In this episode of the Expert Perspectives podcast, sponsored by HM Insurance Group and hosted on BenefitsPRO, we'll hear highlights from the May 6th presentation titled, Risk vs. Reward: Two Actuaries Break Down Level Funding.

As expenses associated with providing employee health benefits continue to weigh on the minds of employers, many look to gain more control of their benefits options and costs. This often leads to the consideration of self-funding their benefit plans – yet smaller, less well-capitalized groups may not feel as comfortable as larger employers directly making the move from a fully insured program to a self-funded plan. This is where level funding comes in as an alternative. The first challenge, though, is truly understanding what the level-funded option entails.

Greg Sullivan, Senior Vice President, Strategy at HM Insurance Group, and Bernie Erickson, Principal at AST Risk, address the risks and rewards of implementing a level-funded program.

The full on-demand webcast can be found here: https://www.benefitspro.com/2020/04/02/risk-vs-reward-two-actuaries-break-down-level-funding/

Greg Sullivan, FSA | Senior Vice President, Strategy  | HM Insurance Group

Greg serves as senior vice president, Strategy, at HM Insurance Group (HM), a leading national Stop Loss and Managed Care Reinsurance company. At HM Insurance Group, Greg is responsible for direct oversight and coordination of the company's business activities related to the execution of strategic initiatives as well as the executive leadership of the Actuarial Services team.

With more than 30 years of insurance experience (the last 20 in medical stop loss), Greg's areas of expertise include all facets of stop loss, actuarial services, life and health insurance, reinsurance, risk management and finance.

Prior to joining HM Insurance Group in October 2019, Greg helped FullscopeRMS start its Stop Loss Solutions vertical after having spent 14 years in a leadership role running Cigna's stop loss business. His work experience also includes time with several other top insurance companies, including Hartford Life.

Greg is a graduate of Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, has attained the Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) designation and is a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Bernon (Bernie) R. Erickson, Jr., ASA, FCA, MAAA | Principal | AST RIsk

Bernie is a leading actuarial expert for small group level funded health care plans. He currently serves as principal for AST Risk, a company he founded with 28 years of actuarial industry experience.

AST is Bernie's second start-up. He previously founded Actuarial Management Company (AMC) in 1996. AMC can be described as an innovative actuarial consulting firm that emphasizes insurance program management in concert with long-term partnership-based clients, establishing an industry standard for active actuarial and consultative insurance program management. Bernie and AMC became particularly known for turning problem blocks of business into successes and received praise for producing monthly comprehensive and innovative analysis.

Before AMC, Bernie was recruited as part of the executive team to build the fully insured business line for IHC, a New York Stock Exchange publicly traded company. He began as chief health actuary and later became president of the fully insured division, maintaining portfolio top and bottom lines as well as operating company results.