ICS is a company that provides its clients with alternative risk financing solutions. This being said, captive insurance is not a feasible option for everyone. The following points illustrate what ICS believes are essential elements for a captive owner to hold.

Seven Habits of Highly Successful Captive Owners...

1. Our captive owners have an eye on the future.
   Joining a captive takes some planning and acceptance of the fact that you may pay more initially, but down the road your investment will pay off through security, control, and sound financial management. Owners must recognize that fixed costs will decrease with time, and company loss control and risk management will only get better with practice. Captive insurance is a long-term risk financing solution. The forward looking owner will have no trouble seeing the obvious benefits a well managed captive can bring to every aspect of its business over time.



2. Our captive owners are committed to risk management.
   All cost reductions and savings within the captive are directly linked to risk management. Through cost effective and well-executed risk control procedures, a captive owner can reduce its exposure and stabilize its losses. Captive owners pay attention to each and every claim they receive and many times they are actively involved in how a claim is handled. All employees are held accountable for their safety and the safety of the equipment and people around them. The captive structure puts a whole new priority on risk.



3. Our captive owners desire stability.
   Insurance markets are volatile by their very nature. When a company joins a captive, they remove themselves from the market highs and lows for which they can neither predict nor plan. In essence, a captive owner takes control of the previously uncontrollable insurance market by taking on a little risk and seizing insurance costs and funds in the captive. Stability and increased expense to profit awareness are direct results of captive membership. There are no more insurance surprises in a captive.



4. Our captive owners are entrepreneurial.
   This means that captive owners must assume some risk for their return. This risk for reward idea is what drives many captive owners. They are suddenly in control of their own destiny and have the ability with their partners to control costs and benefit greatly from their management and planning. Captive owners learn about the fundamentals of the insurance dollar and how they can benefit from collection and payout awareness. Entrepreneurial captive owners make informed ownership decisions regarding the growth and operations of their new business.



5. Our captive owners are proactive.
   Successful captive owners fix problems before they start. This form of aggressive risk control settles claims quickly and reduces the frequency of claims considerably. Captive risk control requires education of employees on proper procedure and techniques before they are put in a position of danger and it requires reporting claims quickly and accurately. Taking preventative steps to solve problems instead of reacting to their consequences is an important part of being a captive owner.



6. Our captive owners believe in partnership.
   Partnership is important on many levels. Captive companies already use the best practices allotted them, and they must be willing to share these ideas with their partners and fellow owners. This sharing of ideas is one of the keys to reducing risk for the captive. Limiting risk shifting and sharing and being actively involved with board meetings and risk control workshops is an integral part of being in a captive. Owners also become partners with ICS, their broker, their loss control and claims handler, and their risk manager, since all interests are aligned in the captive. These owners are partners, each sharing in the success of their new insurance company.



7. Our captive owners believe in the captive concept.
   As a captive grows, it will only become stronger and more financially secure. Each owner must understand exactly what he/she is involved in and believe in its prospects for success. Captive owners are the best in their respective industries at controlling loss and consequently costs. They must stand by this high standard and identify others who exemplify the qualities of a good captive owner. The best promoters in the captive arena are companies who have already entered it. A captive is like any business in that the owners' efforts are the key to its steady growth; ICS is here to help facilitate that growth.