Captives must become more accessible, flexible and technology-driven to play a bigger role in corporate risk management, industry leaders told delegates at the 2026 Airmic Guernsey conference.

Speaking on a panel titled “2030 and beyond,” experts said the captive market is already moving past its traditional function of filling deductibles and participating in insurance programs.

Will Thomas-Ferrand of Marsh argued that if the industry were designed today, barriers to entry would need to shrink, pointing to expanding captive use in France, the UK and the Middle East as evidence that regulatory change can grow the market.

Neil Campbell of SRS Europe said captives are shifting toward “captive-centric” risk strategies that span multiple lines and use long-term reinsurance and alternative capital to manage volatility. He noted captives can also serve as data and insight engines, helping firms spot emerging risks—geopolitical, cyber, AI, climate and supply chain—ahead of the commercial market.

John Rowson of Howden highlighted protected cell companies and migration legislation as tools for greater flexibility, while Alison Tamm of Control Risks cited insuring vessels through the Gulf of Aden as an example of captives incubating solutions before traditional insurers adapt.

Succession planning and technology adoption, including consolidated risk dashboards, were identified as priorities through 2030. The industry is seeking to position captives as strategic risk aggregators rather than purely tactical tools. This applies to employee benefits captives as much as to P/C captives, with independent non-executive directors (INEDs) playing an important role in strategy and oversight.