Arizona Seeks New Captive Regulator

Former administrator joins captive management firm

Although serving as the captive administrator for the Arizona Insurance Departments captive division has been a positive experience for Richard Marshall, he is looking ahead to returning to the private sector, effective this week.

Mr. Marshall has held his regulatory position since 2002 and was instrumental in the growth of the domicile, which now has 24 licensed captive insurers. Under his leadership, the domicile expanded its captive regulations, adopting legislation that allows risk retention groups, agency captives and protected cell captives. It also permits some direct writing of workers' compensation.

“I was here for a couple of years; I pretty much accomplished everything I wanted,” he told National Underwriter. “I'm basically a proactive person, not a reactionary person, so here you're reacting to what's going on out there.”

He said there were “several opportunities along the way,” but this was an offer he decided he could not pass up. He will be working with Camel Back Captive and Risk Management Services, LLC, which, he said, will provide all the services that go with captive management, “either on a bundled or unbundled basis.”

Although there is a one-year statute of limitations preventing him from working with clients already doing business with the Arizona Insurance Department, “I wouldn't go after them anyway,” he said. “It's just not my style.”

The advantage of having sat in the regulator's seat reviewing applications is that “basically I know where the holes are. So I will have no excuse for not submitting a complete application, because it's my rules.”

Judie Harrington-Carlisle, executive director of the Arizona Captive Insurance Association, explained that “as happens sometimes in the regulatory community, he got an offer he couldn't refuse from the private sector. He is going to be heading up his own captive management company,” she said, noting that Mr. Marshall will be “part of the little insurance community here in Phoenix.”

Mike Mead, vice president of the Arizona association, said he was not completely surprised by the announcement, “because Dick has spent many years on the commercial side, and it was an interesting departure for him to become a regulator.” Mr. Mead, who is president of Crusader Captive Services, LLC in Chicago, a newly formed umbrella for several domicile-specific management companies, added that Mr. Marshall has “done a terrific job for Arizona, but I'm not surprised he wanted to switch back to the commercial side.”

Mr. Mead said the ideal profile for Mr. Marshalls replacement would be “someone in their mid-50s who can take early or full retirement and who wants to move to Arizona. My guess is that there are probably several people in that category.”

Since his resignation, the department has been actively involved in managing the captive division and said in a statement that Mr. Marshall will continue to aid in the departments transition to a new administrator.

Ms. Harrington-Carlisle said the insurance department is “extremely supportive of keeping this captive program going. It is very high on their radar screen.”

Mr. Mead noted he is encouraged that Christina Urias, Arizona's insurance director, has been so supportive of the captive program.

“We're losing a valuable asset in Dick. However, he is leaving the program in excellent shape for the future,” Ms. Urias said in a statement. “I am committed to continuing the growth of the captive insurance program and getting the word out that Arizona is a welcome home to the captive industry.”

The department urged prospective captive applicants to visit the Web site for more information at www.id.state.az.us.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Edition, June 4, 2004. Copyright 2004 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.

Special Reports /

Arizona Seeks New Captive Regulator

Related Stories

Recommended For You