NATE REZNICEK
President & principal consultant, Captives.Insure
“The ability to align the coverage needs of a business with the ever-changing risks that businesses face is unparalleled.”
Nate Reznicek started his insurance career building out the captive insurance division for a regional agency in the Midwest. From there he left to run the operations for a captive management firm in order to align its operations with standard industry best practices and diversify its book of business away from enterprise risk coverages into the more “traditional” property and casualty space.
Describing that experience as “valuable and eye-opening”, Reznicek was able to use it to gain exposure to the motivations of captive owners and managers—from company and personal shareholder perspectives. These experiences led to his electing to form Captives.Insure, which provides fronting, reinsurance and captive consulting services to brokers throughout the country, without ties to any particular captive manager, carrier or other parties that can create conflicts of interest.
Reznicek was described as being an esteemed expert in all aspects of risk management through captive and microcaptive insurance. He is trusted by captive managers, carriers, regulators, and brokers from nearly all the top 100 agencies in the US as a go-to resource for difficult-to-place risks and complex transactions.
Here he divulges why captives are such a fascinating area of the industry to work in, why people should commit to a career in captives and why captives are at the cutting edge of insurance innovation at the moment.
Do you feel that the captive insurance industry is a rewarding sector to work in?
Definitely! I’m a bit of a rebel at heart and love a good “underdog” story. The captives industry is hands down the best way for high-performing insureds to make a meaningful impact in the way their business is able to take risk and participate in premium. The alignment of interests that can be achieved with correct captive structuring truly places businesses and brokers in a position where they can make strategic decisions on risks they want to transfer and be rewarded for their efforts on the risks they elect to retain.
Would you recommend the captive insurance industry to young people as a future career path?
The larger insurance industry covers almost all the bases that young people could look for in a career path. Operations, engineering, actuarial/analytics, legal, accounting, business development, and many more are all viable career options. Captive insurance is the only industry I am aware of that spans so many career verticals while also providing the additional opportunity for talented individuals to make meaningful impacts in the lives of others, without having to sacrifice personal compensation.
How do you feel that the captive insurance industry will evolve?
Captive insurance has always been, and will continue to be, at the forefront of change and innovation in the insurance industry. The flexibility of a captive and the ability to align the coverage needs of a business with the ever-changing risks that businesses face is unparalleled. There is no other tool that is as nimble and powerful to proactively protect and fund for future loss scenarios as captives are.
As insureds become increasingly sophisticated they are quickly outpacing the tools and limited solutions that the traditional insurance market is able to provide. For these insureds captives are no longer viewed as an “alternative risk transfer” vehicle, they are the primary and preferred method of taking risk, protecting assets, and pre-funding for future loss.
Do you think that your long-term future remains in the captive insurance industry?
Without a doubt. As I stated previously, captives are no longer the alternative and in many ways the traditional market is playing catch-up. I believe there is a significant opportunity for talented individuals and agencies to “steer the ship” and be a catalyst within the global insurance industry, and I fully intend that myself and my firm will remain at the forefront.
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