Across the insurance industry, companies are rethinking processes in the age of AI. On this episode of Critical Point, the CEO of a long-term care reinsurer explains how Lean manufacturing principles, including problem-solving and continuous improvement, have helped her teams implement AI to drive value—safely. You can read the episode transcript on our website.
Workers’ compensation insurance claims are staying open longer than ever, driving up costs and pushing more injured employees to litigate. On this episode of Critical Point, two workers’ comp experts—Milliman’s Stephanie Schmidt and the “Riskfluencer” Sandy Avina—unpack this trend and outline several cost-containment strategies for employers. They discuss the impact of comorbidities on workers’ health and healing, why social media is making many employees wrongly assume they need a lawyer, an...
As the world changes, the role of property and casualty (P&C) actuaries is changing too, from the emerging risks they study—including climate change and self-driving cars—to the technologies they employ to devise solutions. On this episode of Critical Point, Milliman recruiter Liz Shickles speaks with two P&C actuarial consultants, Zora Law from Milliman and Dane Grand-Maison from partner firm Eckler, about their own career journeys, the influence of AI (hint: it won’t ever replace le...
Since 2005, the Milliman Medical Index (MMI) has estimated annual healthcare costs for people covered by a typical employer-sponsored health plan. To mark the 20th anniversary of the report, MMI authors past and present gathered to review how healthcare has changed over the past two decades. They discussed the impact of the Affordable Care Act and the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise in drug advertising and outpatient care, and how trends might change again in the next 20 years. You can read the e...
While the number of traditional pensions has been shrinking for decades, one type of defined benefit (DB) plan is expanding: the cash balance plan. Combining features of DB and 401(k) plans, cash balance plans are particularly well-suited to helping small-business owners and highly paid professionals such as doctors and lawyers save for retirement. On this episode of Critical Point, three Milliman employee benefits experts explain why the number of cash balance plans has recently swelled to 2...