2023 Forum Sessions

Wednesday, September 6

11:00–11:50pm

Hard Working (hu)Man – There’s no “AI” in Professionalism… Or is There?

This session will explore the importance of actuarial professionalism and the role that ASOP plays in ensuring that actuarial professionals conduct themselves in an ethical and responsible manner. We will discuss the key principles of actuarial professionalism, including the duty of care, the duty of confidentiality, and the duty of integrity, and examine how these principles are reflected in the use of ASOP.

Speaker: Jonathan Racine, Vice President, Marketing, Canada Life

12:30–12:45pm – NASBI Conference Welcome

12:45–1:00pm – Heart Wishes

1:00–2:00pm

Life is a Highway – The Human Side of Product Development

Work life balance sounds great, but we all know how hard it can be. We can’t help but bring work home with us – and we can’t help but bring home to work. But, bringing our home to our work is part of the art of product development. This session will get personal as the panel discusses their experiences that led to product innovations and how those experience changed how they view supplemental benefits.

Speakers: Kevin Cranston, AVP & Head of Product Development, Reliance Matrix
Octavia Fuller, Director, Product Compliance, USAble
Christin Kuretich, VP, Supplemental Products, Voya
Stephanie Turgeon, Senior Product Director, MetLife
Katy Whittle, Product Manager, Unum

2:00–2:15pm – Break

2:15–3:00pm – Concurrent sessions

Achy Breaky Heart Attack and other CI Trends

It’s that time of year again! Come join us as we discuss the latest and greatest CI product survey results from two sources: Gen Re and Milliman. These industry experts will discuss initial survey results for this year’s surveys, as well as recent trends in the critical illness market. Let us unbreak that achy breaky heart of yours!

Speakers: Jen Howard, Principal & Actuary, Milliman, Inc.
Steve Woods, SVP, Individual Health Division, Gen Re

Welcome to the Future – Embracing APIs in Insurance

APIs have transformed the digital economy but the insurance industry is just now catching up. What are APIs and how do they work? Learn how APIs are improving the overall experience for consumers, carriers, and agents.

Speakers: Ryan Drebing, Director of Sales, B3 Solutions
Alan Ingley, VP, Sales Engineering and Client Success, Wellfleet
Manish Mandelia, Principal, Milliman TrenzData
Jake Sealey, Enrollment Technology, MassMutual

3:00–3:15pm – Break

3:15–4:00pm

Wide Open Spaces: Product Innovation

Innovation in a crowded market space with many competitors can be a challenge. How can you differentiate? We will explore the sometimes opposing pressures of “input” versus “innovation” in the product development process. Input is often based on “what is”, whereas innovation focuses on “what can be”. Best practices combine the two forces. We will also discuss the importance of addressing accessibility and affordability when developing supplemental health products. Finally, addressing the non-product elements of our solutions must be considered as we develop and deliver holistic offerings: enrollment rules, group sizes, participation requirements, technology, portability, claims, etc.

Speakers: Alvin Heggie, Jr, Head of Worksite Product New Business, MassMutual
Christin Latore, Vice President, Insurance & Marketing, Brella
Brian Vestergaard, Vice President, Product & Marketing, LifeSecure

4:00–4:15pm – Break

4:15–5:00pm

Rain is a Good Thing – Industry Rainmakers Discuss the State of the Supplemental Market

While we won’t be making whiskey during this session, we’ll hear from industry leaders in this Q&A session on the current and future state of the supplemental health market. Some of the topics we’ll discuss include: What are the biggest challenges carriers and employers currently face? What product/service innovations should we be prepared for? Is “claim integration” just a fancy term or are carriers actually meeting the expectations of their clients?

Speakers: Megan Lynch, SVP, Premier Broker Partnerships, Chubb
Jillian Mondaca, VP, Head of Enrollment|Group Insurance, Prudential
Craig Rowe, Vice President of Sales, iBTR

5:30–7:00PM – Welcome Reception

Thursday, September 7

7:30–8:45am – Breakfast

8:00am–5:00pm – Professional Headshots with Matt Andrews Photography

9:00–9:45am

I Walk the Line: A Regulatory Update

Business needs and regulatory requirements often seem in opposition, but that doesn’t have to be the case. With a special focus on new regulatory activity, our panel of compliance professionals will share how to keep your business moving forward while still staying on the right side of the law.

Speakers: Stacy Koron, Associate General Counsel & Head of Compliance, Ethos Life
Taylor McKinnon, Principal & Compliance Consultant

9:45–10:00am – Break

10:00–10:45AM – Concurrent Sessions

Country Roads: Navigating Trends in Accident and Hospital Indemnity Insurance

Your mama is waitin’ for you to get her for Sunday dinner and you got in a wreck in your pickup truck on the way. Now you may not be able to afford that fishin’ trip because of all your hospital bills. Too bad you didn’t enroll in that AI and HI insurance your employer offered. Life’s unexpected events can be tough to navigate, but understanding trends in the AI and HI markets don’t have to be. Come hear experts discuss how your company can navigate these trends and gain insights into where the market is headed.

Speakers: Ashlee Borcan, Principal & Actuary, Milliman, Inc.
Melanie Robbins, Senior Actuary & Supplemental Health Team Lead, Securian
Michael Weilant, Principal & Actuary, Milliman, Inc.

It’s a Great Day to be Alive: Let’s Talk About LTC

Life insurance, and more specifically how long term care riders work with life insurance, is on everyone’s mind these days. How do carriers develop a successful life product, but meet the demands of the market? What is needed to effectively enroll this type of product? This panel discussion will dive into these questions and more.

Speakers: Brian Borkowski, SVP of Sales, Benefit Communications, Inc.
Robert Eaton, Principal & Actuary, Milliman, Inc.
Annise Henson, Director, Product & Market Development, Unum

10:45–11:00am – Break

11:00–11:45AM – Concurrent Sessions

Better Together: We Have Data, Now What?

Claims integration has been a topic at every conference for a few years. Now that we have the data, can we put it to use in other ways? This session will discuss claims data usage as a way to aid in product development and case underwriting, while also keeping privacy and data protection in mind.

Speakers: Tracy Funk, Supplemental Benefits Practice Lead, Benefits Science Technologies, a MultiPlan Company
Ashley Gillihan, Partner, Alston & Bird

Life is Good Today – But What Does the Future Hold for Life Insurance?

Supplemental life insurance sure is good today, but what makes it good, and will it always be good? This session will discuss recent trends in the supplemental life market, based upon a sneak-peak of Milliman’s Worksite Life Survey results. Panelists will react to trends, discuss potential opportunities for growth, and potential threats from other markets.

Speakers: Alex Bogdanov, Head of Group Life Pricing & Product Management, MassMutual
Bill Mehilos, Principal & Actuary, Milliman, Inc.
Austin Rombalski, Executive Director & Actuary, Trustmark

11:45am–1:00pm – Lunch

1:00–1:45pM

The Thunder Rolls – And the Waves are Getting Bigger: Silver Tsunami Part 2

Providing informal care to a loved one suffering from injury or illness can be taxing, not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, socially and financially. Employers are often unaware of the burden many of their employees are carrying and bringing with them to work every day. The growing caregiver support market is here to help; but how are these companies being infused into the workplace and otherwise? What are the results of these efforts, and what gaps still exist? We’ll talk with a panel of experts and influencers in this market to share their successes and challenges, as well as take questions from the audience on how to address this increasingly important workplace issue through voluntary benefits.

Speakers: Shara Cohen, President & CEO, Carallel
Evan Falchuk, CEO, Family First
Lindsey Niemeier, Head of Strategy, TCARE

1:45–2:00pm – Break

2:00–2:45pm – Concurrent Sessions

Islands in the Stream – Creating a Centralized Operating Effectiveness Organization

In an ever-changing industry landscape where maximizing investments to deliver the highest rate of return for new products, services, and capabilities, organizations must evolve their thinking on the most efficient way to deliver Client, Customer and Broker value. This session will focus on how to align and transform your operations by creating a centralized Operating Effectiveness organization, which focuses on creating multiple, enablement disciplines to facilitate end-to-end project delivery related to Intake & Portfolio Governance, Project Management & Governance, Process Management & Continuous Improvement, Business Analysis, Operational Readiness & Change Management, and Vendor Management. This model will empower the organization to facilitate change while driving consistency, transparency, and benefit realization in support of key operational goals.

Speakers: Joe Cranston, Senior Vice President, Allstate Benefits
Kendie Stroede, Supplemental Health Integration Operations Lead, Cigna

Standing Outside the Fire: Life as a Voluntary Underwriter

Do you ever wonder what it’s like to walk the line between sales and actuarial, making the final call on risky situations on a daily basis? If so, check this session out to see how some seasoned underwriters avoid falling into the ring of fire as we discuss some challenging case studies. This interactive session will allow you to test your decision-making skills and see if you have what it takes to be a top-notch underwriter.

Speakers: Jerald Martin, Senior Director of Underwriting & Implementation Services, USAble Life
Henry Trevor, Vice President, Group Underwriting, Chubb
Jeanine Wright, Underwriting Consultant, Trustmark

2:45–3:30pm – Mocktail Networking Break

3:30–4:15pm – Concurrent Sessions

What’s Your Country Song – Other Supplemental Benefits: Legal, Pet Insurance and ID Theft

Legal, Pet Insurance and ID Theft are becoming more popular in our industry and in our everyday lives. Our panel of pros will discuss the importance of incorporating these products into the workplace suite of benefit offerings.

Speakers: Loi Stoddard-Graham, VP, Business Growth & Retention Metlife Legal Plans, MetLife
Stephanie Turgeon, Senior Product Director, MetLife
Jeff Taylor, VP Employee Benefit Sales, Aura

Next Thing You Know – Tail Risk: Beyond Disability and Life

A panel discussion on lessons learned across our voluntary benefits portfolio to enhance the Supplemental Health plan designs.

Speakers: Chelli Esser, AVP, Life and Supplemental Health Underwriting, Voya
Dan Skwire, Principal and Actuary, Milliman, Inc.

4:15–4:30pm – Break

4:30–5:15pm

Take This Job and Shove it! …Oh Wait, Don’t Do That!

Sometimes we get frustrated when things don’t go like they should. It might seem easier to just walk away. But, what if there are similar situations that others have been through? What if we can learn from their challenges so that we can apply the lessons in our situation? Join us as we look at some real life examples from our peers. Let’s learn together so that we can avoid some of the pitfalls that others have dealt with.

Speakers: Heather Deichler, SVP, Head of Group Product and Underwriting, Lincoln Financial Group
Dan Skwire, Principal & Actuary, Milliman, Inc.
Tarie Summers, Head of Supplemental Health Products, The Hartford

Friday, September 8

7:30–8:45am – Breakfast

9:00–9:45am

9 to 5: If only that was true!

Are there challenges you think about outside of work hours, or worse yet, that keep you up at night? Are there obstacles that limit your progress throughout the day? Guess what, you are not alone. We all experience issues that cause uncertainty or slow down our production. In this session our esteemed panel will discuss a variety of topics that have impacted their work life, and may help you too! Their insights, shared experiences, and best practices will help you get back to that 9 to 5.

Speakers: Brenna Armon, Senior Director, Digital Product, Trustmark
Kendie Stroede, Supplemental Health Integration Operations Lead, Cigna

9:45–10:00am – Break

10:00–10:45am

Always on My Mind – Mental Health Parity

Mental Health is becoming more prevalent in not only the media, but in our everyday lives. What effect is this having in the supplemental space? Which states mandate mental health parity, how are insurers complying, is there enough data to effectively incorporate parity with the coverage we offer, and which jurisdictions and companies are ahead of the curve? Is there a social responsibility to broaden coverage for mental health in the supplemental market space?

Speaker: Dan Jolivet, Workplace Possibilities Practice Consultant, The Standard

10:45–11:00am – Break

11:00–11:45am

You’re Still the One – Other Regulatory Topics

Come join your friends in low places under the light of a neon moon while we discuss the compliance topics that, just like your favorite country song, never get old. We’ll talk about Extraterritorial Jurisdiction, ERISA, HSA Compatibility, and Taxation of Fixed Indemnity Products and how they impact your product.

Speaker: Beth Casey, Compliance Analyst, Milliman, Inc.

11:45am–12:00pm – Closing Remarks

12:00–12:45pm

I Like it, I Love it, I Want Some More of it – Actuarial Roundtable

Any actuaries out there looking for some additional continuing education? This will be an interactive roundtable, where actuaries can discuss the challenges and opportunities within the profession, specific to the supplemental insurance world. Other attendees are welcome to join too!

Speakers: Matt Fleischman, Executive Director & Actuary, Trustmark
Stacey Hunter, Supplemental Benefits & Health Account Solutions Pricing, Voya
Bill Mehilos, Principal & Actuary, Milliman, Inc.
Jonathan Racine, Vice President, Marketing, Canada Life