This month, SIGMA celebrates its thirty-year anniversary! SIGMA has come a long way since it was originally founded in 1995 by Timothy Coomer, PhD, and Al Rhodes. Despite three decades of continued growth and evolution, SIGMA has stuck closely to its original vision as a place to provide superb actuarial services, educational resources, and opportunities for employee growth.

Continue reading, or click on the graphic below for a reflection on our last thirty years.

1996-1998: New Beginnings

In SIGMA's early years, a team was assembled that would prove invaluable to the insurance industry and future captive market. Their driven mindsets and fresh, new perspectives helped drive early success.

1999-2001: Positioning for Long-Term Impact

As SIGMA positioned for long-term impact, it began building long-term relationships with insurance brokers, third-party administrators (TPAs), captive managers, and other mid-sized and large employers exploring alternative risk strategies. These partnerships allowed SIGMA to embed actuarial services within broader risk management strategies, creating value not just through reserve opinions, but through strategic advisory support.

2002-2004: Education

SIGMA began conducting custom training sessions and webinars for insurance and risk professionals, positioning itself as a teacher as well as a technical provider. SIGMA also began authoring early versions of educational materials that would later become well known products of the firm.

2005-2007: An Actuarial Advantage

Timothy Coomer, PhD, wrote An Actuarial Advantage with the goal of educating his fellow insurance colleagues on actuarial concepts and methodology. Today (2025), there are well over 100,000 copies of the book in circulation.

2008-2010: Captive Focus

SIGMA enhanced its services for captive insurance companies, especially in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, and Vermont. The firm became a go-to actuarial resource for captive feasibility studies, analyses, and reinsurance program evaluations.

2011-2013: Risk Management Blog

The Risk Management Blog was launched in an effort to advance the educational resources offered to SIGMA's client base and broader insurance industry as a whole. It kicked off with its first interview with a globally recognized publication, Captive Insurance Times. The blog today (2025) is sent to an audience of nearly 12,000 subscribers.

2014-2016: RISK66

RISK66, SIGMA's web-enabled suite of analytical software tools, grew significantly during this time. Since its original launch in 1995 as Specific Software Solutions, its user base now (2025) hosts users from fifteen different countries.

2017-2019: Global Recognition

SIGMA was recognized for efforts in the captive insurance industry by being featured in globally recognized publications through awards, thought leadership, and interviews.

2020-2022: New Challenges & Opportunities

SIGMA navigated new challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, emerging cyber and climate risks, and the rise of shock verdicts and their actuarial impact. Experienced growth in the captive industry, as many of these related challenges have propelled the interest of other coverage options.

2023-2024: Growth

SIGMA experienced significant growth in client numbers, and internal hiring reflected that growth. SIGMA serves several Fortune 500 companies, completes numerous captive and non-captive projects a year, and services many captives in numerous domiciles both domestically and abroad.

2025: Where We're Headed

Today, SIGMA is optimistic about the growth of the industry and remains committed to producing exceptional educational content, technology tools, and actuarial services, as well as continuing to foster an environment for employee growth.