SIGMA is pleased to announce the release of our newest educational resource, the Premium Deficiency Reserve Calculation sample. This resource provides an illustrative example of the calculation of a premium deficiency reserve (PDR). A company must record a PDR when the unearned premium of in-force business is not sufficient to cover the losses, loss adjustment […]

SIGMA is pleased to announce that an updated version of one of our most popular educational resources, the Loss Map graphic, is now available. As part of the revision process, this one-page document has been expanded to include helpful definitions for the components involved in estimating ultimate losses. If you’re unfamiliar with this resource, below […]

As we approach year end, many companies are finalizing details for their 2023 policy renewal. Such policies may include annual aggregate limits (or retentions) on losses retained as part of a company’s self-insured retention (SIR) or deductible. While the per-occurrence retention places a cap on the amount a company retains per claim, the aggregate retention […]

Michelle Bradley and Enoch Starnes recently authored an article for Captive International titled “Loss Development Factors: A Primer for Captives”. In it, they summarize the basic attributes of loss development factors, discuss their impact on retained risk, and respond to common questions regarding their use. While the SIGMA team has written in the past about […]

Over ten years ago, Tim Coomer developed the “Cone of Uncertainty” graphic and wrote a corresponding article on the decisions surrounding risk assumption and retention levels. When Tim heard about concepts that SIGMA’s clients struggled to comprehend, he would often prepare a “one pager” to add to our educational resource library. The “Cone of Uncertainty” […]

When to Use a Pure Loss Rating Matrix When insureds are considering how to fund estimated liabilities for a future period, they will often use a loss projection and confidence interval to determine adequate funding. For company XYZ, Inc. projected workers compensation losses for the 2023 policy year can be seen below. XYZ. Inc.2023 Aggregate […]

Calculating a benchmark loss projection for workers compensation requires two key pieces of data:  loss costs and payroll, each broken down by state and class code.  While payroll amounts are typically available to companies from internal sources, loss cost information must be gathered externally. Currently, thirty-four states around the US engage NCCI as their advisory […]

An actuarial reserve analysis examines a program’s loss-sensitive policy years in order to calculate a required reserve estimate for all claims incurred as of the evaluation date. This reserve estimate is a key component in determining collateral for self-insured and large deductible programs. Since individual reserve estimates are evaluated at a specific point in time, […]

I’m a research guy who reads newly published academic articles like people used to read the morning paper. So, in my efforts to understand the value of safety training, I naturally dove into the research. During this process, I read a broad spectrum of safety research studies, and the entries below constitute two of the […]

What is silent evidence? How can I look for it? What benefit does it provide? As technology advances, companies are continuing to get better and better at capturing, manipulating, and examining data. One of the many results of this improvement is that the ability to differentiate your approach to risk management from others is gradually […]