ENOCH STARNES

Enoch Starnes is an actuarial consultant with SIGMA Actuarial Consulting Group. After graduating from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 2011 with a BS in mathematics, he spent a brief amount of time working as a special education teaching assistant and boys’ soccer coach in a public high school setting. From there, he joined Asurion as a statistical analyst before moving to SIGMA in 2013, where he has remained since then.

His role expanded into the captives sector a few years after joining SIGMA, and as part of that role, he received the Associate in Captive Insurance designation from ICCIE in 2020.

Starnes is described as possessing a way of breaking down very complex topics that make even the most complicated subjects very comprehensible for listeners. He is said to have “unmatched communication skills” that make aspiring actuaries look to him as a leader they can understand, and field professionals regard him as someone they can trust and recommend to their colleagues.

Here he explains what makes captives an attractive sector to work in, what he finds interesting about the characteristics of the market and why he wants to stay in this area of insurance.

Do you feel that the captive insurance industry is a rewarding sector to work in?

From an actuarial perspective, the analytics for risks placed in captives often require a significant amount of research and creative thinking, and developing my skills in these areas has been an extremely rewarding process. Being in this industry also provides the opportunity to work closely with individuals who may not be as prevalent in traditional insurance sectors.

Getting to know these individuals and learn about their experiences in other industries (and different countries) has deepened my growth professionally and personally.

Would you recommend the captive insurance industry to young people as a future career path?

I would absolutely recommend a captives-related career path to young professionals. If they’re willing to put in the effort needed to understand the unique aspects of captive insurance, they’ll find an industry with a friendly, welcoming community and numerous paths for growth and expertise.

How do you feel that the captive insurance industry will evolve?

One of the most interesting characteristics of the captive landscape is its use as a testing ground for unique approaches to handling risk. Complex and emerging types of risk generally find their first “home” in captive insurance due to various obstacles preventing their placement in the traditional market.

It’s often because of these obstacles that the resulting captive policies feature new or evolved parameters that may not exist (or yet be needed) in mainstream insurance. Given the rapid changes we’re seeing in the insurance industry, I feel that the captives sector is poised to emerge as a hub for the progressive ways of thinking needed to keep up at a global scale.

Do you think that your long-term future remains in the captive insurance industry?

If possible, I would love to stay involved in the captives industry on a long-term basis. Even though I’m relatively new to the sector and still learning all of its nuances, the prospect of continued growth and deepened relationships with my colleagues in the industry is very exciting.