Guest blog by Julie Bordo, President/CEO of PCH Mutual Insurance Co., Inc., a RRG
In The Situation Room at the VCIA Conference this year, I recounted the Cinderella story of the VCIA and PCH Mutual Insurance. In case you missed it…
When I succeeded to President and CEO of PCH Mutual in 2016, I was a novice to the captive industry. The company was formed in 2004 in D.C. and had its share of challenges. We needed a refresh.
Our captive manager recommended we consider redomesticating to Vermont. Contemplating that, I attended my first VCIA conference in August 2016. I was awed by the efficiency of this massive industry undertaking and impressed by the personal touches and hospitality as the VCIA and State of Vermont teamed up for this event.
It was here I first met Sandy Bigglestone and interviewed to determine if PCH and Vermont were a match; turns out we were. By year end PCH was a Vermont Risk Retention Group.
I returned to the conference in 2017 with board members in tow getting an education at the multiple sessions. The board was impressed when the Deputy Commissioner of the DFR Captive Division David Provost spoke at our meeting, giving us a legislative update and thanking us for our business. It felt like a homecoming.
The following year I was tapped to present with Christine Brown (now the director of Captive Insurance at the DFR Captive Division), on a Captives 101 panel. It was a swift road from student to teacher with the help of the VCIA.
After that the VCIA brought me into the fold. I have been a Captive Owner Advisor to the Conference Task Force and regular panelist, making many friends and connections along the way.
I found the VCIA not only to be a rich resource for information and insight, but it is also fertile ground to grow relationships into business opportunities. At the 2019 conference, I met a financial advisor, Anthony Marelli, at the Hotel Vermont reception. He wowed me with his knowledge of the markets and the financial intricacies of captives. He is now a highly valued service provider.
In 2020 I advised a young start-up CEO that if he wanted to break into the captive insurance industry he should get involved with the VCIA. A.I. Insurance’s Cameron MacArthur took my advice, and has taught the Captive Immersion sessions and spearheaded panels on artificial intelligence and other innovations. He joined the board in 2023.
VCIA even allowed me to get into the act lobbying in Washington, DC alongside Rich Smith, the VCIA president at the time, and the presidents of CICA and NRRA. What an experience sharing the stories of how captives have served both businesses and consumers for decades. My mom was a lobbyist for health care providers, so lobbying was a full circle moment for me.
In 2024, Ian Davis asked me to join the VCIA Board’s Strategic Planning Committee. I met Ian back in 2016. We stayed connected and I watched as he deftly navigated his career in the captive space. Earlier in 2024 I had invited him to join the PCH Mutual Board.
Weeks later Kevin Mead invited me to join the VCIA Board of Directors. What a way to make fast, meaningful friendships by jumping into the execution of the strategic plan which ended up including replacing the retiring president.
Imagine my surprise when Ian Davis became the top candidate? Yet it all made sense.
Finally, at this year’s conference I reached a pinnacle in my career speaking alongside Sandy Bigglestone, now the head of the Vermont DFR Captive Division, Kristin Peed, of Sequoia and RIMS President and Dale Sagen of QBE, at the penultimate event of the conference.
As the incoming Vice-Chair of the Board, I’m looking forward to working alongside President Ian Davis, to usher in a new era for the VCIA, Vermont and the global captive industry. Looking back at the last decade, I see PCH Mutual’s path, its intersections with the VCIA and how actions, relationships, and simply stepping into the arena, yielded abundant rewards.
