Industry Insights

The NCAA Women’s College World Series is one of my favorite sporting events of the year. While I lived in New Jersey, I was lucky enough to be the volunteer assistant coach for the Rutgers University women’s softball team for 10 years. During that time, we were never a great team, but I enjoyed being around the players because of their enthusiasm for the game and the joy they brought with them – to the games, to the practice field and even to lifting, study hall and team meetings. (Okay, that last one was a stretch…)

Technology has created an expectation for instant information and immediate responses, but insurance intricacies require thoroughness in communication, appropriate detail and mindfulness of the highly regulated information-sharing guidances set by regulators. Striking the right balance between the demands of both of these can be a challenge, but we’re working to deliver easily accessible, essential information to our clients in a secure environment with our eServices platform, making it easier to do business with us.

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.

I went home from my office at 501 Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh, PA, around noon on March 18, 2020, after making sure one of our new employees had the computer equipment she needed to work from home. During my commute, I listened to a President Trump news conference on CNBC radio discussing the Coronavirus. At the time, I thought we would be home for six to eight weeks, and then we would be back in the office and things would return to normal. Well, a lot has happened since then.

The element of surprise. Facing the unknown. Making predictions. That’s what comes to mind when students interested in the actuarial profession ask me why I have enjoyed this career for the past 22 years. There are always problems to solve, but on any given day, I can never fully predict exactly what will come my way. Every morning, I start with my short list, but something unanticipated is usually on the horizon, case in point, the Coronavirus.