“Not only that, but when they would [hire] someone from another company, they were trained in a very specific way,” he added.

The idea, he explained, was to have a general program that applied to the entire industry and could be adapted to individual companies or organizations as needed.

He noted another factor–lending legitimacy to the captive industry. “From the industry's point of view, there always has been the traditional [insurance] industry saying, 'Captives, is that real insurance?' or 'Is that a real industry?'”

However, ICCIE's Associate in Captive Insurance, or ACI, professional designation program “lends credence to the fact that this is serious and there is something really to it, and that it's not exactly the same as the traditional industry,” according to Mr. Cantor.

Dana Sheppard, associate commissioner of the Risk Finance Bureau for the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking in Washington, D.C., was the first captive regulator to receive the ACI designation.

He had several reasons for taking the program–with one being to gain proficiency in areas such as actuarial science and reinsurance.

Another was to follow a recommendation made by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners during the domicile's accreditation process–that captive staff take education courses.

“I thought I would set the example–a few others have as well. It turned out to be a good experience, plus I knew all the instructors,” Mr. Sheppard said, adding that the caliber of instructors is high.

The ACI designation program is comprised of five core courses and two electives, which provided him with another option. “I was on the fence about getting my CPCU, so I was able to take two CPCU courses as electives, which I can count if I decide to go on [and get that designation],” Mr. Sheppard said.

Courses can be taken in Vermont during the annual conference and online. While Mr. Sheppard took many of the courses online, he noted, “if you time it right, you can take all the classes over a short period,” around the time of the conference. “You still have assignments, but the lectures are complete.”

Overall, he said the program is positive for the industry. “There are no captive-specific courses out there,” he said. “I encourage a lot of people to at least take a couple of courses and see if they like it.”

He said a number of captive managers have been taking advantage of the program for training staff, which he said is a positive for the industry.