A group captive is a group of companies who join to form a for-profit, private insurance company. The group captive structure allows mid-sized, safety-conscious companies to enjoy many of the same advantages as larger, self-insured companies, without the chance for catastrophic loss. A captive insurance company is run almost exactly like a traditional insurance carrier – with the goal of generating income through underwriting profit and investment income.

For the group captive, that income comes back to its members.

The Ascend Captive is the first ever, member-owned group captive program designed specifically for the vegetation management and tree care industry. This unique program caters to best-in-class vegetation management and tree care companies that have excellent safety measures and are tired of the inefficiencies of the standard market that create:

• Inherent pricing swings regardless of a company’s risk management practices
• Pricing reactivity in the event of a catastrophic loss
• Above average companies within the industry subsidizing poorer performing companies through class rating

In addition, the Ascend Captive provides unique resources that are specifically directed toward the vegetation management and tree care industry. These resources are focused around delivering results that will ultimately reduce the ultimate cost of insurance for vegetation management and tree care professionals and give them an advantage over their competitors.

There are many similarities. Group captive members receive a policy from an A-rated insurance carrier, they keep their experience modification factor, and a final audit is performed at the end of each policy year.

One major difference is the opportunity for captive members to recoup underwriting profit and investment income. In addition, members make a capital contribution to the captive (referred to as posting collateral) to secure the downside of the program and enjoy in the ownership of the captive.

The group captive structure allows captive members to leverage the size of the group by buying the optimal amount of insurance coverage. The captive uses best-in-class service providers— specifically with the tree care industry in mind— to support captive members. These service providers work in partnership with captive members to reduce their cost of insurance.

• Long-term strategic thinkers who want predictable and stable insurance costs over time
• Financially sound organizations
• Strong safety culture and management practices in place