Gain new insights into using captives to finance benefit programs, hearing from employers and top advisers on the advantages and opportunities of tapping a captive’s potential for benefits.

WCF Award of Excellence Presentation
The WCF debuts its Award of Excellence, honoring a single-owner captive that has contributed significantly to the business of its owner. A detailed case study of this year’s award-winning captive will be featured in the “Case Studies” session.

Opening Keynote Speaker: Mario Vitale, CEO, Zurich Global Corporate
Following a period of unprecedented turmoil and uncertainty in global financial markets, businesses are seeking assurances about the security of their financial partners, including insurance companies. Mario Vitale, CEO of Zurich Global Corporate, will share his expert views on global challenges and opportunities facing the industry and its customers, as well as insights into broader risk financing trends and developments to come.

Refreshment Break with Exhibitors - Sponsored by Prudential Financial

Making Your Captive More Effective
Whether you are about to establish a captive for the first time, or have a mature captive, this session will help to advance your knowledge and expertise. Gain a working template to assess the underlying principles of risk retention in a captive, learn about the key challenges in captive management, and how to navigate the latest in ever-changing application processes.

Speakers: Joel Chansky, Consultant, Milliman; Nicholas Dove, President, Quest Management Services Limited;  Michael Maglaras, President, Michael Maglaras & Company; D. Hugh Rosenbaum, Retired Principal, Towers Perrin

• Managing and tracking performance;
• Premium allocation;
  
• Quarterly claims reports;
• Reserve analysis; and
• Capital adequacy.
  

Speakers:Bill Fitzpatrick, Vice President, Corporate Risk Benefits, Deutsche Post DHL; Barry Perkins, Employee Benefits Manager, HSBC; Marcus Reichel, Senior Insurance Manager, Adidas Group
Moderator: Mark Cook, Senior Consultant, Towers Perrin;

Lunch and Dessert with Exhibitors

Preparing for More Regulatory Risks
An increasing number of insurance regulatory issues are emerging, as governments respond to recent financial crises and seek to prevent a recurrence. In the United States, proposals for federal oversight of insurance have gained new momentum, while the European Union prepares for the implementation of Solvency II regulations. What is the impetus for these developments, where do they stand, and what will be the impact on captive insurance and other risk financial options?

Speakers: Robert H. "Skip" Myers, Managing Partner, Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP; David Provost, Deputy Commissioner of Captive Insurance, State of Vermont; Shelby Weldon, Director of Insurance, Bermuda Monetary Authority

Moderator: Arthur Koritzinsky, Managing Director, Marsh, Inc.

Cells: Exploring the Simple to the Complex
Use of cell captives is accelerating, surpassing the growth rate of stand-alone captives in some domiciles and commanding a larger share of the overall captive market. Cell structures today can provide more solutions than before, especially to the entrepreneurial and special-purpose captive business. This session will focus on newer techniques and pitfalls of intra-cell activity, as well as touching on some of the advanced uses of cells by an executive of the Association of Association Executives.

Speakers: Arthur Perschetz, Kilpatrick Stockton LLP
Moderator: D. Hugh Rosenbaum, Retired Principal, Towers Perrin

Fronting for Benefits Insurance
How deep is the market for fronting? With the economic turmoil of the past year and frozen credit markets, is there still sufficient capacity for fronting benefits and even pension transactions for captives? In this session the panelists will reveal all: Which insurers are fronting; How much they’re charging ; What is the process and criteria used to select a fronting insurer?; and the special conditions like security that they impose. The panelists will cover fronting for:

• Life;
  
• Long Term Disability;
  
• Retiree Medical; and
  
• Annuities.
  

Speakers: David Brooker, VP - Advanced Markets, Prudential Financial, Inc.; Suzanne Gallie, Sr. Risk Manager, Corporate Risk Management, Sun MicroSystems, Inc.; Jeffrey L. Fitzgerald, Associate Director, Strategic Risk Solutions
Moderator: Travis Winkels, Principal, Towers Perrin

Breakout Sessions

Finding Reinsurance and Fronting Capacity
Where reinsurance and fronting capacity can be found, and how to access it, will be the focus of this session, led by a panel of reinsurance brokers and underwriters. These experts will discuss the U.S., Bermuda and European markets in detail, as well as where the pockets of opportunity are for captive owners seeking to find and tap these markets for their programs.

Speakers: Philip Stevens, VP Captive Management Services, Chartis Insurance; Michael Woodroffe, President, Kirkway International Ltd.
Moderator: Rodd Zolkos, Special Projects Editor, Business Insurance

Find New Value in Risk Modeling
Insurers are now being called upon to produce internal risk models as a demonstration of their risk management procedures. Owners of captives have always been in the forefront when it comes to risk management and knowledge of their risks. In this session, the theoretical basis for insurance risk modeling will be summarized in a practical way by a long-time expert actuary, and a captive owner will provide his views on how risk modeling has contributed to his captive insurer’s risk management.

Speakers: Jeffrey Sharer, Managing Director, APX, Inc. and former Risk Manager, Goldman Sachs; John Yonkunas, Principal, Towers Perrin
Moderator: Janice Ochenkowski, Managing Director, Jones, Lang, LaSalle

Captives and Medical Benefits - Reigning in Medical Costs
Healthcare costs are a ballooning concern – techniques to mitigate healthcare risks and expenses are at a premium and have taken center stage in American politics. One innovative way to mitigate the costs of insuring medical benefits is to use a captive insurance company. Our panelist will discuss the art of the possible and what’s been achieved to date and what’s yet to be achieved.

Speakers: Andrew Cavenagh, Senior Vice President, Berkley Risk; Scott Spencer, Shareholder, Stevens & Lee; Anne Marie Unger, VP, Willis HRH
Moderator: Nicole Serfontein, Consultant, Towers Perrin

Keynote Speaker – Michael Gasior
What's at the Bottom of the Economic House of Cards
Understanding what–and who—is to blame for the recent financial meltdown, and where the economy and markets go from here will be the focus of our keynote address from Michael Gasior, an experienced analyst and lively commentator on investment and financial issues. In addition, he will discuss the impact these economic trends and factors may have on insurance and reinsurance business.

Refreshment Break with Exhibitors - Sponsored by Prudential Financial

Captive Tax Update: Everything You Need to Know
Recent tax developments for captives in general and cell captives in particular, make this year’s session of special interest. Panelists will review ongoing disputes as well as the trends and issues of interest to all in the captive community. In addition, this session will provide a fresh look at the key tax issues for owners of cells that will provide valuable insights into this rapidly growing area of captives.

Speakers: F. Roy Sedore, Tax Partner, Baker & McKenzie, LLP; P. Bruce Wright, Partner, Dewey & LeBoeuf, LLP

Winning Investment Strategies in Troubled Times
A number of previously believed once-in-a-lifetime events have shaken the pillars of conventional investing wisdom. This year’s investment session will explore whether traditionally held views on the capital markets and investing need to be re-calibrated or entirely re-thought. This has critically important implications for captive reserve investments and asset-liability matching. A global insurance company investment expert and an investment consultant will explore where we are, and what we need to consider for captive investment strategies.

Speakers: Clifford Axelson, Managing Director, Prudential Financial, Inc.; Chris DeMeo, Investment Practice Leader, Watson Wyatt
Moderator: Wendy Liu, Senior Consultant, Towers Perrin

Buffet Lunch with Exhibitors

Real World Lessons: WCF Captive Case Studies
The WCF is known for the excellence of its annual session that highlights captive insurance and risk financing case studies. This year we are fortunate to have one from a worldwide brand name, whose captive is also the recipient of the WCF award of excellence. A unique presentation from a representative of a company that was obliged to seek Chapter 11 protection, while the captive continued to operate, is our second case. The third one is from a smaller group captive, whose origins and ongoing success are an illustration of the captive advantage in these difficult times. These examples of what has succeeded, with emphasis on showing others how they can benefit from their experience will be a highlight of this year’s conference.

Speakers: Michael McCord, Vice President & Treasurer, NLC Mutual Insurance Company; Award of Excellence Winner; William F. McMahon, Risk Manager, Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc.
Moderator: D. Hugh Rosenbaum, Retired Principal, Towers Perrin

Refreshment Break

Breakout Sessions

Risk Mitigation in Health Care Captives
Healthcare captives are a significant proportion of captive business. One of the key reasons healthcare organizations form captives is to support their strategic partners - namely their physician staff.  Captives can be used to encourage and incent physician behavior that supports patient safety, and benefits the hospital and physicians as well.  A long-time advisor to many healthcare captives discusses the role captives can play to encourage risk management and quality efforts, while a captive owner presents specific approaches that his organization has successfully implemented over a ten year span.

Speakers: Ed Wrobel, Managing Principal, Towers Perrin; John Sutherland, Chief Financial Officer, Care New England
Moderator: Chris Mancini, CEO, Captive.com

Endings and Wind-Ups
New this year at WCF is a session requested by delegates from previous conferences, the basics of stopping and shutting down a captive. The issues are different depending on the type of captive - single or mutliple owner, on the type of business - long-tail or shorter-tail, and on the jurisdiction in which it is licensed. The influence of other parties such as fronting companies, reinsurers, and the captive's board itself make this topic broad-reaching and pertinent to the entire captive community. An expert in the field of insurance wind-ups will present the basic issues, which will be discussed by a captive manager and a captive owner.

Speakers: Paul Corver, Managing Director, Captive Management Services Division, Randall & Quilter; William F. McMahon, Risk Manager, Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc.; Craig Powles, Solomon Harris
Moderator: P. Bruce Wright, Partner, Dewey & LeBoeuf, LLP

Closing Reception - Sponsored by A.M. Best Company

Join us for the closing reception at the Calusa Terrace where we will enjoy refreshments, plenty of food and a slideshow featuring photos from the week.