Derick White Honored as 2024 Karen Cutts Award Recipient

Derick White and Joe Deems at the NRRA 2024 Conference in Chicago, IL.

Our Karen Cutts Award this year honors Derick White and his thirty-five-plus years of service in the captive industry. He has worked in virtually every capacity as a CPA, auditor, regulator, Deputy Commissioner and Director of Captives. Not having had enough of this industry at that point, he proceeded into his third career working for Strategic Risk Solutions, managing captives including RRGs. It was during this latter period where he served also on NRRA’s board of directors and as our corporate secretary as well.

Having built the captive examination and application process from scratch at the Department, Derick fought for years at the NAIC level providing multiple forms of testimony and model law construction, which ultimately came in quite handy as he sat on numerous NAIC committees, working assiduously to attempt to reinforce their education as to how RRGs were supposed to be regulated. What followed then was a year-long stretch similarly educating the Government Accountability Office (GAO). He has been a frequent speaker at all the captive conferences, while in between providing guidance to the Federal Reserve, HUD, Department of Labor, the EPA, Freddie Mac and other Federal agencies.

Since at least 2008 then, NRRA has been blessed with Derick’s perennial calm demeanor and quiet non-confrontational leadership by example. No job was too big, too complicated, too intimidating or too boring for this kind and gentle man who has been our loyal friend and supporter for all these years. He still serves on both our Membership and Government Affairs Committees. Read more below for Derick’s extended biography and affiliations, education, designations and awards.

Derick White, Extended Biography

Derick has over thirty-five years of experience in the insurance industry as an auditor, regulator and consultant.

Derick started in the captive industry in 1989 joining Johnson Lambert, being one of just three employees in the Vermont office. During 1992 he joined the Vermont Dept of Insurance as Chief Examiner for the Captive Division. It was a chance to build the captive examination and application process from scratch. He stayed with the Vermont Department for 16 years as Chief Examiner for Captive Insurance then as Deputy Commissioner for all insurance, both traditional and captives, and finally back full time with Captive Insurance as Director.

During his tenure as a regulator, he personally reviewed over 600 captive applications for licensure including 100 risk retention group formations. He fought for RRGs at the NAIC level providing many memos with follow up testimony supporting GAAP accounting, Letters of Credit and reasons RRGs should be treated differently than commercial carriers. He worked with the GAO in its 2008 report talking with them almost weekly for a year explain how RRGs are and should be regulated. He then served on every RRG committee and working group at the NAIC to follow through with the GAO findings to support good flexible regulation standards for RRGs. He got Vermont through its first successful NAIC accreditation. He was also instrumental in drafting NAIC model laws relating to RRGs as well as Vermont statute amendments for captive insurance. He was a frequent speaker at all the captive conferences. Derick also provided guidance to the Federal Reserve, HUD, Department of Labor, the EPA, Freddie Mac and other Federal agencies.

When it was time to return to the real world, Derick joined a captive management company with exposure to many domiciles. He oversaw the firms Eastern US operations and created its RRG practice aimed at coordinating accounting, regulatory and state filing requirements into one group to aid in managing RRGs. He served on well over 20 boards during this time including the Board of the NRRA. Derick remains on the Boards of three excellent risk retention groups.

Affiliations

● National Risk Retention Association, Past Director and Secretary

● Vermont Captive Insurance Association, Past Director

● Society of Financial Examiners, Past President and Director

● International Center for Captive Insurance Education, Past President, Board and Faculty

● Developed the course “Regulation for Captives” which has been taken by many captive regulators

Education, Professional Designations and Awards

● Certified Public Accountant

● Certified Financial Examiner

● Chartered Global Management Accountant

● University of Vermont, B.A. Economics

● Received VCIA’s “Captive Crusader” award

● Received VCIA’s “Honorary Membership” award

● Nominated for “Outstanding CPA in Government” by Governor Howard Dean, the insurance partners of the “Big 6”, and heads of captive management