Industry Insights

I have a confession to make. As I watched the Coronavirus pandemic spread throughout the world and into the United States in late January and February, I was openly derisive about the potential impacts. I was convinced this would just be another flu (don’t we have one of those already), and this would not likely be a significant concern, both from a risk/loss perspective and from a societal impact standpoint. It’s a good thing I learned an important lesson a long time ago: be humble in defeat. 

Fear of catastrophic claims and the financial challenges they can create may be keeping you – and your clients – up at night. When statistics show claims growing well beyond the $1 million mark with greater frequency, that fear is certainly founded. It’s also a very real fear for me as the CFO of a Stop Loss insurance company. However, I know that data-backed decisions and having the right approach in place for responding to trends can make all the difference.

I’m often caught off guard when someone thanks me for getting back to them. It feels odd being acknowledged for doing my job. With all the technology we have at our fingertips, I have to wonder how anyone survives in this business without being responsive, since that quality is so important to sustaining relationships. I suppose, in the day-to-day, some may forget common courtesies as they focus on checking off to-dos. But those gestures that demonstrate you truly care are what help you stand out, and I don’t ever want to lose sight of them. I want to do right by my partners and clients.

At HM Insurance Group (HM), we’re very proud of our financial strength. Our Stop Loss paper is rated “A” by A.M. Best, and we have a combined surplus of more than $1,000,000,000. That’s a lot of zeroes. This capital is the financial bedrock of the promise we make to employer groups – we will pay their claims. The Stop Loss market has changed a lot in the past ten years. Prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, we issued limited policies, meaning they had annual or lifetime policy maximums of $1,000,000 or $2,000,000. As an underwriter at that time, it was hard to envision claims reaching those policy limits. But now it’s something that happens with frequency.

Data. Big data, small data – it doesn’t matter. All data is currency in today’s world. In the insurance business, data is the word that sets the hearts of actuaries and underwriters aflutter. It’s the facilitator to their ability to deduce, determine and decide what moves to make. But further, to their Stop Loss companies, data quite likely is the difference between a win and a loss. And I don’t mean just winning an account or not – I mean winning financially or taking a loss – and that extends to everyone involved.