SOA: Some actuaries are hungry for critical illness data

Members of the Society of Actuaries (SOA) seemed to be more interested in information about critical illness insurance claim trigger incidence than in information for some other supplemental health insurance products.

Actuaries gather and analyze the statistics insurers use when they are developing, selling and administering insurance policies.

The SOA gauged the interest of its members in new data-gathering projects by inviting the members to participate in an experience studies interest survey. The SOA received responses from 1,069 members.

In one section of the survey, the survey team asked participants to rate their level of interest in supplemental health survey topics on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 indicating the highest level of interest and 5 indicating the lowest level of interest.

Roughly 200 survey participants rated their level of interest in the supplemental health topics proposed.

The participants with an interest in supplemental health gave critical illness incidence an average rating of 1.78. The participants gave hospital indemnity insurance studies an average rating of 1.84, and accident insurance incidence studies an average rating of 1.96.

Consumer group representatives brought up a lack of credible, publicly available critical illness insurance incidence data recently in comments asking state insurance regulators to study whether critical illness insurance products serve a valid purpose. The consumer reps argued that insurers and agents may manipulate consumers into buying critical illness insurance policies by leading consumers to believe that the risk of suffering a costly critical illness is higher than it really is. 

See also: 5 hot battles over the PPACA-free zone