Actuaries are vital to the insurance industry and national economies, but the profession is still emerging in many developing countries. That’s why Milliman and the United Nations Development Programme have launched a program to increase actuarial capacity around the world. In this episode, five Milliman volunteers reflect on the initiative’s first year and their work in 10 countries, from Nigeria to Nepal.

You can read the episode transcript on our website.

In our second Critical Point episode about AI applications in insurance, we drill down into the topic of machine learning and particularly its evolving uses in healthcare. Milliman Principal and Consulting Actuary Robert Eaton leads a conversation with fellow data science leaders about the models they use, the challenges of data accessibility and quality, and working with regulators to ensure fairness. They also pick sides in the great debate of Team Stochastic Parrot versus Team Sparks AGI. 

You can read the episode transcript on our website.

Artificial intelligence has been the buzz term of 2023, evolving at a pace unimaginable when Milliman launched this podcast five years ago. For this 50th episode of Critical Point, we gathered a group of our AI experts to discuss how the technology is poised to reshape the insurance value chain, from hiring practices and actuarial modeling to customer service and communication.

You can read the episode transcript on our website.

Insurers are feeling the heat as another record-breaking summer finally cools off. In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman leaders Rich Moyer, Garrett Bradford, and Andi Shah—who have studied the impact of extreme heat from the Middle East to Europe to North Carolina—discussed the ramifications on property, workers’ compensation, health, and other types of insurance. They also talk about data, including available sources for measuring heat risk now, and the data they would like to see to help measure the future effects of a warming planet. 

You can read the episode transcript on our website.

After 2022’s rollercoaster of soaring interest rates and plunging investment returns, sponsors of single-employer defined benefit plans face a key choice as they calculate the 2023 variable rate premium they’ll pay to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Milliman pension actuaries Casey Baldwin and Ryan Cook spoke with Nina Lantz about using the full yield curve, not being afraid of the five-year lock-in, and how switching from the alternative calculation method to the standard method can mean the difference between a $100,000 premium and a premium of $1.7 million.

You can read the episode transcript on our website.

As companies embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, many are realizing their benefit policies and communications can help address health inequities and be more inclusive. From modernizing the language in plan documents, to simplifying fertility care for same-sex couples, to not showing a skinny marathoner in the ads for your fitness challenge, Milliman’s Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer joined health benefits experts to discuss how plan sponsors can help make sure all beneficiaries get the care they need.

You can read the episode transcript on our website. 

In this companion episode to our look at SECURE 2.0 and defined contribution (DC) plans, Milliman employee benefits expert Nina Lantz explores how the new retirement law affects single-employer pensions. She talks with Milliman Consulting Actuary William Strange about what it means for retirement that life expectancy is rising more slowly, how companies can incentivize long-term employees, and why a reduction in insurance premiums could make corporate pension plan sponsorship appealing again.

You can read the episode transcript on our website . 

When the SECURE 2.0 Act passed in late 2022, it introduced 92 provisions affecting retirement plans—and created a long to-do list for plan professionals. In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman employee benefits expert Nina Lantz talks with Brandy Cross, our director of defined contribution (DC) plan compliance, about how DC plans are coping. 

Learn which provisions plan sponsors are addressing first, and why it’s OK to wait before making plan changes. Plus, don’t miss Nina’s companion episode on SECURE 2.0’s impact on defined benefit plans.

You can read the episode transcript on our website .

More than three years after the coronavirus shut down the world, the Biden administration announced in early 2023 the end of the U.S. National Emergency and the Public Health Emergency, two declarations that had mandated health insurance coverage of COVID-19 tests and vaccines, among other requirements. As these regulations are now rolled back, what does that mean for employer-sponsored health plans? 

In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman health experts discuss the implications, from whether to continue paying for at-home COVID-19 tests and when to phase out standalone telehealth benefits, to how to communicate any changes with plan members at this significant moment in the pandemic. 

You can read the episode transcript on our website.

As climate change causes more storms and floods, residents of coastal areas are being forced to move inland—driving up rents and displacing current residents of those regions. Milliman recently studied this issue in a paper called “Climate Displacement in New York City: Making Space for Our Neighbors,” published with Rebuild by Design, a nonprofit that helps communities build resilience. On this episode of Critical Point, two of the study authors discuss the groups most at risk, designing Manhattan to be more like Hong Kong, and how 40% of New Yorkers may be displaced without proactive city planning.
You can read the episode transcript on our website.