost took the reins from Len Crouse in June 2008. Prior to joining the State he worked for Johnson & Higgins, Sedgewick and AIG. Provost actively engages with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and is not afraid to voice an opinion when captives are under threat. He is also a confident and engaging speaker, contributing to conferences around the United States and in Europe. Vermont licensed its 1,000th captive in October 2013, under Provost’s watch.
Frederic M. Reiss
Widely regarded as the father of the captive movement and the man to coin the term ‘captive’, Fred Reiss formed the first captive – Steel Insurance Company of America – for Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company in 1953. He then established American Risk Management in Bermuda, the first management firm in the jurisdiction, and began setting up captives. He is credited with setting Bermuda on its way to becoming the dominant captive domicile it is today. Reiss passed away in 1993.
Hugh Rosenbaum
Hugh Rosenbaum is one of the few captive practitioners to be equally well known on both sides of the Atlantic. Now retired, Rosenbaum worked for Towers Watson (and its predecessors) for more than 20 years having begun his tenure in 1977 and leaving in 1999. He then enjoyed a successful career as an independent consultant and remains involved in a number of contemporary projects including Builders Re’s venture into captive management. Known for his forthright opinions, he is particularly passionate about the group captive concept and is never afraid to ruffle a few feathers.
Bruce Wright
One of the leading captive experts on tax, Bruce Wright is an active partner at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan. With more than four decades of experience in the insurance industry, Wright is among a small group of universally respected tax experts equally at home advising on pure captives, cell companies or risk retention groups (RRGs). A winner of the 2012 Outstanding Contribution by an Individual award at the US Captive Services Awards, Wright has been recognised by a number of captive associations including receiving the Distinguished Service Award from CICA earlier this year. Wright’s firm represented R.V.I. Guaranty in its 2015 US Tax Court victory over the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that concerned whether residual value insurance counts as insurance for tax purposes. The case was seen as crucial to the captive industry as a win for the IRS may have threatened captives’ future ability to write emerging or non-traditional risks.
