How are reinsurance premiums determined?
Adjusting the attachment point and coverage amount can help control reinsurance premiums, balancing risk and cost.
Reinsurance
What is the the attachment point in reinsurance?
The attachment point determines when reinsurance coverage begins, affecting both reinsurance costs and the captive’s risk exposure.
Reinsurance
What is Quota Share reinsurance?
Quota Share reinsurance involves the captive and reinsurer sharing risk in a set proportion, such as 25% for the captive and 75% for the reinsurer.
Reinsurance
How does XN Captive ensure effective reinsurance strategies?
XN Captive uses actuarial analysis, market expertise, and tailored risk assessments to develop effective reinsurance strategies for captives.
Reinsurance
Why is reinsurance crucial for new captives?
New captives are more vulnerable to significant losses; reinsurance provides a safety net, protecting the captive’s financial health from the onset.
Reinsurance
How does reinsurance impact a captive's financial performance?
Effective reinsurance strategies can optimize a captive's financial performance by balancing premium costs and risk exposure, ultimately protecting the captive assets from catastropic loss.
Reinsurance
What are the challenges of negotiating reinsurance for captives?
Challenges include knowing which parties might be interestred in your specific risk profile, finding favorable terms, managing complex negotiations, and securing coverage based on risk history and desired attachment points.
Reinsurance
What is the role of actuaries in reinsurance planning for captives?
Actuaries calculate the total risk exposure and recommend optimal reinsurance attachment points and coverage limits.
Actuarial
What is the pricing summary in a feasibility study?
The pricing summary outlines cost allocation, ideal policy types, and retention levels, helping to develop a financially viable captive structure.
Actuarial
Why are actuaries needed?
Actuaries provide scientific rigor to validate the captive's business plan, calculate loss projections, determine premiums, and ensure financial viability.
Actuarial
What is Excess of Loss (XoL) reinsurance?
XoL reinsurance covers losses that exceed a specified amount, known as the Attachment Point, up to a certain limit.
Reinsurance
What is the purpose of a capitalization plan in a business plan?
A capitalization plan assesses the captive's financial robustness and solvency, ensuring it can cover potential losses and uphold underwriting commitments.
General
What types of reinsurance are available for captives?
The three main types are Excess of Loss, Aggregate, and Quota Share reinsurance, each offering different ways to manage risk and coverage.
Reinsurance
How does reinsurance work for captives?
In captives, reinsurance involves directly negotiating with reinsurers to offload risk, often with the help of captive managers who have industry expertise.
Reinsurance
What is reinsurance?
Reinsurance is insurance for insurance companies, where insurers transfer some of their risk to another insurer to protect against significant losses.
Reinsurance
Why are coverage lines scrutinized in a business plan?
Scrutiny of coverage lines evaluates the captive's risk exposure and its capability to provide adequate coverage, ensuring it meets claim obligations.
General
How is the day-to-day operation of a captive managed?
Day-to-day operations include claims handling, investment management, and compliance, which can be managed by captive managers or recommended partners.
Management
Why is the leadership team of a captive important?
It ensures that the captive is managed by knowledgeable professionals committed to regulatory compliance and ethical business practices.
General
What happens after a captive is approved?
Once state approval is obtained, the captive is officially authorized to provide insurance to the parent company, marking the completion of the formation process. The captive can then be funded with a premium and can reimburse claims.
General
How does reinsurance benefit traditional insurance companies?
Reinsurance allows traditional insurers to increase their coverage capacity and ensure that even large losses are recoverable by offloading risk.
Reinsurance
What is a financial pro forma in captive formation?
The financial pro forma simulates your captive's performance over five years, including expected and adverse scenarios, and includes income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements.
Actuarial
What is the purpose of a captive business plan?
The captive business plan packages the feasibility study with explanations of the captive's strategic direction, management framework, and operational readiness. The captive business plan will be presented to regulators during the approval process, and can also assist in securing fronting or reinsurance arrangements.
General
How do I chose a domicile?
Domicile choice is influenced by factors such as types of coverages allowed, administrative responsibilities, financial requirements, and taxation. The XN team will review your insurance circumstances to help you decide on the optimal domicile.
General
How does XN help with fronting arrangements?
XN guides clients through fronting arrangements, providing expertise on specific risk situations and ensuring compliance with regulatory and contractual requirements.
XN Captive
How are policies chosen for a captive?
Captives are designed to retain premium surplus. Therefore, well-suited policies are those for which you consistently pay more in premiums than you file in claims, year after year. On the contrary, if the cost of coverage for a particular policy is often less than your annual losses, it may not be fit for a captive. Ultimately, the policies chosen for your captive are influenced by the required capital, collateral, fronting, and reinsurance. XN helps help you make this determination, and partners with you to steadily and safely expand your captive operations to include as many well-performing policies as possible over time.
General
How is a captive approved by regulators?
After completing the feasibility study and business plan, the state’s Department of Insurance issues a license authorizing the captive to provide insurance.
Regulatory
How much does a feasibility study typically cost?
Depending on the complexity, a feasibility study can cost between $20,000 and $50,000 due to the extensive time and expertise required.
Actuarial
What is included in a captive business plan?
A captive business plan includes an executive summary, company introduction, strategy, goals, market dynamics, leadership team, target audience, risks, coverage lines, capitalization plan, and service providers.
General
Does XN help write a business plan?
Yes, generating a business plan is part of the included service offering.
XN Captive
What is fronting in insurance?
Fronting arrangements allow an insurance carrier to charge a fee for lending their paper to a group, appearing as if they are insuring them while the captive's own capital backs the policy.
Reinsurance
What is the role of a captive manager?
The role of a captive manager, including the services they provide, can vary greatly. Most captive managers provide expertise upfront, and management services once the captive is formed. XN Captive has the broadest and most comprehensive service offering to handle every step of the planning, formation, and eventual management of a captive.
Management
What is included in the loss projection and premium analysis?
It includes estimating future losses (loss distribution), defining the captive's capacity (loss pick), and determining the total amount needed to fund the captive.
Actuarial
How much does it cost to form a captive?
The cost to form a captive can vary tremendously, and can be influenced by a variety of factors including where the captive is domiciled, the captive structure, the type and amount of coverage(s) included, and the complexity of your organization. For captives that plan to cover third party risks, there may also be additional costs to develop your captive insurance program. The XN team can help you get a better sense of the cost after discussing your captive needs and goals.
General
Why do Fortune 500 companies own captives?
Over 90% of Fortune 500 companies own at least one captive because they understand the value that they can deliver, and have dedicatrd in-house teams to manage the complex process of planning, forming, and managing them.
General
What types of collateral can be used in fronting arrangements?
Types of collateral include cash, Letters of Credit, Funds Withheld accounts, and Regulation 114 Trusts, each providing different benefits and fulfilling different needs.
Reinsurance
How does fronting benefit captives?
Fronting allows captives to access Rated or Admitted paper, meet insurance requirements, and support coverage needs that the captive might not be able to meet on its own. Without fronting, many captives wouldn't be able to include the types of risk in their policies that make captives attractive.
Reinsurance
Why is collateral required in fronting arrangements?
Collateral is required to mitigate credit and statutory risk, ensuring the fronting carrier is protected if the captive defaults or to avoid a surplus penalty from unauthorized reinsurance.
Reinsurance
What information is needed for the feasibility study?
Information such as financial statements, past policy applications, current insurance policies, recent loss runs, and future growth plans are collected.
Actuarial
What is the role of insurance ratings?
Insurance ratings, provided by independent Rating Agencies like AM Best, give transparency into the financial stability of the insurer, ensuring they can pay claims.
Reinsurance
What is the role of reinsurance in fronting arrangements?
Fronting is a reinsurance structure where the fronting insurer cedes the risk to the captive, transferring it off their balance sheet while still appearing as the insurer on paper.
Reinsurance
Is captive insurance a good idea for my business?
We're here to answer that exact question. As a first step, you can take the Quiz to get an instant assessment. Or, you can book a call with our experts to go over your circumstances and come away with a clear path forward that accounts for your risks, needs, options, costs, and potential returns on investment.
General
How does XN Captive support policy administration?
XN Captive efficiently manages insurance policies, including issuance, endorsements, and claims handling, supported by robust systems and streamlined processes to enhance operational efficiency.
XN Captive
Does XN help with reinsurance?
XN Captive manages reinsurance negotiations and agreements, securing coverage to align with risk management objectives and financial requirements, and handling reinsurance commission payments.
Reinsurance
What type of reporting capabilities does XN Captive provide?
XN Captive offers robust reporting capabilities, including statutory accounting, financial statement preparation, performance tracking, and peer comparisons to support strategic decision-making and regulatory compliance.
XN Captive
What ongoing risk mitigation strategies does XN Captive implement?
XN Captive continuously identifies, assesses, and addresses risks within the captive to minimize their impact on financial performance and stability through tailored risk management practices.
Management
Are legal services included with XN?
Yes. XN Captive offers strategic legal guidance and review of business plans, contractual agreements, and compliance frameworks to ensure alignment with regulatory standards and protection against legal risks.
Legal
What is insurance paper?
Insurance paper refers to both the insurance policy itself and the carrier underwriting that policy, used in the context of retaining risk via a Captive.
General
How does XN Captive handle regulatory approvals?
XN Captive facilitates regulatory approvals for captive operations, including license applications, regulatory filings, and compliance reviews to ensure legal authorization and regulatory adherence.
Regulatory
What is XN Captive's annual review service?
The annual review service provides a comprehensive evaluation of captive performance, including financial analysis, claims experience review, compliance assessment, and strategic planning updates.
XN Captive
What tax services does XN Captive provide?
XN Captive offers comprehensive analysis and planning of tax implications, evaluating tax-efficient structures, premium deductibility, and compliance with tax regulations to minimize liabilities.
Accounting
Why might insureds require coverage from Rated or Admitted insurers?
Many insureds are required by contract covenant or statutory requirement to carry coverage from a Rated (typically A- AM Best) or Admitted insurer.
Reinsurance
How does XN Captive assist with funding for captives?
XN Captive can help your business secure funding for captive launch and operation, providing access to capital markets, lender networks, and alternative funding sources to support capitalization and risk assumption.
XN Captive
How much can I make with a captive?
XN Captive provides a Quiz to assess current insurance circumstances, identify captive potential, and offer insights into how a captive can benefit the business.
Investment
What is the importance of a feasibility study in the captive formation process?
A feasibility study is crucial for validating the business plan for the captive, analyzing risk exposure, ensuring financial viability, and meeting regulatory requirements. Once complete, the feasibility study produces documentation that must be reviewed and approved by regulators. In short, the study defines the rules by which your captive will operate, supported by actuarial principles.
Actuarial
What are the financial benefits from owning a captive?
A business can expect to retain surplus from unused premiums, generate revenue from investments, and reinvest in growth opportunities, making captive insurance a valuable financial asset.
General
How does XN Captive's platform assess risks and plan the captive?
The platform includes interactive tools and simulators to explore captive potential, plan for the future, and provide in-depth analysis for informed decision-making. XN has assembled a team of specialists in all areas of captive planning, formation, and management that coordinate internally to ensure that your business puts the best plan forward.
XN Captive
How is captive insurance different than regular or traditional insurance?
Captive insurance offers more control, potential financial returns, customized coverage, stablized costs, and improved risk management compared to the more rigid, volatile, and often costlier traditional insurance options.
General
How does XN Captive support IRS compliance, audits, and regulatory issues?
XN Captive's team of experts work proactively to ensure compliance with federal, state, and excise tax and regulatory requirements, as well as ongoing status and compliance assessments for the captive.
Regulatory
Does XN Captive manage investments?
XN Captive provides banking management and investment advisory oversight, ensuring that the captive's surplus is effectively managed and invested for optimal returns.
Investment
How does XN Captive help with claims?
XN Captive will identify the ideal claims service for your business to ensures swift, predictable processing, reducing administrative headaches and providing instant reimbursement through a tailored approach.
Claims
What are the challenges of forming a captive?
Forming a captive without a captive manager can involve a 300-400 hour time commitment, high costs, the need to coordinate ten professional services, and a 12 month timeline, making it daunting for mid-market businesses that is not likley to have the requisite in-house experience.
General
What does XN Captive do once a captive is formed?
XN Captive provides ongoing management services including operational support, financial management, performance monitoring, third-party vendor selection advisory, regulatory compliance, and strategic advice for leveraging the captive for growth.
XN Captive
What is XN Captive's platform?
The platform offers tools for real-time monitoring, in-depth analysis, and advanced reporting to maximize the captive's potential and maintain compliance. The platform promotes clarity and transparency by allowing your business to access your captive detail in a single place.
XN Captive
How does XN Captive streamline the captive formation process?
XN Captive reduces the time commitment to around 25 hours, offers a flat fee, manages all services, and can complete the process in several months. If a business were to handle the process internally, it likely requires 300-400 hours of man hours, involves the soliciting and coordination of 10 distinct professional services, and includes many unique costs and fees.
XN Captive
How does captive insurance differ from traditional insurance?
Traditional insurance involves paying premiums to an external insurer, while captive insurance involves creating a new insurance entity that retains the premiums and pays out claims, offering more control and potential profit retention.
General
What is reinsurance?
Reinsurance provides a safety net for captives by covering losses beyond a certain threshold, helping manage significant risks, major losses, and financial stability.
Reinsurance
What are the benefits of owning a captive?
Benefits include total control over insurance policies, tailored coverage, better risk management, instant reimbursement for claims, asset protection, and potential financial returns from retained surplus. For businesses covering third party risks, a captive can allow you to retain more underwriting profit.
General
How does XN Captive help with the feasibility study?
XN Captive assists with the feasibility study by submitting detailed insurance information, collaborating with actuaries, and providing a data-driven analysis to validate the business plan for the captive.
Actuarial
What is captive insurance?
Captive insurance allows a business to cover risks create their own insurance company, often a wholly owned subsidary. The company then pays a premium to the captive, the captive reimbuirses the company for any claims, and the company keeps what's left (surplus) as profit.
General
What is the XN Captive digital platform?
The XN platform provides full access to your captive online for easy review and management, including interactive tools, deep analytics, and full integration of professional services.
XN Captive
How does XN Captive handle regulatory compliance?
XN Captive manages ongoing regulatory relations and compliance, including all necessary documentation, licensing, business plan preparation, legal planning and tax implications advisory, financial accounting, necessary audits, and policy renewals.
Regulatory
How does XN Captive ensure better risk management?
XN Captive makes engaging with your captive easier, and more transparent. When you can see the interworkings first hand, and watch surplus grow, prioritizing risk management takes on a new focus. Quantifiable results show everyone the real value sound risk management.
Management
How do you form a captive with XN?
The process includes assessing current insurance circumstances, meeting with the XN team, submitting detailed insurance information, initiating a feasibility study to produce the necessary documents, and launching the captive after state regulator approval.
XN Captive
What services does XN Captive integrate into its process?
XN Captive integrates all professional services including actuarial services, accounting, tax and legal analysis, claims management, investment advisory, reinsurance and fronting arrangements, day-to-day operations, and performance monitoring.
XN Captive