by Frank Huang | August 4, 2021 The substance of our M&A advisory support to clients can vary greatly due to the varied nature of each deal. However, there are general similarities in form, especially as it relates to workers’ compensation (WC) programs. Two areas that are a common refrain in transactions involve unpaid liabilities … Continue reading Workers’ Compensation Risk Issues Facing PEO Investors »

by Frank Huang | October 6, 2020 Originally published in PEO Insider (October 2020) Reproduced with permission of the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations One of the first goals in setting a budget is to determine what your revenue is relative to your costs. The harder part of that equation in the insurance business … Continue reading Lowering PEO Workers’ Comp Costs »

by Frank Huang | February 18, 2019 Because people have more interesting ways to spend their time than to pour over financial statements, I have taken it upon myself to do just that. Below are some interesting observations after looking at annual reports from the largest publicly-traded PEOs. Risk Factors Though rarely brimming with quantitative … Continue reading Intriguing Details of PEO Industry’s Largest Public Firms »

by Frank Huang | February 15, 2019 One of the most common things a new client asks us to help with is to revamp their underwriting and pricing models. Obviously, the two go hand-in-hand, as underwriting and pricing decisions both utilize overlapping data sets like claims experience, experience mods, underlying exposures, etc. I originally wanted … Continue reading PEO Pricing: Strategic Pricing for Long-Term Profitability »

by Frank Huang | February 15, 2019 Every time I attend a professional sporting event, I am always in awe of how pristine the playing surface is. The professional athletes who play on these surfaces are probably used to these conditions which allow them to compete at the highest level. But what if you told … Continue reading A PEO’s Field of Dreams – Insurance Program Structure »

by Frank Huang | January 21, 2019 As touched upon in our claims article, the actuarial function is one of the least visible or straightforward to understand. And yet within this space are some of the most impactful connections to a PEO’s direct costs and thus sales competitiveness. This article will attempt to explain the … Continue reading How PEOs Should Use Actuaries »

by Frank Huang | January 21, 2019  Underwriting and claims have a lot in common. Both are easily considered afterthoughts when things are going well, yet scapegoats when things sour. Both are very technical, yet are both part art and science.  And both can superficially be considered defense only, whereas both – if done well … Continue reading Strategic Claims Management for PEOs »

by Frank Huang | January 21, 2019 Per the call to order from my opening post, the plan is to begin writing about PEOs from a micro-level focused initially on the risk program, then zoom out to look at risk in the context of the PEO’s business operations, and eventually survey and comment on the … Continue reading Underwriting is the PEO’s Hidden Advantage »

by Frank Huang | January 18, 2019 My passion for PEOs began some years ago when I came across a Chief Actuary opening for a company called ADP. The job description read: “manage the direction, strategy, negotiations, and analytics for the PEO risk group” I really liked all the keywords in the sentence, but at … Continue reading An Actuary’s Love for PEOs »