More insurers show interest in medical stop-loss captives
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While Boston-based Berkley Accident & Health L.L.C. and AIG Benefit Solutions, a unit of American International Group Inc., hold the lion's share of the medical stop-loss captive market, other insurers recently have begun showing interest.
Berkley and AIG Benefit Solutions have been serving as fronting insurers on group stop-loss captive programs since 2008.
Jim Hoitt, vice president of sales at Berkley Accident & Health in Boston, estimates that a growing segment of the insurer's group stop-loss business is partnered with a dedicated Bermuda-based captive, EmCap, which has tripled its staff over the past three years to serve this emerging market.
“Right now, we're judging the success level based on interest. When we present our EmCap value proposition, it very much resonates with the buyers,” Mr. Hoitt said. “I love the fact that we're driving business off of the insured market, which has underserved small and midsize employers, by giving them a solution that provides control, stability and transparency.”
Burt Wilson, senior vice president, captives, at AIG Benefit Solutions in Auburn, Calif., said AIG's group stop-loss captive business “performs better than our traditional stop-loss business. This is because the employers care about the layer that falls within the captive, whereas before their interest would stop at their specific deductible level.”
Though ING U.S. doesn't participate in the group stop-loss captive market, Mary Sullivan, head of stop-loss, said the insurer is “keeping a close eye on this. There are a lot of groups currently evaluating going from fully insured to the self-funded environment. This allows us to tap into a growing part of that market.”
ING markets stop-loss coverage with a $50,000 specific deductible to self-funded employers with a minimum of 100 employees.
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