Aon Captive & Insurance Management

Aon Captive and Insurance Management (ACIM) provide application, set-up and on-going outsourced management services to Insurance, Reinsurance and Captive entities in Ireland.

Aon Captive and Insurance Management - Dublin

Aon manage over 1,250 insurance vehicles globally in 33 domiciles, receiving the ‘Best Captive Manager Award’ by Business Insurance magazine Readers in 2009 and 2010. Our broad client base includes the captive entities of parent companies throughout a full range of industries across all lines of business and programs. 

Aon’s Captive & Insurance Management operation in Dublin:

• was established in 1991
• manage approx. 60 client Insurance and Reinsurance companies in Dublin
• consists of a highly experienced senior management team
• has a unique fully integrated captive service offering across Finance, Insurance, Compliance, Actuarial & Consulting
• has a dedicated Compliance Practice which is unique in Ireland
• has in-house actuarial capability for our Captive clients, including provision of Statement of Actuarial Opinion (SAO)
• operates a subsidiary office in Bangalore, providing dedicated technical and specialist general ledger services and accounting support
• actively engages in all consultation processes related to legislative and regulatory changes for (Re)Insurance
• provides a Board member of the local Industry body - Dublin International Insurance & Management Association (DIMA).
• maintains regular meetings and communications with the Insurance regulatory authority in Ireland (Central Bank of Ireland) 

What is a Captive Insurance Company?

A captive is an insurance company set up by its owners primarily to insure its own specific risks. Where the conventional insurance marketplace has not responded to the needs of businesses requiring innovative solutions for large or complex risks, organisations that venture into this area have much to gain. Captive owners benefit from reduced insurance costs, access to reinsurers, an ability to insure the ‘uninsurable’ and improved cover and control. In addition, the captive approach may offer tax advantages. Many international companies have found that a Captive is the best means of creating and administering a global risk management programme.

Captive Feasibility

Captives and related solutions, such as cells in Protected Cell Companies have been a central part in managing the balance of retained versus transferred risk and (re)insurance market relationships within risk financing programmes for many years. Over 4,000 such companies exist, demonstrating their lasting ability to provide value to their owners. However, it requires specialist advice to determine the benefit in any particular situation and to maximise the value that can be derived. A captive feasibility study is the process used to answer the key question, ‘Would a captive insurance company add value to our organisation?’

As a risk financing tool, an Aon Captive feasibility study helps you to understand whether a captive is right for your organisation, how it should be structured and where it should be located.

Aon is a leader in this field given its extensive involvement with captives spanning over forty years. This is complimented with a unique tool, the ‘Scorecard Process’, to provide tailored and objective advice as to whether a captive makes sense for your company.

An Aon Captive Feasibility study:

• Identifies whether a captive or other methodology is an appropriate risk financing method for a company
• Analyses the optimal captive programme
• Determines the structure in terms of legal form, regulatory jurisdiction and capitalisation
• Provides a detailed plan of how to implement a captive, should it be appropriate
• Directly assists with setting premiums, allocating capital and developing projected financial results for the captive
• Considers the applicable accounting, taxation and regulatory hurdles and how they should be approached

For smaller organisations, the minimum level of risk retention or transfer needed to justify the frictional costs of running an Captive may mean that captive is not a viable option. However, demand from such companies has resulted in the development of Protected Cell Companies (PCC’s) that provide lower fixed cost alternatives and facilitate access to reinsurance and specialist risk-bearers. As a market innovator, Aon offer our clients the leading-edge solutions of White Rock Insurance, an Aon-owned protected cell facility that offers a cost-effective alternative to open-market insurers for fronting into European countries, as well as the services of United Insurance Company, a leader in the captive insurance risk transfer market.

Captive Authorisation & set-up

Non-Life Insurance and Reinsurance Companies in Ireland are subject to authorisation as an insurance or reinsurance undertaking under the European Communities (Non-Life Insurance) Framework Regulations, 1994. The Central Bank of Ireland is responsible for the authorisation, regulation and supervision of all Insurance undertakings authorised in Ireland (this includes Captive Insurance, Captive Reinsurance and Special Purpose Reinsurance Vehicles (‘SPRVs’).

Aon can assist you to prepare the business plan and authorisation application for Insurance, Reinsurance and Captive undertakings as well as the set-up of the governance and operational framework of the relevant entity.

The process from the making an application (including a detailed business plan and projection) including the processing of the application by the Central Bank to the receipt of formal authorisation will typically take between 18-26 weeks.

The principal areas covered in an authorisation application include:

• Overview of the Parent/Group to which the applicant belongs;
• Consolidated Supervision of Parent/Group entities;
• Ownership Structure;
• Applicant’s Objectives and Proposed Operations;
• Legal Structure;
• Organisation of the Applicant (including corporate governance arrangements, fitness and probity of key personnel, etc.);
• Risk Oversight (e.g. audit, compliance, risk management, underwriting, reinsurance arrangements, financial control, internal controls);
• Capital and Solvency Projections;
• Financial Information and Projections;
• Actuarial Support for projections; and
• Consumer Issues (e.g. Minimum Competency Requirements and Consumer Code)

Aon Captive & Insurance Management – Our Client Service philosophy

We offer a fully integrated Captive service offering. Our business comprises four Practice Groups that work together to bring one Aon team to each of our clients; being Finance, Insurance, Compliance and Risk Consulting. We are continuously focused on delivering a world class service at a cost effective rate. Aon’s breadth of experience allows us the flexibility to allocate our staff from across these practice groups based on their strengths as they most closely fit the needs of the client.

Finance practice group

– 29 staff in Dublin – approx. 17 fully qualified accountants & 12 part qualified
– Support office in Bangalore provides technical and specialist general ledger.

Insurance practice group

– 15 insurance professionals with full range of Insurance experience - broking, reinsurance, claims and underwriting

Compliance practice group

– 4 full-time Compliance Officers
– part of network of Compliance functions across our EMEA group incl. the availability of an in-house legal counsel

Risk Consulting practice group

– in-house Actuarial & Analytical capability (including Statement of Actuarial opinion)
– Solvency II consulting
– Access to 250 consultants within EU across Enterprise Risk Management; Risk Management consulting; Risk Finance consulting and Internal modelling 

Aon Captive & Insurance Management service offering capabilities 

 

Aon Captive & Insurance Management – System Solutions

Aon consistently drive for operational excellence in our systems and how we manage data. The challenges of Solvency II further emphasise the importance of robust systems and data management. Of late, the data collation requirements of Pillar I together with the disclosure and reporting requirements of Pillar III have further emphasized the importance of having good quality data and systems in place with a strong internal control environment.

Globe

Globe is Aon’s bespoke General Ledger system, designed as a strategic solution for captive in all of our ACIM locations worldwide which supports both direct writing insurance and reinsurance entities. The key objectives of Globe are to support the effective management of insurance policies, claims and insurance accounts.  Globe is a multi-currency system and has great flexibility regarding accounting period definition including open accounting periods, multiple accounts and customised report writing.  Globe is a web-based system that can be accessed on a secured user basis with features including:

• Full service Insurance management system supporting all entities for both underwriting and accounting processes, both inward and outward;
• The system provides a full range of reporting, comprising both parameter driven standard reports and ad hoc flexible reports to meet both statutory and client requirements;