Industry Insights

A few weeks ago, my wife and I attended the Rose Ball, an annual fundraising event for the Connecticut chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation. The name of the event honors the story of a young boy who, after hearing the name of his disease for the first time, pronounced it “65 Roses,” which started a tradition among children in the CF community and ties the work of the CF Foundation to the rose, which they note is an ancient symbol of love. This was our fifth or sixth Rose Ball, but we’ve been supporting the organization in various ways for many years. Each time we attend the ball, we get asked the same question: What is your connection to Cystic Fibrosis? Do you have a child or a close relative with CF? Why do you support the cause? The answer is complicated.

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.