One of the toughest situations for an underwriter is the case that seems to have literally fallen off the cliff.  A condition that is significant, that is being followed, and that does have mortality consequences suddenly has no notes of any recency for six months or more.  Follow-up that appeared to be favorable virtually disappears, and the underwriter is left with guessing that things have continued to go reasonably well.  Or not...

Munich Re assessed the Milliman Rx Risk Score, a predictive modeling tool developed and owned by Milliman that assesses mortality risk using an individual’s prescription drug information. Insurers considering prescription- drug-based scores should begin with a retrospective validation study on their own experience data.

The publication by The Lancet recently of an article discussing the risk to health posed by alcohol seems to have put paid for all time to the notion that moderate drinking does no harm or is even ‘good for you’. It has thus caused a bit of a stir in some quarters.