As a Diamond Sponsor of the 2023 Intercompany Long-Term Care Insurance Conference in Denver from March 12-15, Fuzion leaders were honored to “Take the Lead” and share expert insights into the challenging LTCi industry during several well-attended breakout sessions.  

 

Before breakout sessions began, conference attendees were treated to a thought-provoking presentation by Keynote Speaker Jeff Kreisler, a Princeton-educated lawyer, who enlightened and entertained the audience with interesting information about applied behavioral science and how general consumers approach financial decision making.

 

Mary Miller, VP of Human Resources, participated in a panel of HR and Operations Management professionals highlighting the importance of regularly communicating with and gathering feedback from employees to overcome recruitment and retention challenges. When attendees of this session were polled, they indicated their biggest recruitment challenge is finding candidates with the right skill sets and the subsequent retention of those associates. The expert panel provided insights on partnering with vendors to scale up and down, the concept of “quiet” hiring, robust recognition programs, and regular communication with employees to address various staffing challenges.

 

Duane Anderson, SVP and Chief Technology Officer, lent his expertise to a session on “Modernizing the LTC Customer Experience using Technology” where panelists discussed key trends and challenges within the industry. Key topics included developing an IT roadmap that aligns to corporate goals and incorporates modernizing legacy infrastructure and aligning with key internal partners to ensure all areas are comfortable with modern Cloud Software as a Service / Platform. Since data processing technology is always evolving, more companies are in the early phases of developing data strategies to incorporate machine learning and AI in their operational initiatives. A few companies are on the path to implementation in this space.

 

Debbie Maas, VP of Communications and Client Engagement, moderated a panel of representatives from diverse LTCi sectors who brought to light their impactful ideas on how to  engage customers across the customer lifecycle. Although most engagement occurs when a customer is on claim, the panel focused on the benefits of engaging with healthy and at-risk policyholders. The panel shared a variety of methodologies, viewpoints, platforms, and interactions to enhance engagement with policyholders regardless of where they are in their customer lifecycle. During this session, Debbie highlighted the importance of personalizing customers’ experiences, listening to their feedback, and using this valuable data to identify and implement client engagement improvements.

 

Jane Menin Bagley, General Counsel and Chief Fraud Officer, moderated the panel “We’re in this together: Connecting the Dots Between Underwriting, Claims, and Actuarial Outcomes”. The panel conveyed the importance of proactive and reactive communication between those three crucial areas. Panelists included experienced LTCi executives in the underwriting, claims, and actuarial areas. Discussions during the session were focused on real-life case scenarios and lessons learned from the three different perspectives. The panelists led discussions about impacts associated with case anomalies, suspected fraud, implementation of new claims adjudication procedures and claims cycle timing, and interpretations of policy language.

 

Jane also joined three other industry recognized experts for an interactive panel session on claims titled “How Do We Differ? Integration of LTC Claims Operations and Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Programs.” Discussion revolved around real-time responses of attendees to multiple polling questions. Attendees’ responses revealed to what extent and how their companies integrate their Claims Operations and FWA programs.  Attendee questions included the frequency and type of department interactions, language included on claim forms, claims adjudication tools, and company philosophies in resolving reportable cases of fraud. A highlight of the session was a robust discussion related to Proof of Payment and Proof of Loss as part of the claims’ process.

 

The next ILTCI conference will be held March 17-20, 2024, in San Diego, California.