Beware of the talent void

Being successful in the captive insurance sector requires the right combination of people, commitment, understanding and solutions.

Combining extensive insurance experience and broad market knowledge with innovative solutions, we help insurance companies achieve diverse goals in complex markets and regulatory environments.

It starts with the right people and filling in the talent void that is prevalent in the insurance industry today.

PNC Institutional Asset Management (IAM) has nationally-recognised employees within its Insurance Solutions Group, and this group is committed to finding, developing, and mentoring diverse and brilliant individuals who are eager to serve this industry.

We have several programmes in place, from scouting at colleges to development programme and mentoring programmes; from mid-level and leadership training proposals to make certain that we present the best to clients.

We are committed to lifting talent and we personally challenge others to be vulnerable and fearless—putting themselves directly in the middle of where they want to be in this space. We encourage people interested in captives to buddy with one of our team members.

Our specialists bring extensive industry experience to these newcomers and to our client relationships. They are active in the industry, routinely monitoring the regulatory environment and providing direct assistance to our client service teams located throughout the nation. Each client receives a dedicated team, including a local client advisor, investment specialist and a subject-matter specialist from our insurance solutions group. Presenting the best also involves including individuals from diverse backgrounds to bring unique experiences, perspectives, and skills.

Diversity has been a core value of PNC’s for more than 25 years rather than an added virtue based on events of the last several years.

Talking and listening

The right level of communication is key, and part of this interaction involves listening. It is vital that we understand the underlying liabilities, risk profiles, and cash flow needs prior to constructing a tailored portfolio strategy positioned to deliver the best outcomes for clients’ unique needs.

We will always be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to communications. Dedicated professionals will provide insightful, unbiased advice to deliver better outcomes for our insurance clients. As the saying goes: ‘If you have seen one captive you have seen one captive’.

We will listen as we want to be heard, to make sure that the captive’s distinct investment and risk management objectives are addressed, especially as every year, month or even day brings new adverse scenarios, risks, and changes that need to be addressed and potentially factored into the investment strategy.

By building a true relationship with our clients, our professionals are able to act quickly in response to changes in goals and the regulatory and investing environment. Communicating and listening to understand our captives’ needs means a tailored solution that better positions clients, to develop creative and cost-controlling risk solutions.

It continues with the right mix of solutions. Our holistic Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) solutions, which can include enterprise financial modelling, are a great fit for the unique factors that should be considered in developing strategies for captives. We work with captive insurance companies to better understand their operating and risk profile, liquidity needs, and long-term strategic plans and then offer a flexible, tailored, and comprehensive solution.

From dynamic portfolio and enterprise risk analysis to custom liquidity solutions, PNC IAM’s Insurance Solutions Group helps clients improve decision-making and gain greater financial stability. Using a disciplined, repeatable investment approach to craft tailored solutions based on the captive’s unique investment goals, we also consider controlling risk and managing costs.

The needs of insurance clients are different so we developed a sophisticated suite of analytical and evaluation tools for this unique segment.

Adding more dimension to the tailored OCIO solution, PNC IAM helps captives holistically integrate investment and financial decisions to improve outcomes through our enterprise financial modelling. Once properly funded and efficiently allocated on a risk-adjusted basis, a captive cannot only improve the parent company’s risk financing cost, it can also provide incremental income and capital growth for its parent organisation, all the while improving its risk management.

The current market environment is an opportune time for all organisations to take back control of their risk management and consider the advantages of creating or reviewing their captive options.