Want to see how a member-owned group captive insurance solution could help your company manage costs and risks? Take a look at how such solutions have already helped other companies like yours.
ARU provides group captive and alternative risk solutions for midsize companies throughout North America. Our employees have been working in the captive and alternative risk sector since the 1980s. They bring the knowledge and experience necessary to help businesses succeed with captive insurance solutions.
Our unique group captive model minimizes volatility and maximizes profit potential. We currently offer multiple group captive insurance services to help businesses in different industries meet their workers’ compensation, property, auto, and general liability coverage needs. Options include:
Commercial Trucking Group Captive
ARU offers two commercial trucking group captives. PowerTech Elite is a member-owned group captive for U.S. trucking companies, whereas Polaris is for Canadian trucking companies.
Trucking companies looking for a proven captive solution should consider ARU’s group captive solutions. ARU created one of the first group captives in Canada for the commercial trucking industry. There are only a few insurance companies in Canada that will write commercial trucking coverage and even fewer that are interested in writing Canadian truckers with significant U.S. exposures. In association with our Canadian broker partners and trucking company members, ARU launched a specialty group captive that offers an alternative market solution for above-average commercial trucking companies in Canada with significant mileage exposure in the United States.
For trucking companies committed to risk management, the ARU group captive model may result in significant savings. For example, we’ve seen some instances in which commercial trucking company members improve their loss ratios by up to 75% in three years by taking advantage of the unbundled services and control the program offers.
Agricultural Group Captive
The Terra Group Captive is ARU’s solution for agribusinesses, including growers, food processors, shippers, meat processors, fertilizer distributors, manufacturers, and food distributors. The captive program provides workers’ compensation, general liability, auto liability, and auto physical damage coverage. Captive members also have access to separate property and umbrella coverage options.
One group captive member in the agricultural sector made significant capital improvements by automating a manual processing facility. The manual processing facility was the source of a disproportionate number of workers’ compensation cases, which was having a negative effect on the company’s workers’ compensation experience modification. ARU worked with the member to offset the increased costs by recognizing the capital improvements in its pricing up front. This provided significant savings over conventional insurance approaches. This meant the company’s loss experience improved and captive profits increased significantly.
Construction Group Captive
The Pillar Group Captive is ARU’s captive solution for commercial construction companies.
Construction is a dangerous industry. As a result, construction companies pay high insurance costs in the traditional insurance model. Industry pricing practices mean even construction companies with good risk management practices in place (and an attractive loss history that reflects this) may pay expensive premiums. In ARU’s captive insurance program, construction companies pay rates based on their loss history, not their industry’s loss history. This often results in significant savings.
One commercial contractor that works primarily in the street and road construction business maintained a loss ratio of under 10% over a four-year period with its group captive. The contractor has been motivated by the good profit potential and better services to control its claims and exposures.
Stop-Loss Group Captive
Pioneer Group Captive is ARU’s stop-loss group captive reinsurance program. Companies with 75 or more employees, good risk management practices, and good financial condition can take advantage of this program to enjoy cost savings and greater control over coverage.
Companies that join the Pioneer Stop Loss Captive program enjoy a three-layer system that manages risk while providing an opportunity for profit:
- One: employer-specific deductible. Member companies select a deductible that makes sense for their situation, usually between $25,000 and $200,000.
- Two: group dividend pool. This provides a shared risk level for group captive members. It also provides the potential for dividend returns.
- Three: excess stop-loss protection. This is issued by an A-rated fronting carrier. The employer has no risk at this level.
The layered approach gives captive members the best of both worlds. When members succeed in keeping losses down, they enjoy profits in the form of dividend shares. When losses are higher than expected, they enjoy stop-loss protection with no additional risk. This is ideal for companies that have been successful in keeping losses down but need an additional layer of coverage to protect the company’s finances against unexpected losses.
Property Insurance Group Captive
Paragon Group Captive is ARU’s property insurance group captive. As a heterogeneous group captive, members from many different industries are eligible to join.
Paragon Group Captive offers all-risk commercial property coverage that excludes certain losses, including flood, earthquake, difference in condition, and boiler/machinery. It is for midsize to large privately-held companies with a minimum premium of $100,000 and a good spread of risk.
This member-owned property captive provides a layered approach to coverage that offers the potential for profit while limiting risk. The first layer consists of a deductible of $25,000 or more. The second is a shared dividend pool. If this layer is exhausted, the next layer of coverage provides protection, issued by an A-rated carrier. This final layer provides excess property coverage of up to $100 million.
This approach to property coverage gives members the opportunity to earn a profit in the form of dividends by keeping losses low. However, if property losses are higher than expected, the top layers of coverage provide additional protection to shield companies from losses.
Casualty Group Captive
Steadfast Group Captive is ARU’s solution for casualty exposures. It is a heterogeneous member-owned group captive that serves middle-market companies in a variety of industries. To join, businesses need to generate a minimum of $200,000 in premiums, be in good financial condition, and have a better-than-average loss history.
Businesses can use this group captive to access workers’ compensation, general liability, auto liability, and auto physical damage coverage. The unique structure minimizes volatility while maximizing the potential for profit. By keeping losses low, members receive profits in the form of dividends. If losses are higher than expected, the program caps losses.
How Could Your Company Benefit?
Many companies are already enjoying the benefits of ARU’s captive programs. To learn more about how your company could benefit, find out if you’re eligible. Get started.