ROB GERAGHTY

According to Rob Geraghty, he was “born with insurance in his blood”, having come from an insurance family brokerage in Ireland. He learned from an early age the key foundations and facets of the insurance world; he graduated with a first-class honours business degree from Dublin City University and began his insurance career in captive management in Dublin.

Geraghty has worked in all key areas of captives, starting on the insurance side managing captives for Aon in Dublin and Gibraltar. Thereafter, he joined Marsh in London as a senior consultant where he produced complex feasibility studies and strategic reviews. Following an offer from Marsh Bermuda, he took up the role as business development leader for Bermuda, at the time the largest captives office in the world.

After working closely with Chris Lay and Jill Husbands in growing Marsh Bermuda, he returned to London to lead international sales, reporting to Lorraine Stack. Through this career path, he has extensive and rare experience in captive management, consultancy, and business development in the full spectrum of services to captives.

As international sales leader, Geraghty drives growth and business development across Marsh’s international region, an extensive area including Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. He was honoured to be awarded with the Marsh CEO’s award in 2022.

Geraghty was described as being experienced in the full spectrum of services to captives including assisting clients with insurance company formation, structure, strategy, and management. He has worked with some of the largest and most complex captives and commercial carriers in the world and has also lived and worked in some of the key jurisdictions in the world (Ireland, Gibraltar, Bermuda, and London), holding increasing responsibilities.

Here he shares some of his thoughts on why the captives sector is good to work in, why he’d recommend it and how he feels it will evolve.

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

The captive insurance industry is a fantastic sector to work in. You get the opportunity to learn about all areas of insurance through running a captive insurance company. You gain experience in every insurance aspect from formation, strategic consulting and ongoing operation. You get to learn an extremely broad range of skills and work with some of the most talented risk professionals in the world.

Having worked in four locations and relocated five times, the captives industry provides individuals with the chance to work all over the world while driving their careers forward.

In the sector, you get to be involved with and lead some of the great insurance industry innovations (eg, protected cells) and work with clients from all sectors through their complex challenges—producing rewarding solutions.

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

Yes, without hesitation. It’s an extremely interesting space and one which opens many global doors and opportunities. My career path started in captive management in Dublin followed by Gibraltar, then moving to captive consultancy in London, thereafter business development in Bermuda and currently international sales leader in London. You need to learn the fundamentals and operations through management before you can advise through feasibility and finally sell the company and concept.

I have lived across and travelled the world, while working within this sector, gaining more responsibilities. I have dealt with very interesting and complex clients, assisting them with insurance company formation, structure, strategy, and management and established captive vehicles for parent companies from Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and Africa.

I have been fortunate to work with some of the greatest captive and risk professionals in the world. In my early days, I just wanted to learn and grow from these individuals, who were at the top of their game. For people starting out, I would suggest have a hardworking attitude, show respect, learn, put the hours in, drive on and carry the knowledge and professionalism forward.

There is a lot to this industry, if you get the opportunity to work in this space—grab it and make it your best career.

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

The captive insurance industry is forever evolving—new risk retention vehicles, new domiciles, new legislation, new lines of business, and optimal ways of managing insurance risk—to name just a few.

The growth in recent years has been phenomenal, with more organisations than ever using captives as a valuable risk management tool. At Marsh, we have established 370 new captives in the last three years—this business is booming.

The captives environment is flexible with proportionate regulation and captive regulators, and service providers are at the forefront of driving innovations and finding new solutions to help our clients through their challenges. A captive insurance vehicle is becoming the first port of call for many companies’ insurance needs—it will continue to be even more relevant in the future.

Captives can also help the world in other ways—one of them being ESG. For example, I was a key member of the formation team of African Risk Capacity (ARC) in Bermuda and led the win of the insurance management. ARC is a hybrid mutual insurer that uses innovative financing mechanisms to help African governments to improve their capacity to better plan for, prepare for and respond to extreme weather events and natural disasters.

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

Right now, certainly, I want to keep driving forward and achieve much more. We do not know what the future holds but I think there is lots of opportunity in the sector, it is a fantastic space! I work with different clients every day from all across the world with different cultures, industries, challenges, complexities and objectives. I need to gain trust and build rapport in a very limited timeline, provide them with their optimal solution and win the business—no two days are the same.

I’ve worked in all areas of the captives industry and I have always enjoyed working with clients. They are amazing to work with, very innovative, knowledgeable, forward-thinking and risk-minded individuals.

I am a positive person, highly motivated with a very strong work ethic and immense drive and ambition to achieve as much as possible. You can only keep that mindset if you are very passionate and interested in the area you work in—I really enjoy it.

I come from a relatively small place in Ireland and I have opened many doors to advance my career through this industry; I have made great friends; travelled the world and presented across the globe; and I look forward to achieving more and to what the future brings.