Work is well underway on the latest update to RCL’s annual Dental PPO Network Study, the only tool in the industry providing carriers with competitive benchmarks. The study measures in-network discounts, network utilization rates, and overall network savings from the combination of the two (effective discounts). When the study is complete, I will also publish an update on national discounts and trends in networks over the past few years, looking at such questions as whether networks are still growing while also increasing discounts, and whether plan designs continue to increase incentives for patients to use a network dentist.
The new version will be released in a few months. It will evaluate network data from 2009 and include some new participating companies. Meanwhile, a report on last year’s findings is available here. For more information, contact Ruth Ann or keep checking back here.
I recently read the perfect book for a quiet actuary managing a consulting practice, and wrote a review published here by the SOA. The book is by Nancy Ancowitz, a business communication coach I have worked with over the past few years, and like all of her work it is insightful and useful. An introvert herself, Nancy has a great perspective on how we think and how we work with those chatty extroverts. Far from everyone I work with is an introvert -even the actuaries!. But since we’re half of the population some must be, and might find this useful. Take a look – and let me know what you think.
Negotiation has been a critical skill for me for most of my career. I’ve worked as a product actuary, represented a major distributor, and now I’m a reinsurance intermediary.
Technical actuarial skills were never my strength. However, I’m often able to get parties
with differing goals to find a common ground, enabling a project to be completed to everyone’s satisfaction. The parties may not, and if fact should not, end up feeling like the sole winner, but they don’t come out feeling like a loser either.
There are common tactics I’ve used in my negotiations. They are:
- Understand the personal side
Empathy
The dictionary definition of empathy is “intellectual identification of oneself with
another”. Empathy is my negotiation equivalent of the real estate maxim – location,
location, location. There are business tasks to be accomplished. Put yourself in the
business position of the other party or parties. What do they need to accomplish? This is
a good checkpoint on the viability of the discussion. If the groups’ goals are
diametrically and unalterably opposed, then it is better to recognize it early and move on.
Persistence in the wrong situation can damage the relationship.
Subvert Your Ego
A successful negotiated outcome can often be torpedoed by the desire to get public and
personal recognition for the success. Typically the negotiator / mediator must subsume
their ego to the successful completion of the task. Emphasize the contributions of the
other party. Your professional and personal rewards will naturally follow as you become
known as someone who can get things done.
Has it really been 10 years since I authored the epic “Variable Annuity Guaranteed Minimum Death Benefit” – The Movie, in Contingencies Magazine? [I don’t care if you
don’t remember, my mom considers it an epic, so it’s an epic.] And what prophecy – so many of us have in fact vacated the offices mentioned therein: “There are two kinds of actuaries: those whose careers will end due to the GMDB, and those who’ll move into their offices.” And to prove timing is everything with comedy, that article was listed as “Humor”, but a few years later, I guess it wasn’t so funny.
So, ten years later, what is new with GMDB? Well, consider that only a few people have been involved in VA guarantees over the last decade, and I’m one of them. More important, they asked me to write this article. So, now the reader will tolerate my views on three aspects of GMDB – the retail product, the reinsurance players, and the reinsurance techniques. By reading this article, you will be revered at actuarial cocktail parties, and I shouldn’t have to tell you how important that is.
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