Former United States Senator Alfonse M. D’Amato, Connecticut attorney and insurance expert Thomas F.X. Hodson, and former Superintendent of the New York State Insurance Department Gregory V. Serio announced on March 9, 2012 the formation of Charter Risk Management Services, LLC, a new full service captive insurance company management firm.  Charter Risk will be based in Hartford, Connecticut and cater to captives formed under the new Connecticut captive law recently enacted by Governor Dannel Malloy.

Charter Risk is a joint venture between Hodson and the risk management firm Compass Company Consultants, LLC, a risk and insurance management firm subsidiary of Park Strategies, LLC.  D’Amato and Serio are principals in Park Strategies.  Hodson will serve as president and chief executive officer of Charter Risk.

Among its first activities, Charter Risk will be serving as administrator of the new Connecticut Captive Insurance Association, a not-for-profit trade association organized to assist in the development of a successful captive insurance market in Connecticut.

“Connecticut’s new captive law presents a golden opportunity for a strong service industry to develop for companies looking to place their insuring entities there,” D’Amato said.  “Governor Malloy and Insurance Commissioner Thomas Leonardi deserve tremendous credit for having the foresight to make captive insurance companies a cornerstone of the Governor’s economic development plan, and we look forward to filling out the state’s vision with development of a robust marketplace.”

Hodson, former general counsel at The AIX Group, and grandson of noted reinsurance broker G.L. Hodson, added: “Connecticut will once again be the insurance capital of the United States, and captive insurance companies will help the state achieve this goal.  Connecticut has a robust insurance marketplace and is home to many carriers, service providers and, importantly, captive insurance company candidates; we believe the state is poised for great success in this area and we are pleased to be a part of it.”

Hodson noted the significant support that has been provided by the state, both in terms of the speed with which the captive law was developed and passed, and the enthusiasm of Connecticut’s Insurance Department and Department of Economic and Community Development to encourage captive insurance companies and captive support services to locate in the state.  “I have had numerous conversations with individuals at both the Department of Insurance and the Department of Economic and Community Development to conceptualize a successful captive market in Connecticut and can say that much of our enthusiasm in launching Charter Risk is due to the state’s commitment to the success of Connecticut’s captive initiative,” Hodson said.

Serio and Park/Compass colleague Peter J. Molinaro, who will also be part of the executive management team at Charter Risk, are steeped in captive insurance experience.  Serio and Molinaro co-authored New York’s captive insurance law and oversaw the first 45 captives licensed in that state as officials at the New York Insurance Department.  At Park Strategies, both Serio and Molinaro have been involved in captive development and management.

The new Connecticut Captive Insurance Association will be an important element to the success of Connecticut as a captive domicile.  “All the successful captive domiciles have had three main ingredients: a good captive law, the support of insurance and economic development officials and the state legislature, and a strong trade association,” Serio said.  “The CCIA completes the trifecta for Connecticut and puts it on a path to becoming a critical component of the burgeoning captive scene in the United States.”

Charter Risk will seek regulatory approval as a captive manager in the state of Connecticut.

For more information on Charter Risk and the Connecticut Captive Insurance Association, contact Thomas Hodson at [email protected].