I–RE, the re/insurance underwriters and captive specialist, has announced the relaunch of its captive product RE–PAID, to target an underserved “core mid-market” of US businesses, paying between $1m and $5m to $10m in premium, with five-year loss ratios below 40%.
While the captive insurance market continued to expand steadily each year, with EY (2024) noting that captive premiums now account for almost 25% of commercial insurance in the US, I–RE identified a gap that this core mid-market segment falls into.
The observation is that this market is too small to justify a ‘pure’ single-parent captive but too large to be satisfied with a group captive which delivers premium savings but little flexibility or control.
Andy Jeckells, Co-founder of I–RE, commented: “There’s a large, ambitious segment of the market that’s been overlooked: businesses paying $1m to $5-10m in premium, with hundreds of thousands of them across the US.
“That’s why we’ve refocused RE–PAID entirely on this segment, rebuilding it around the investment and ROI language its owners think in, rather than the premium savings driving smaller businesses, or the ‘total cost of risk’ approach used by big business.”
Jeckells continued: “These businesses are not big enough to stand alone, but they’re big enough to want the flexibility and control a group captive can’t offer. Single-parent captives have traditionally been too complex and costly for them, weighed down by fronting fees, stacking collateral and reinsurance arrangements that stop making sense below $5-6m of premium.
“And group captives are built to save clients money, not make them money, with compulsory dividends, so no retention of profits, and a lack of control over claims or the captive itself. RE–PAID was built to close that gap.”
As part of the relaunch, I–RE has increased its commercial property primary limit to up to $20m and its general liability limit to up to $5m, as well as added a new excess facility for both lines up to required limits.
The firm has also enhanced its structured service, with support and guidance, to fast-track brokers and clients from enquiry through to captive formation, and built a brand new website, designed following client and broker feedback to best serve their needs.
RE–PAID enables clients to invest collateral into a single-parent captive and act as their own reinsurer with limited risk. This grants them control over claims handling and downside protection.
Since collateral does not stack and risk is taken on annually, a one-off investment can generate strong annual returns, the firm explains.
Rather than just saving on premium, clients retain profits to build a growing asset while premiums stay consistent and brokers retain commissions. For the average RE–PAID client paying $1m–$5m in premium to I–RE the average annual return on investment has been 37%.
