17 May 2019
Economic turbulence, shifting interest rates and increasingly stringent captive regulation means managing a captive insurance vehicle is no small task. Our captive series takes a look at the role of today’s captive insurer and reflects on the global events shaping the industry’s future.
Successfully managing a captive is no small feat - whether it is navigating the captive from cash to investments or balancing the risk appetites of the market, parent company and captive. We sat down with Farhad Jamooji, Managing Director for Barclays Group Insurance, Rob Fletcher, Aon Executive Director, and Simon Smith, Head of Offshore Investments for Barclays, to discuss how this works for the Barclays’ captive and Barclays’ captive clients.
There’s great debate around whether we’re heading for recession or whether the economic cycle can continue, after one of the longest periods of economic expansion seen in recent history. Henk Potts, Director of Global Investment Strategy, Barclays, discusses why he takes a positive out on the global economy, despite a slowing in momentum in recent quarters. Our latest panel looks at what this means for captive insurance companies.
Both of our panel discussions are available as a downloadable podcast.
The higher risk the assets a captive invests in, the more expensive the credit, which means a captive’s Letter of Credit (LoC) costs will be higher too. Colin Freeman, Relationship Director of the Barclays Insurance Team, explains why loan to value ratios are Barclays preferred choice of credit risk and how captive clients can benefit from this.
Jitters were sent through financial markets in 2018, as investors became increasingly concerned about trade wars and commodities, equities and fixed income generated negative returns. There was no single explanation for such a broad-based set back but this toxic mix of uncertainty may be unwarranted, argues Henk Potts, Director of Global Investment Strategy, Barclays. In our video interview, he explains why captives should maintain an optimistic outlook on global financial markets.
Running a large captive insurance programme for a PLC, isn’t always smooth sailing. When the PLC is a globally systemically important financial institution, it creates an extra layer of complexity, explains Farhad Jamooji, Managing Director for Barclays Group Insurance who overseas the Barclays captive. We sat down with Jamooji to discuss the day-to-day running of the captive, how it can help to align varying risk appetites through the Barclays Group and more.
Shifting interest rates and the possibility of recession on the horizon may be daunting for captives looking to start an investment programme. Simon Smith, Head of Offshore Investments for Barclays, explains why there are misconceptions around captive investment programmes, how even cash is an investment and why captive owners should always prioritise their internal captive policies and objectives over the global economic situation of the day.
Our experts are here to support the specific needs of captive insurers.