FCAS, MAAA Senior Consulting Actuary
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Pierogis and Palaces Jan 9, 2018
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Erich Brandt is a senior consulting actuary with Pinnacle Actuarial Resources in Bloomington, Illinois. He has worked in actuarial consulting since 1997.
He has considerable experience in assignments involving loss reserving, funding studies, cost allocation mechanisms, loss cost projections, competitive analyses, captive feasibility studies and financial analyses of insurance companies.
Mr. Brandt has made numerous presentations to brokers, corporate risk managers, and CFOs regarding loss reserving, future loss projections and how company characteristics impact actuarial calculations. He currently serves as a member of the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) Examination committee.
Mr. Brandt also works with students and faculty at Illinois State University (ISU). He engages in joint research and speaks at actuarial club and the Katie School of Insurance & Risk Management functions.
Mr. Brandt has served as an industry expert on several panels and educational forums including the CAS, Katie School of Risk Management Academy, the Insurance Managers Association of Cayman, ISU and Staffing World – Risk Control Workshop.
Mr. Brandt is a member of the advisory boards for the actuarial science major at ISU and the Milwaukee School of Engineering. He is also on the board of directors of the Illinois Shakespeare Festival.
October 2020 APEX Webinar An Update to Pinnacle’s Risk Retention Group Benchmarking Study Authored by Erich A. Brandt and Gregory W. Fears, Jr. and Robert J. Walling III.
July 2020 APEX Webinar Causes of Recent Reserve Development Authored by Erich A. Brandt and Gregory W. Fears, Jr..
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Commercial Lines
Pinnacle was approached by a national insurer that wanted to develop a more sophisticated commercial automobile rating program. Their current commercial automobile plan was a traditional rating approach and did not take full advantage of driver, credit scoring or vehicle characteristics and the company felt they could take advantage of a significant opportunity in the market. Pinnacle, through the use of predictive modeling, assisted the carrier in designing a new rating and tiering structure, which included modifications of the rating plan, the introduction of underwriting scoring, and new territory definitions. This new structure allowed the company to have more precise rating, more adequate and yet competitive rates for a broader spectrum of risks.
Retention Analysis
Pinnacle was asked by a large self-insured regional transportation authority to assess the impact of increasing their self-insured retentions for both workers compensation and automobile liability. We developed a stochastic simulation analysis, based on the program’s historical claims experience and industry benchmarks, that examined not only the increase in expected losses but the program’s additional potential loss variability. Finally, we discussed with the customer the relationship between their current capital position, as well as the current reinsurance market, to ensure the retention they selected for their program was appropriate for them. The authority ultimately increased their retentions, put some of their excess capital to work, and realized substantial savings in their reinsurance costs.
Workers' Compensation
Pinnacle was retained by a major national political organization to investigate the impact of several workers compensation reforms including: implementation of mandatory managed care, privatization of state workers compensation insurance funds and the permitting of private insurers to enter previously monopolistic workers compensation states. Our analysis looked at state-level differences in rate levels, insurer experience, coverage competition, the mix of medical and indemnity claims and numerous other metrics. The study was extremely well received and ultimately presented to more than half of the nation’s governors.
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March 15, 2021 CAS Ratemaking, Product and Modeling (RPM) Seminar
March 18, 2021 March APEX Webinar - Reinsurance 101 in 2021 Register