In early August 2019, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity urging clinicians to report possible cases of unexplained vaping-associated pulmonary illness to their state/local health departments.
One of the conditions met with a lot of confusion by brokers and agents in trying to assess where it falls underwriting-wise is bipolar disorder. Those with the disorder often represent it as if it were a minor inconvenience, and oftentimes any period of remission is met with a request for a standard or preferred issue.
Now, there’s a movement in the insurance industry to leverage new forms of surveillance to assess risk during the underwriting process of life insurance policies (the process of assessing a potential customer’s risk).
As a young psychiatrist, I went through a period of being excited about the brain. It seemed that emerging technologies in imaging and genetics would transform clinical psychiatry.
In recent years, a substance known as kratom has grown in popularity in the U.S. and the U.K. as it is easy to purchase online and advertised as a ‘legal high.’ RGA's Hilary Henly explores the consumption, regulation, and risk of this increasingly popular plant-based psychoactive substance.
Because underwriters play an essential role in this “noblest profession,” it is critical our service be consistently outstanding. A key to ensuring such consistency is for Underwriting departments to measure and manage performance and productivity without inappropriate bias.
Lab results often fit a pattern, since the body’s physiologic system is generally in sync with each of its organ systems. If heart, liver, kidneys or metabolic results are affected, there will generally be a pattern where tests rise in conjunction with each other. Then there are “outliers,” profiles where one test stands front and center out of the normal and without any lab value friends to put it in perspective.
Top life underwriting issues include regulatory concerns, accelerated underwriting, and the opioid epidemic.
Life underwriting professionals are experiencing a paradigm shift in modus operandi, driven by the introduction of automation initiatives. Multiple consulting studies and analyses indicate that automation in underwriting is a valid business need. The coevolution of humans and technology must be supported by business strategies that focus on identifying necessary underwriting skill sets. The convergence of the art of underwriting and the science of technology presents many challenges. Insurers and reinsurers must plan accordingly.
As more countries either partially or fully legalize cannabis for medical or recreational use, underwriters should be aware how changes in legislation may affect disclosures by applicants regarding their use of cannabis. RGA's Hilary Henly explores the considerations.
