spring 2025 Meeting
Register for the meeting here: https://actuariesclubofboston.regfox.com/actuaries-club-of-boston-2025-spring-meeting
Where:
Omni Parker House
60 School Street
Boston, MA 02108
When:
Wednesday, June 4th 2025
Agenda:
12:30–1:00 PM – Registration
1:00–2:00 PM – Mental Health Updates and Ongoing Research in Substance Abuse
The session will delve into new fronts in mental health awareness, recent concerning trends in both mental health and substance abuse. We will share research that RGA and the SOA has conducted on both the recent opioid epidemic and alcohol use, and the outlook for mortality in these areas.
Sara Goldberg is a VP and Actuary with Reinsurance Group of America (RGA) in US Individual Life, located in Boston, and also serves as a subject matter expert in mortality and emerging risks. Prior to joining RGA, she served the insurance markets in PwC’s Climate Risk Modeling practice. Sara previously worked for Gen Re, serving in a variety of global roles, where she established the Mortality and Longevity competence centers. She went on to serve as Regional Chief Actuary for Asian markets, developed its COVID-19 pricing methodology, and ultimately headed Global Products & Analytics.
2:00–3:00 PM – Option 1 – A Look Ahead at Life Insurance Distribution
“Life insurance is sold, not bought.” Despite so much technological change, life insurance producers remain the overwhelming driver of industry sales. Who those agents are, how they work, and what they expect from life insurance carriers, is changing rapidly. This session will explore the changing nature of life insurance distribution, and what might lie ahead for manufacturers and distributors.
J.J. Bowman is VP, Market Solutions at John Hancock. As a member of the insurance leadership team, he and his team are responsible for identifying growth opportunities and bringing new solutions to market. J.J. joined John Hancock in 2004, working in Customer Service and Sales Support. After joining Product Management in 2007, he led several major initiatives for John Hancock, including the introduction in 2011 of a groundbreaking UL policy, Protection UL, and John Hancock’s first ever Indexed UL. J.J. was also closely involved in the introduction in 2015 of John Hancock Vitality, which has transformed the experience of owning life insurance, and LifeTrack, a patented dynamic billing solution. During his career at John Hancock he has held various roles at the intersection of
Product, Marketing, Strategy & Distribution. J.J. has a degree in journalism from Pepperdine University and lives in Framingham with his wife, Jill, and their four children.
2:00–3:00 PM – Option 2 – Breaking Silos: Strengthening Underwriting Decisions with Actuarial Insight
Actuarial and underwriting teams play a vital role in shaping business strategy. In this session, Scott will share his perspective on integrating actuarial pricing inputs into underwriting decisions, fostering cross-functional partnerships, and leveraging insights from sales, contracts, and government relations to drive informed decisionmaking. He will also discuss his transition from actuarial to underwriting, highlighting key skills that helped him make the shift and providing insights for actuaries considering alternative career paths.
Scott Johnson, ASA, MAAA, is a Senior Director in the Underwriting department of Blue Cross Blue Shield of
Massachusetts. For the first 18 years of his career at BCBSMA, Scott went through several rotations within the Actuarial department, focusing the last several years on rating methodologies. In 2009 there was an opportunity to bring his rating methodology expertise to the Underwriting department. Since then, in addition to managing rating methodologies for virtually all segments of the business, he has expended his purview to also manage underwriting for the 51-99 insured segment, underwriting for the Merged Market segment, member underwriting, and underwriting compliance. Scott holds a master’s degree and bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Lowell.
3:00–4:00 PM – Option 1 – Everything Everywhere All at Once: Life Pricing in a Flood of New Data
Insurance underwriting is rapidly changing, with accelerated underwriting becoming the new default. The rise in new data sources presents unique challenges as well as opportunities for life insurance pricing. In this session we’ll first recap the evolution and current status of AUW and new underwriting data. We’ll then review findings from recent studies on the impact of electronic health records and other data. Finally, we’ll explore potential paths forward to meet the pricing challenges of the new world.
Brian Campbell, AVP and Actuary, leads life pricing research and development for Munich Re Life US. He focuses on accelerated underwriting, assumption development, and emerging opportunities. Prior to joining Munich Re, he’s held actuarial roles at John Hancock, Protective Life, and Liberty Mutual. Brian holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Boston University and is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst, and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.
3:00–4:00 PM – Option 2 – Targeted Efficiency Incentives: How Health Insurers and Providers Can Win Together
Conversations with providers have revealed they face significant obstacles in managing medical spending for their members and are seeking strategic guidance. Join Josiah and Fei to explore how Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts created Targeted Efficiency Incentives to support Provider Organizations in this challenge. Learn how BCBSMA created incentivized rewards based on discrete, narrowly defined efficiency measures, aspiring to facilitate a win-win scenario. They will properly equip you with fundamental background information needed to subsequently guide you to the finish line, describing the decision-making process informed through the development of actionable metrics. This inviting session is designed to be approachable and fulfilling to navigate regardless of area of practice.
Josiah Starkey, ASA, is an Actuarial Consultant in Network Provider Contracting for Blue Cross Blue Shield of
Massachusetts with 7+ years of actuarial job experience thus far. At BCBSMA his experience includes assisting with
Trend Analytics, New Business Case Initiatives, and more presently with Provider Contract Negotiations. Prior to BCBSMA, Josiah started his career in consulting at the Chicago Milliman Health Practice where he assisted various client teams in the Medicare Advantage, Commercial, and Long-Term Care spaces. He then moved back to Boston to work briefly at Tufts Health Plan, now Point32 Health, on their Medicare Advantage Team, with a focus on DualEligible (SCO) members. Josiah holds a Master of Science in Actuarial Science from Boston University.
Feifei Yang is an Associate Data Scientist in Provider Informatics under the Network Provider Contract Division at
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Since joining in 2022, Feifei has played a key role in supporting Value Based Care programs, leveraging data analytics to identify opportunities for efficiency improvements in cost and utilization. Feifei's work also aids in contract negotiations, ensuring data-driven decision making to enhance provider network performance. Feifei holds a Master of Science in Information Technology from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
4:00–5:30 PM – Networking
Prices:
$150 Early Bird (Through October 18th)
$165 General Admission
$75 Retired/Unemployed/Self-Employed
Walk in registration at the event is not permitted.
Special thanks to our sponsors!
Antitrust Statement:
The Actuaries’ Club of Boston (“Club”) is committed to adhering strictly to the letter and spirit of the antitrust laws. Seminars conducted under the auspices of the Club are designed solely to provide a forum for the expression of various points of view on topics described in the programs or agendas for such meetings.
Under no circumstances shall this meeting be used as a means for competing companies or firms to reach any understanding – expressed or implied – that restricts competition or in any way impairs the ability of members to exercise independent business judgment regarding matters affecting competition.
It is the responsibility of all seminar participants to be aware of antitrust regulations, to prevent any written or verbal discussions that appear to violate these laws, and to adhere in every respect to the antitrust compliance policies of major actuarial organizations.