Original Articles

After three forgettable years as a competition analyst in the agency department, I became a novice life underwriter at Northwestern Mutual on October 10, 1973.

The ensuing 522 months have afforded me the privilege of witnessing first hand the evolution of our profession and in so doing to marvel at the ever-accelerating pace of change.

Clearly, there are reasons – and reasons within reasons – why this frenetic process will intensify over the near-term future with profound implications for us, both individually and collectively.

The phenomenon dubbed “artificial intelligence” could (and likely will) be one of the most impactful in terms of how our profession’s future sorts out by the mid-2020s.

“Over the last several years, things began to change. Then, within the last 12 months, they became so intolerable that I had to leave” 

Senior Life Underwriter Personal Communication October 2016 

This veteran senior underwriter approached me, seeking to talk about why she left a promising career in a prominent life insurer.

I emphasize that this was wholly unsolicited. 

Being fairly well known within the underwriting community and also because I publish the monthly e-magazine Hot Notes©, it is not unusual for me to be contacted by underwriters. And I put aside whatever I am working on to respond to all questions and concerns raised by my peers. 

Our paper, “Cystatin C: A Promising Test for Insurance Screening,” was published in early 2009. At that time, most studies about this test were focused solely on its role as a novel kidney disease marker.

In the interim, several hundred new studies have greatly expand- ed our knowledge about cystatin C in a broad range of contexts. For this reason, a new comprehensive literature review is needed if we are to understand the true underwriting implications of this test.

Kristin Ringland, FALU (SCOR Global Life Re) presented data and analysis based on a recent AHOU survey on underwriting education and training.

I encourage everyone to read Kirsten’s excellent article (volume 31, number 3, pages 44-48).

A presentation at a recent underwriting gathering was billed as being focused on the use of predictive analytics in contexts other than risk appraisal.

Feedback from several attendees suggests it was just the opposite, centered largely on their deployment in underwriting.

So much for the verisimilitude of at least some session descriptions!

Fact is, insurers are presently being inundated with risk screening options no one would have imagined possible a decade ago. The developers of some of these tools are aggressively promoting their deployment in the underwriting process.

Bilirubin is a potent antioxidant and antiinflammatory agent. While bilirubin levels tend to be lower in cigarette smokers, the adverse effects of low/below normal bilirubin impact both smokers and nonsmokers.

High normal/elevated bilirubin has been convincingly linked to a significantly lower risk of circulatory diseases, diabetes and other prevalent medical impairments. Conversely, low normal/below normal bilirubin levels are now a well-established marker for increased risk of these diseases and their complications. 

It is a widely held notion that one does not have to know the job to manage people who do the job.

This certainly makes sense for most blue collar and clerical occupations.

Does the same rationale apply to non-underwriters (defined as individuals that have never been underwriters) managing underwriting professionals?

At our study groups, this is recognized as an increasingly important question, in part because the number of individuals with no underwriting background who oversee new business departments is increasing.

What are the areas of potential concern here?

I recently read one of those garden variety diatribes bemoaning the fact that employees do not exhibit the same degree of loyalty to their employers as their predecessors did in the “good old days.”

Before delving into what insurers can do to remedy this situation (at least where underwriting professionals are concerned), let us first consider the pathogenesis of the less-than-loyal mentality.

My parents lived through the Great Depression (the one in the 1930’s!).

Parents who survived the Great Depression and later flourished, relatively speaking, within their economic class, sent their offspring a crystal clear message: