Cost Considerations

Is captive insurance really worth the price tag? Many business owners struggling with rising commercial insurance costs have asked themselves this critical question.

When commercial insurance premiums continue rising year after year, it's no wonder successful business owners seek more cost-effective alternatives. Captive insurance initially seems promising - a wholly owned insurance company that can provide coverage tailored to your specific risks. However, captive insurance requires significant upfront investment and ongoing operating costs. Before pursuing this route, it's essential to analyze these expenses in-depth to determine if a captive insurance company's total cost of ownership outweighs its benefits.

A detailed cost analysis can provide the missing piece that allows business owners to make an informed decision about captive insurance. By walking through the key upfront and recurring costs, this piece will offer a methodology for accurately projecting your total cost of ownership. With these insights, you'll be equipped to determine if a captive insurance company delivers a positive ROI versus other options. Discover what savvy business owners need to know to assess the viability of captive insurance for their unique situation.

When evaluating captive insurance, there are two primary categories of costs to analyze: 1) Upfront formation expenses, and 2) Ongoing operating costs. Both are significant and must be projected as accurately as possible. Here's an overview of the key elements in each category:

The upfront costs of forming a captive insurance company typically range from $50,000 to over $100,000. The biggest line items include:

• Feasibility Study: $15,000 to $25,000 for an in-depth analysis by risk management experts determining if a captive insurance company makes sense. Critical for new captive insurance companies.
• Legal Formation: $10,000+ in legal fees for forming the captive insurance entity and drafting policies. Varies based on complexity.
• Licensing: $5,000 to $15,000 in fees to obtain an insurance license in the selected domicile. More established domiciles tend to cost less.
• Working Capital: Captive insurance requires minimum capital reserves, often $250,000 or more, to secure a license. Regulators typically require this to be held in cash or cash equivalents to pay potential claims.

Carefully projecting these formation costs allows an accurate assessment of the initial captive insurance investment needed. But it's also critical to estimate ongoing operating expenses.

The ongoing costs of running a captive insurance company can include:

• Management Fees: Captive insurance managers typically charge $36,000 to $100,000+ annually. Higher for more complex captive insurance companies.
• Actuarial Services: $5,000 to $15,000 per year for annual actuarial opinions on policy pricing and reserves.
• Legal & Accounting: $10,000+ for ongoing legal and accounting fees to handle compliance filings, taxes, audits, etc.
• Insurance Taxes: State premium taxes are often 0.4% to 2% of written premiums. Can vary based on domicile.
• Regulatory Fees: $1,000 to $5,000 annually for assessments by the domicile's insurance department.
• Board Meetings: Travel expenses required for annual board meetings and director fees, if appropriate.
• Fronting Fees: If using a commercial insurer for policy issuance, fronting fees can run up to 15% of premiums.

Two other potential major cost factors for captive insurance companies are:

• Claims Liability: Budget a reasonable percentage of written premiums annually for paying claims if losses occur.
• Reinsurance: Premiums paid to reinsurers to cover high losses can run 15% to 50%+ of written premiums.

These costs highlight the importance of accurate actuarial analysis in the feasibility study to project expected claims and secure properly priced reinsurance. Unexpected shortfalls in either area can quickly inflate a captive insurance company's operating expenses.

In total, plan for ongoing operating costs in the range of 15% to 35% of annual written premiums, along with the upfront formation expenses. This allows an accurate projection of the captive insurance company's total cost of ownership.

Now that we've covered the major components of a captive insurance company's costs, here is a step-by-step guide business owners can follow to calculate the potential ROI of a captive insurance company for their specific scenario:

Step 1) Analyze Your Current Commercial Insurance Premiums

• Gather data on premiums paid over at least the last 3 years, broken down by coverage line.
• Identify trends in rising premiums eating into profits.
• Define the primary pain points and coverage gaps with current insurance.
• This analysis quantifies the baseline costs and highlights where a captive insurance company could provide benefits.

Step 2) Project Your Captive Insurance Formation Expenses

• Work with captive insurance experts to estimate legal, licensing, capitalization, and other formation costs.
• Factor in the required fees for your chosen domicile.
• Ensure you budget 15-25% extra as a contingency buffer during formation.
• These figures establish your anticipated upfront investment in launching the captive insurance company.

Step 3) Forecast Ongoing Operating Costs

• Start with baseline management, legal, accounting, and regulatory fees based on captive insurance company's size and domicile.
• Layer in projected insurance taxes on written premium volume.
• Budget for claims liability and reinsurance costs based on actuarial analysis.
• Add expected costs for fronting arrangements, board meetings, etc. if applicable.
• Developing accurate projections helps avoid unexpected shortfalls down the road.

Step 4) Model Your Captive Insurance Premiums & Coverage

• Work with your risk management advisor to design appropriate policies and premium levels based on your risks.
  
  
• Focus first on gaps in your current commercial coverage or high-premium lines.
• Leverage actuarial expertise to ensure premiums align with expected loss ratios.
• Remember, the feasibility study requires sound justification for all captive insurance policies.

Step 5) Estimate Your Captive Insurance ROI

• Project captive insurance premiums over 3-5 years based on your forecast growth and planned policies.
• Factor in all anticipated formation and operating costs from steps 2 and 3.
• Compare against a status quo scenario of sticking with commercial insurance.
• This models out your potential captive insurance ROI over time, considering all cost factors.

Step 6) Stress Test Key Assumptions

• Sensitivity test optimistic and pessimistic scenarios for claims costs, commercial premium hikes, etc.
• Ensure your captive insurance company's ROI holds up even if key assumptions prove inaccurate.
• Update captive insurance policies, premiums, and capitalization if needed to mitigate downside risks.
• Stress testing helps confirm your captive insurance strategy is resilient amid variability.

Following this methodology provides the in-depth cost analysis required to determine if a captive insurance company pencils out for your specific situation.

For business owners struggling with commercial insurance costs, failing to conduct a rigorous cost analysis on a potential captive insurance solution is risky. Moving forward without fully modeling the captive insurance company's total cost of ownership could lead to formation regrets down the road. Conversely, armed with transparent projections of upfront expenses and ongoing operating costs, high net-worth individuals can make an informed decision about captive insurance with confidence. Only by holistically tallying all cost considerations can you accurately evaluate if a captive insurance company delivers a positive ROI for your business needs and risk profile. Don't leave profitability up to chance. Follow the steps outlined here to determine if a captive insurance company's benefits truly outweigh its costs for your circumstances.

High net-worth individuals can no longer afford to overpay for commercial insurance that fails to adequately cover their risks. Captive insurance offers an intriguing alternative. But undertaking a big investment without understanding the true costs is reckless.