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Writer's pictureActuarial Club

Melanie Robbins and Matt Zuber Talk About Group Life Insurance, COVID-19, and Securian Financial


On Monday October 23rd, the UW Actuarial Club welcomed Melanie Robbins and Matt Zuber from Securian Financial. Robbins and Zuber, both graduates of UW-Madison, shared a wide variety of information about the actuarial work being done within their company including the use of Group Life Insurance and Evidence of Insurability Tools. Our club members also heard about the effect Covid-19 has had on customer preferences at Securian and the rest of the insurance industry.


Zuber did an outstanding job of talking our members through the idea of Group Life Insurance and the benefit it brings for actuarial work. He explained that Group Life Insurance is a type of life insurance contract that covers a group of individuals under a single contract. The most common type of policyholder for these contracts is an employer or a labor organization who provides life insurance through employee benefits. Our members were also taught the difference between basic life coverage and supplemental life coverage. We learned how many policyholders opt into supplemental life coverage in addition to a term life insurance policy to get additional coverages.


Later in the presentation, Robbins did a fantastic job discussing the new considerations and changes that had to be made within Securian due to the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the largest questions that Securian needed to answer was: “Does underwriting need to be tightened in light of COVID-19?” To answer this question, Robbins explained the analytics that went into making the decision. Actuaries needed to consider things like risk tolerance, fall enrollment, insured demographics, and client relationships. All these different aspects play a role in the decision-making process when it comes to changing underwriting practices. Ultimately, Securian decided that there was no need to tighten their underwriting in a relief for both policy holders and Securian.


On behalf of the UW-Actuarial Club, we would like to thank Melanie Robbins and Matt Zuber for presenting to our members. The knowledge and experience they shared with our students gave a great perspective on the different challenges and scenarios actuaries deal with in their work. We hope to welcome Securian back on campus again sometime soon!

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