News from Milliman

• Milliman to acquire McGinn Actuaries Ltd.

  20 December 2013

  Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced the acquisition of McGinn Actuaries Ltd., an Anaheim-based consultancy specializing in multiemployer pension plans. The acquisition will enhance Milliman’s foothold providing retirement consulting services in California.

• Milliman and VBID Health announce launch of MedInsight Waste Calculator to identify wasteful healthcare spending

  16 December 2013

  Milliman, Inc., one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, and VBID Health, the leading Value Based Insurance Design (VBID) consulting company, today announced the launch of the MedInsight Waste Calculator, a new healthcare analytic tool powered by Milliman’s MedInsight® software and encapsulating VBID Health’s market knowledge on wasteful healthcare spending. This tool will identify and quantify the use of potentially unnecessary or harmful clinical services, including those defined by national initiatives such as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and Choosing Wisely.

• Milliman analysis: Pension funding status nears 94%

  09 December 2013

  Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In November, these plans experienced an $11 billion increase in asset value and a $23 billion decrease in pension liabilities. The pension funding deficit decreased to $93 billion at the end of November.

• Milliman issues second annual Public Pension Funding Study, provides objective analysis of funded status for 100 largest plans

  13 November 2013

  Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released its second annual Public Pension Funding Study, which consists of the nation’s 100 largest public defined benefit pension plans. The study offers an aggregate analysis of these 100 public pensions and their funded status. The study complements Milliman’s corporate Pension Funding Study, which is now in its 13th year.

• Milliman launches next generation Hospital Performance Index

  12 November 2013

  Milliman, a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced the launch of a next generation Hospital Performance Index software, a benchmarking tool for payers and providers that uses statistical methods to identify opportunities for increased efficiency in patient populations. The enhanced product significantly enhances the granularity of hospital benchmarking available to payers and providers and fits the needs of accountable care organizations (ACOs) by identifying instances where care management may yield improved quality and increased efficiency.

• Milliman announces European expansion in the Nordics

  11 November 2013

  Milliman is pleased to announce the first step in its expansion into the Nordic markets with the opening of an office in Stockholm. Steve Hardwick, Marcus Karlsson and Fredrik Ehn have joined Milliman bringing with them substantial local and international experience in the management of life insurance business and long-term liabilities.

• Milliman analysis: Corporate pension funded status remains above 91% as year draws to a close

  07 November 2013

  Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In October, these plans experienced a $31 billion increase in asset value and a $28 billion increase in pension liabilities. The pension funding deficit decreased to $126 billion at the end of October.

• Milliman Analysis: Corporate pension funded ratio in September exceeds 91%; a level last observed in 2008

  08 October 2013

  Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In September, the funded status of the 100 largest corporate defined benefit pension plans improved by $32 billion as measured by the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index (PFI). The deficit dropped to $132 billion from $164 billion at the end of August, primarily due to a robust investment gain of more than 2% during September. The PFI funded ratio increased to 91.4% from 89.3% at the end of August. This marked the fourth consecutive quarter of improvement in funded status.

• Milliman Releases Study: “Dynamic Policyholder Behaviour and Management Actions Survey”

  7 October 2013

  Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced a new report summarizing the results of a recent survey of current practice in the modeling of dynamic policyholder behaviour (DPB) and management actions (MA) for life insurance business. Survey participants included major insurance companies across Europe, the US, and Japan.

• Milliman MedInsight announces big data initiative

  23 September 2013

  Milliman, Inc., one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, announced today the formal launch of a big data initiative. The MedInsight Data Confidence Model is a data management methodology that helps clients leverage concepts of big data for business performance improvement and transparency.

• Milliman releases Arius™ 2.0, a complete solution for analyzing unpaid claims liabilities for P&C insurance

  16 September 2013

  As presented at this week’s Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar in Boston, MA, Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, announced today that it has released version 2.0 of Arius, its state-of-the-art loss reserving system for P&C insurers. This release offers a comprehensive suite of deterministic and stochastic actuarial projection methods, making Arius the most complete reserving system for the global P&C insurance market.

• Milliman releases Arius™ 2.0, a complete solution for analyzing unpaid claims liabilities for P&C insurance

  16 September 2013

  As presented at this week’s Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar in Boston, MA, Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, announced today that it has released version 2.0 of Arius, its state-of-the-art loss reserving system for P&C insurers. This release offers a comprehensive suite of deterministic and stochastic actuarial projection methods, making Arius the most complete reserving system for the global P&C insurance market.

• Milliman launches Solvency II Readiness Assessment Tool

  09 September 2013

  Milliman, a leading global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced the release of the Milliman Solvency II Readiness Assessment Tool that enables companies to assess the status of their Solvency II project across key areas.

• Milliman study examines simplified issue life insurance products

  13 August 2013

  Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced the availability of new research into simplified issue (SI) insurance products. The study examines both mortality and lapse rates for SI policies written in calendar years 2000-2010. The study encompasses 15 companies, 180 simplified issue plans, 5.4 million policy years of exposure, 54,000 total deaths, and 848,000 lapses. This is the third industry experience study recently completed by Milliman; previous studies focused on the broad life insurance marketplace and on final expense policies.

• Milliman analysis: Corporate pension funded ratio approaches 90% in July due to robust investment performance

  06 August 2013

  Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In July, these plans experienced a $26 billion increase in asset value and a $2 billion increase in pension liabilities. The pension funding deficit dropped from $182 billion at the end of June to $158 billion at the end of July.

• Milliman actuarial research contributes to official recognition of lung cancer screening as a cost-effective health benefit

  30 July 2013

  Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today proudly noted the role that actuarial research played in the establishment of an evidence-based case for the screening of lung cancer. Last night’s announcement by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) that it will now recommend lung cancer screening for certain high-risk populations follows a series of actuarial studies that, alongside published clinical research, helped make the value case for lung cancer screening. The USPSTF’s recommendation means that lung cancer screening will soon be widely available to at-risk populations, including people covered through commercial insurance and potentially through Medicare. Lung cancer is, by far, the largest cancer killer, with more than 150,000 deaths annually.

• Milliman analysis: Continuing improvement in interest rates reduces corporate pension funding deficit by $47 billion

  10 July 2013

  Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In June, these plans experienced a $25 billion decrease in asset value and a $72 billion decrease in pension liabilities. The pension funding deficit dropped from $226 billion at the end of May to $179 billion at the end of June.

• Milliman Releases Major Study: “2012 Embedded Value Results – Generating Value”

  02 July 2013

  Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced the availability of a new report detailing Embedded Value results for 29 major insurance companies in Europe.

• Milliman analysis: Rising interest rates in May drive $95 billion improvement in corporate pension funded status

  06 June 2013

  Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index (PFI), which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest corporate defined benefit pension plans. In May, these pension plans experienced a $95 billion increase in funded status, primarily based on a $101 billion decrease in the pension benefit obligation (PBO). There was a small offsetting decrease in assets.

• Annual healthcare cost for a typical American family is $22,030 according to 2013 Milliman Medical Index

  22 May 2013

  Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its 2013 Milliman Medical Index (MMI), which measures the healthcare costs for a typical American family of four receiving healthcare benefits through an employer-sponsored preferred provider organization (PPO) plan. The cost of care for this typical family in 2013 is $22,030.

• Milliman analysis: Plunging interest rates in April inflate corporate pension funding deficit by $37 billion

  09 May 2013

  Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index (PFI), which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest corporate defined benefit pension plans. In April, these pension plans experienced a $37 billion decrease in funded status based on a $60 billion increase in the pension benefit obligation (PBO) and a $23 billion increase in assets.

• Milliman launches Second Global Family Takaful Report

  15 April 2013

  Milliman today released the 2013 Global Family Takaful Report at the World Takaful Conference in Dubai. Milliman’s Global Family Takaful Report, which follows an inaugural study issued in 2011, points to a sharp increase in the use of family Takaful products in the coming years, with contributions to these products expected to grow from $2.2 billion in 2011 to an estimated US$5.6 billion in 2016.

• Milliman expands presence in Ireland

  02 April 2013

  Milliman, a leading global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced the hiring of a senior insurance consultant, Ger Bradley, to lead the expansion of the firm’s non-life consulting activity in Ireland. Mr. Bradley will serve the needs of the non-life insurance sector based in Ireland from Milliman’s Dublin office.

• Milliman expands presence in Ireland

  02 April 2013

  Milliman, a leading global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced the hiring of a senior insurance consultant, Ger Bradley, to lead the expansion of the firm’s non-life consulting activity in Ireland. Mr. Bradley will serve the needs of the non-life insurance sector based in Ireland from Milliman’s Dublin office.

• Milliman releases MG-ALFA® Version 9.0

  01 April 2013

  Milliman, Inc., the international firm of consultants and actuaries, today announced the release of Version 9.0 of the MG-ALFA system. This release provides full support for the requirements of VM-20, which is becoming a critical issue for insurers as the regulation moves closer to adoption. This release includes support for all three components of the VM-20 reserve calculation, including the Net Premium Reserve, the Deterministic Reserve, and the Stochastic Reserve. MG-ALFA supports the valuation reserve calculations as well as projected reserves using consistent calculation logic. This consistency enables client companies to confidently project and assess the effects of the new reserve calculations over time, while also meeting the reserve reporting requirements.

• Milliman analysis: Despite de-risking by some plan sponsors, declining interest rates produce record pension deficit in 2012

  25 March 2013

  Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its 2013 Pension Funding Study, which analyzes the 100 largest US corporate pension plans. In 2012, these pension plans were once again defined by record-low discount rates, which led to record-high pension obligations and a $388.8 billion pension funding deficit—a $61.1 billion deficit increase in 2012. Since the end of 2010, declining interest rates have widened the pension funding deficit by more than $150 billion, driving record deficits in each of the last two years. The pension funding ratio stood at 77.2% at year’s end, down from 79.2% at the end of 2011. The deficit increase and reduced funding ratio in 2012 happened in spite of efforts by certain plan sponsors to de-risk their pension plans.

• Milliman expands presence in Germany

  19 March 2013

  Milliman, a leading global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced the hiring of a senior insurance consultant, Marcus Looft, to lead the expansion of its non-life consulting activity in Germany and thus meet the needs of the important German Non-Life insurance market. The addition of Marcus Looft, who will operate from Milliman’s Munich Office, expands upon Milliman’s existing consulting teams in Düsseldorf and Munich.

• Milliman analysis: Pension deficit increases by $6 billion in February

  06 March 2013

  Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest corporate defined benefit pension plans. In February, these pensions experienced a $6 billion decrease in funded status based on a $17 billion increase in the pension benefit obligation (PBO) and an $11 billion increase in assets. February’s growth in the funded status deficit follows a near-record improvement of $107 billion in January and still leaves these pensions in better shape than at the end of 2012.

• NAVI™: New Software Solution in the Milliman STAR Solutions® suite delivers instant and robust risk information allowing fast business decisions

  28 February 2013

  Milliman, one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, today announced the launch of the next product in its suite of Solvency II products, Milliman STAR Solutions® - NAVI™, a new powerful software solution to help life insurance companies improve their risk modelling by dramatically reducing calculation time within a flexible and robust process.

• Milliman recognized by PLANSPONSOR as “Best in Class” 401(k) provider

  26 February 2013

  Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, was recently recognized by PLANSPONSOR as one of the top 401(k) providers. The PLANSPONSOR Defined Contribution Survey gathers responses from more than 6,000 companies and identifies leaders in designated service categories, with leaders earning a “Best in Class.” Milliman was among three firms to garner the most awards in the 2012 survey.

• QualCare selects MedInsight from Milliman for health plan, ACO analytic software

  26 February 2013

  Milliman, Inc., one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, today announced that QualCare, Inc. has implemented MedInsight® as its data warehousing and claim analytic platform. QualCare will use MedInsight to help with a variety of analytic reporting needs including health plan analysis and ACO reporting.

• Milliman analysis: Interest rate improvement powers $106 billion pension funding improvement in January

  07 February 2013

  Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest corporate defined benefit pension plans. In January, these pensions experienced a $106 billion improvement in funded status based on an $83 billion decrease in the pension benefit obligation (PBO) and a $23 billion increase in assets. The $106 billion advancement in January completely reverses a $74 billion deficit increase over the course of 2012 and sets off these 100 plans on a strong start in 2013.

• Milliman and Reunion announce strategic alliance

  05 February 2013

  Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced a strategic alliance with Reunion Limited, a specialist management consulting firm covering the Asia Pacific Region and with a focus on the energy sector. This strategic alliance will allow both firms to expand their geographic reach, whilst also providing market leading energy risk management to clients in Australia and New Zealand.

• Milliman analysis: Historic low interest rates widen pension funding deficit by $74 billion in 2012

  07 January 2013

  Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest corporate defined benefit pension plans. In December, these pensions experienced a $54 billion increase in funded status based on a $46 billion decrease in the pension benefit obligation (PBO) and a $8 billion increase in assets. The $54 billion improvement in December follows a $34 billion improvement in November, but it would still take many more months of improvement to make up for a year of ballooning pension deficit. At year end, the deficit of $412 billion is $74 billion higher than it was when 2011 ended.