This case involves a certified class of individuals against a pension and healthcare benefits provider as well was an actuarial firm relating to long term care insurance and wrongful premium increases in Oklahoma. Over ten years ago the defendant began marketing a specialized type of medical insurance product. They marketed them with the selling point that the rates paid by participants would never go up, which was understood to be the main benefit of these policies. The defendant invested the policies in more risky investments than they should have, investments that were not diversified. Eventually, the defendants realized that they could no longer cover these policies, so they raised rates by more than 100%. As a result of that increase in rate, a large number of fixed income individuals who owned these policies had to drop the policy or reduce their benefits.
Question(s) For Expert Witness
1. Please briefly describe your experience as an actuary, specifically as it relates to long term care insurance.
2. Are you familiar at all with the practice outlined in this case summary? Is this standard industry practice?
Expert Witness Response E-021581
I am a credentialed actuary, hold the Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) designation, and I am also a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA). For the past several years, I have been doing an increasing amount of consulting related to LTC insurance products. I am currently the consulting actuary for a mid-sized LTC insurance company. My work is focused primarily around the adequacy of their claim and policy reserves. I have also been engaged by multiple state regulators to serve as actuary on risk focused financial examinations for LTC insurance carriers and to review rate filings prepared by LTC insurance carriers. The purpose of the review is to assess whether the desired rate increases are justified. I am very familiar with the need for issuers of LTC insurance to seek large rate increases. There are a number of factors that contribute to this need of which unfavorable (less than expected) investment return is one of the factors. The scope of my rate work for state regulators is to assess the reasonability of rate increases requested by the companies. I know how to assess this need for rate increases. I previously served as an expert witness on a shareholder class action lawsuit against a LTC insurance carrier, and have also testified in a IRS lawsuit in tax court related to a health insurance matter.
About the author
Joseph O'Neill
Joe has extensive experience in online journalism and technical writing across a range of legal topics, including personal injury, meidcal malpractice, mass torts, consumer litigation, commercial litigation, and more. Joe spent close to six years working at Expert Institute, finishing up his role here as Director of Marketing. He has considerable knowledge across an array of legal topics pertaining to expert witnesses. Currently, Joe servces as Owner and Demand Generation Consultant at LightSail Consulting.
