Property fastest-growing captive cover: Rims Riskworld

Captive use continues to grow as climate change exacerbates extreme weather events, driving property premium increases, Marsh executives said at Rims’ annual conference.

Property is the fastest-growing line of coverage in Marsh-managed captives, said Michael Serricchio, managing director of Marsh Captive Solutions.

“Everybody in the room can feel the pain of property rates. Last year, we added $2.5bn premium to our captives. That’s almost unheard of,” Serricchio said.

Marsh saw 29% growth in captives writing property last year, he said, adding: “The last three years of this challenging market have been brutal.”

Organisations are utilising captives to provide innovative and integrated approaches to manage new and emerging risks, the executives explained.

Risk complexity is increasing and risk is accelerating in virtually every dimension, said Pat Donnelly, president of Marsh Specialty and global placement.

In the past few years, the risk transfer to the commercial insurance market has led to fatigue and frustration, Donnelly said.

“Clients are coming to us and asking us to help them explore, establish and in some cases leverage captive approaches for all the creativity and flexibility and the control that it can give back to organisations as they’re managing their risks,” he said.

Marsh added 500 new captives to its portfolio from 2020 to 2023, bringing the number it manages to more than 1,900 across 56 domiciles, and premiums under management to $73bn, said Ellen Charnley, president of Marsh Captive Solutions in Las Vegas.

Captives are playing an important role as companies look to navigate the emerging global threat landscape, Ms. Charnley said.

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