Commercial Insurance ·
Alternative Risk
Alternative Risk Insurance Built for Businesses Ready to Finance Risk on Their Own Terms
Captives, self-insurance structures, and risk retention groups, structured for middle-market companies that have outgrown the standard market. Serving Pittsburgh, Western Pennsylvania, and the Mid-Atlantic.
Your risk profile isn't standard. Neither is our approach.
When your loss history is stable and your premium volume justifies greater control, the standard insurance market may no longer be your most efficient answer. Simpson | McCrady structures alternative risk financing programs that put your business in command, with an independent broker who quarterbacks your program and stays with you through every renewal cycle.
Why This Requires Expertise
Why Alternative Risk Financing Demands a Specialist
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Alternative risk insurance is not a product. It is a financing strategy. For middle-market businesses with stable loss histories, meaningful premium volume, and the organizational capacity to absorb retained risk, alternative risk financing structures such as captive insurance programs, self-insurance arrangements, and risk retention groups can deliver significant long-term cost advantages over conventional placements. But the design, regulatory compliance, and ongoing governance of these structures require technical depth that generalist brokers rarely carry.
What is alternative risk insurance? In plain terms: it is a set of mechanisms that allow a business to take direct ownership of some or all of its risk financing, rather than transferring that risk entirely to a commercial carrier. A captive insurance company is a licensed insurance entity the business owns and funds. A risk retention group is a liability insurer owned and operated by its members within a specific industry. A large deductible program or retrospective rating plan shifts loss costs back to the insured in exchange for reduced upfront premium. Each mechanism carries different capital requirements, tax implications, and regulatory obligations, and each demands a broker with the technical fluency to model the tradeoffs honestly.
The question of whether your business qualifies, and which structure fits, depends on a careful analysis of loss history, cash flow, risk tolerance, industry exposure, and jurisdictional considerations. Simpson | McCrady brings 100+ years of independent brokerage experience and deep carrier relationships to this analysis, serving privately held companies across Pittsburgh, Western Pennsylvania, and the Mid-Atlantic who are ready to move beyond transactional insurance buying. You work with the same advisors who structure your program from day one, not a specialty division you'll never meet again.
What We Cover
Alternative Risk Structures We Design and Manage
Get an Expert Review of Your Current Program.
Our Approach
An Independent Advisor Who Owns Your Program from Feasibility Through Renewal
Most brokers treat alternative risk as an escalation, something referred out once a client's needs exceed the standard market. At Simpson | McCrady, it is a core practice. As an independent broker with no carrier affiliations or program administrator obligations, our analysis is accountable to one party: you.
Our process begins with a rigorous feasibility assessment: reviewing five or more years of loss data, analyzing your industry's regulatory environment, modeling cash flow under various retention scenarios, and pressure-testing program designs against your organization's actual risk tolerance. We bring that analysis to market on your behalf, accessing a broad panel of carriers and captive managers without the conflicts that come with captive-aligned or carrier-controlled distribution. That independence is not incidental. It is the structural reason our recommendations hold up.
Once a structure is in place, our role does not end at binding. We manage the program through its full lifecycle: annual loss reviews, collateral adjustments, dividend analysis for captive structures, regulatory reporting coordination, and renewal negotiation. When market conditions shift, and they will, you have an experienced risk financing advisor in your corner who has navigated multiple cycles and knows how to protect the economics of your program.
Who is alternative risk right for? Generally, businesses with annual insurance premiums above $100,000, a consistent and analyzable loss history, the financial strength to fund retained losses, and leadership willing to engage with the governance requirements of a more sophisticated structure. If that describes your organization, the conversation is worth having.
Firm Credentials
The Depth Behind Your Coverage
One straightforward conversation is all it takes to understand where your coverage stands, and where it should be. Protecting Tomorrow Today.
Prefer to call? 412-261-2222 · info@simpson-mccrady.com