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November 2010, Vol 3
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From An Actuary This edition of The Actuarial View discusses insurer renewals and what can be done to add value to your plan or your client relationship. Health care reform is upon us and insurer rate renewal actions must consider far more factors and changes than ever. How is a plan sponsor or broker to know whether there are opportunities for improving the result? If you wish to learn more about health reform and how you can stay abreast of the new regulations, you may wish to consider adding to your health care reform knowledge base. Healthcare Visions, Inc. offers a Health Reform Navigator that will help make it easier for you to follow the law and all of the new regulations. If you wish to learn more, please go to Health Visions, Inc.. Contacts Tim Luedtke, FSA, MAAA, CFA Diane Luedtke, FSA
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Fed Up with Large Yearly Rate Increases or Want A Second Opinion? Consider making a small investment and hire professionals with experience on both sides of the table. Or, ask your broker to give us a call and we will gladly work with them. Are you receiving calls from health insurance brokers offering to provide better service than your existing broker? Do they really know something your current broker does not? Do you want to put your existing long-term broker relationship at risk to find out? Or, would you rather work with an independent third-party professional that can work directly with your broker to help them negotiate on your behalf? And with health care reform upon us, insurance companies are using every argument to justify a high renewal increase. How do you know whether the renewal is justified? How is your broker communicating with you? Naturally, where you are dissatisfied, your broker has offered to get quotes from other carriers. But what can you do where you do not or cannot make a change to a new carrier? How do you know where the opportunities are for negotiation with your current insurance provider? Call us; we can help you find potential flaws in the carrier's renewal methodology, data analysis, or other missed opportunities. Navigator Benefit Solutions LLC's actuaries work with employers and with independent brokers to review their insurance company renewal actions to help push back against unreasonable increases. We provide the information needed to have an open and productive conversation with the carrier's underwriter and their actuary. And, if the situation suggests we can help coach you or your broker or possibly participate in the discussion with the underwriter or actuary. Recently, Navigator provided a broker with the information they needed to convince the underwriter and reduce the rate increase by nearly $100,000. We found various errors with a carriers' renewal methodology from inappropriate data use to failure to incorporate recent plan design changes. Each of Navigator's principals has many years of experience pricing insurance products and conducting experience and rate reviews. As consultants and leaders of individual and group pricing organizations with top five national health care and Big 4 firms, we have sat on both sides of the table. Our principals' broad perspectives allow them to address the key issues facing the insurer, the broker, and the business owner. Call us and see how we can help. And, we do more than just renewal reviews. Check out other services we offer. |
