Industry Insights

With my retirement close at hand, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on my 24 years at HM Insurance Group (HM) and offer my sincere appreciation to all the great people I’ve met along the way. There has not been a boring moment during my career with HM. I started with the company when it was primarily offering life and disability products and participated in its evolution to a leading Stop Loss carrier. We’ve gone through several divestitures, acquisitions and partnerships during the past two decades, and our efforts have led us to the elite status that we’ve achieved in this industry. It’s been an exciting journey, and I am thankful for all the people who have joined us along the way.

The news is full of stories about health-related vaping incidents. At this point, medical professionals haven’t even determined all the ways in which e-cigarettes can injure the human body – and vaping was initially promoted (somewhat innocently) as “an alternative to cigarettes.” But there have been issues ranging from breathing challenges to lengthy hospital stays for life-threatening lung conditions to a shocking number of deaths now being tied to the ingredients in vaping products.

All roads through a Stop Loss carrier lead to paying claims. Self-funded groups purchase our coverage so we can protect their finances from the impact of high-dollar claims, so with a Stop Loss contract in hand, they expect that their catastrophic claims will be paid. And as a responsive carrier that has applied exceptional underwriting practices to the groups we enroll, we have committed to having the right resources in place to deliver quick and accurate claims payment.

Well, the Stop Loss industry seems to be a rousing one these days. Claim incidences and expenses are on the rise (with no end in sight) – and we have to figure out how to contain the costs to protect everyone’s bottom line. Our sleeves are rolled up at HM. Who else is in? This is going to take a pretty big effort from all of us if we are to minimize the risk.

When you’re facing the challenges of a market that’s experiencing continued growth in medical and pharmaceutical costs, fueling the frequency of catastrophic claims exceeding the $1 million mark, you have to take a proactive approach to managing claims. At HM, we know that excellent medical management creates the foundation for successful cost containment for self-funded employers, and we encourage its use with our partners and clients through strong communication and education.