The Truth Revealed: Secret Elements of HM Underwriting
The time has come. We’re about to tell you some inside secrets about the way HM underwrites our Stop Loss business. This is the secret formula kind of stuff…the inside scoop…the truth exposed. Some might call it brazen to share such details, but we want you to know what goes into our process.
Fundamentally, it all comes down to communication, clarity and consistency – our “Three Cs” approach. Now, before you feel frustrated that we aren’t sharing our rate manual, take a minute to read on. Our focus on the Three Cs allows us to get things right and ensure the necessary balance for successful business – providing your clients with the protection they need and helping to ensure our ability to protect them – all while giving you confidence in the quality of what we are delivering.
This is the age of skyrocketing pharmaceutical expenses, rising health care costs, growing frequency and severity of claims and the resulting leveraged trend that impacts Stop Loss premium. With all of these challenges, there is a lot to consider when cases are being underwritten. And we underwrite our business to help ensure we can pay claims – not to have to dispute them. That said, we need the right information about each client so that it can be factored into our underwriting practices. And to do so, we must have open lines of communication – with our producers, with our Sales counterparts and throughout our Underwriting team – so that no details are overlooked.
When communication is open and all parties are on the same page, there is clarity. Needs are clear. Requests are clear. The reasoning behind decisions is clear. We can work together to determine the right programs for each client based on a mutual understanding of that client’s individual needs. What we provide may not be exactly what was initially requested. Instead, we use the information we have, our experiences in the current market and the nuances we see through our regional expertise to offer something even better.
When you work with HM, you can count on consistency in our approach. We take pride in helping to ensure there are no surprises in an HM proposal. By focusing on market changes and each client’s experience, it is our intent to develop the Stop Loss solutions clients truly need. We have customized programs designed to protect their finances based on their individual group dynamics and their specific levels of risk tolerance. And through constant communication between our Sales and Underwriting teams, we work to meet the needs of our producers and their clients within the dynamics of the specific markets being served.
When you’re selecting a Stop Loss carrier for your clients, you want to know that the protection is provided with integrity. At HM, we’re committed to getting it right. Through our Three Cs of communication, clarity and consistency, we develop policies that guard financial health and relationships that are here for the long-term. And that’s no secret.