Why would a captive choose to domicile in Tennessee?
A settled statute and a named analyst on every captive
Mark Wiedeman makes a service argument rather than a price one, and Michael Schulz builds on it. Wiedeman starts with the framework, describing a set of code, statutes and rules that has been structured since a modernization around 2011, and a team he puts at about sixteen people working only on captives, all of whom he says have gone through the ACI credentialing process. Schulz picks up the same thread from the business development side: every captive is assigned a staff member from the start, so there is an explicit point of contact rather than a queue. He then widens it to the state, describing Tennessee as a business friendly environment with an established network of lawyers, accountants and actuaries already in place.
The stability argument comes first. Wiedeman dates the current framework to a modernization around 2011 and treats that settled quality as the draw, on the reasoning that a captive owner is committing to a regulator for years and wants to know the rules will still be the rules.
He pairs it with staffing. A team of about sixteen captive specific people means, in his words, that when you call you are going to talk to somebody who knows what they are talking about. He adds that the team has gone through the credentialing process for the ACI designation, the Associate of Captive Insurance.
Key takeaways
Wiedeman dates Tennessee's current captive framework to a modernization around 2011 and treats that settled quality as the state's main draw.
He puts the captive team at about sixteen people, all through the ACI credentialing process, so an owner reaches a specialist rather than a general line.
Schulz says every captive is assigned a staff member from the start, giving the owner one explicit point of contact with the state.
Schulz makes the operational version of the same point. Each captive is assigned an analyst from the start, which gives the owner and their manager one explicit point of contact for anything they need from the state.
He frames it as a customer service standard rather than a courtesy, saying the team is driven by customer service metrics, and that this is what keeps managers coming back. It is worth reading as a claim about response time, which is the thing that actually costs an owner money when it goes wrong.
From the conversation
Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance
Captive Insurance Section, State of Tennessee
“when you call us, you're going to talk to somebody who knows what they're talking about”
Transcript
Read the full transcript 9 turns
Hostwhat are the reasons that a captive should domicile in Tennessee? What makes Tennessee unique
Mark Wiedeman? Well, I think one main aspect of it is that we have a very established set of code and statutes and rules. We've been structured since about 2011 when
Mark Wiedemanwe did kind of a modernization of it. So our stable regulatory framework is one thing that will draw people to us. We know what we're doing. We've been around for a while. We have a team of about 16 individuals that are captive
Mark Wiedeman-specific. So when you call us, you're going to talk to somebody who knows what they're talking about. All of our team have gone through the credentialing process for the ACI designation, the Associate of Captive Insurance. And then we also try to pride ourselves on the service that we offer our companies at Domicile. You know, how quickly we turn around, you know, the
Mark Wiedemanrequest, the level of response time that we give, and the investment that we give to them by way of the service that we offer
Michael Schulz. And if I could add just a couple of things there, as Mark said, first and foremost, it's our people
Michael Schulz. You know, the 16 dedicated captive professionals that are driven by customer service metrics and happiness to the customer. That's really, what we strive to achieve. And I think that's what keeps people coming back. The managers find that we're a great group to work with, and they get assigned an analyst from the get-go. So we have a staff member who is assigned to each captive, and they have an
Michael Schulzexplicit point of contact to begin anything that they may want with the state when it comes to questions and answers. Next is our business-friendly environment. As a state, we have really taken leaps and bounds in the last 20 years to promote Tennessee as a whole, as being one of the most friendly business states in the country. And you can see that. If you just do a normal Internet
Michael Schulzsearch and say what companies are moving to Tennessee, you'll see Starbucks. You'll see Oracle, In-N-Out Burger, just to name a few, on top of our already well-established network of lawyers, accountants, actuaries, not to mention the healthcare industry that really drives Nashville. You have FedEx out in Memphis. It's just a really well-rounded state to do business in
Citations
Sources
- Captive Insurance Section, Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurancehttps://www.tn.gov/commerce/insurance/captive-insurance.html
The views expressed are those of the featured guest, drawn from a recorded conversation, and reflect their own professional experience. Nothing on this page is insurance, tax, legal, or investment advice. Consult your own advisors about your specific situation.
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