Firm & Final
Firm & Final: The Legends of Stop Loss and Reinsurance is an award-winning stop loss industry podcast from BCS Financial Head of Large Claim Solutions Mehb Khoja. With a new focus each season, Mehb brings together members of the stop loss, reinsurance, and self-funded industries to discuss current and future stop loss issues and trends, and share legendary experience and advice for the next generation of stop loss and reinsurance superheroes.
BCS Financial: bcsf.com
Episodes
31 episodes
AI in Stop Loss | Ali Panjwani, Jason Oswald & Ian Pietz
Artificial intelligence has landed in the world of stop loss and reinsurance, and this innovative set of tools has the potential to unlock new insights and data sets. But how will AI providers filter out the noise and incorporate th...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 2
•
30:52
Seeing the Big Picture | Ben Dewar, Vince Lewis & Jonathan Socko
We’re back with season 3 of Firm and Final, and it’s a full house! It’s already been an eventful year in the stoploss and reinsurance industry. So we have lots to cover with Ben Dewar, SVP of Business Development at SBR; V...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 1
•
35:38
“Finding the path forward” – Season 2 Finale
The Firm & Final Season 2 Finale is HERE, with a twist! We’ve brought back some friendly faces to revisit self-funding topics in our very first group podcast session. Mehb serves as moderator for this wide-ranging discussion wi...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 12
•
56:30
Finding Passion | Mike Kroupa
Join Mehb and Mike Kroupa, Benefits Advisor for Connor & Gallagher OneSource for the next episode of Firm & Final! Mehb and Mike will talk about finding passion in what you do, the parallels between home remodeling and the insurance ind...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 11
•
43:27
Starting Your Own Business | Dave Rowbottom
This episode features our first actuarial guest of Season 2! Welcome Dave Rowbottom, Founder and CEO of Reinsurance Actuarial Solutions to Firm & Final. Listen in to hear Mehb and Dave discuss career paths, changes in the reins...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 10
•
32:12
Relationships Matter | Laura Morrison
Episode 9’s guest is Laura Morrison, Vice President, National Healthcare Practice, Risk Strategies. Laura shares her career experience, why she decided to get into the insurance business, and the path she’s forging for other women in the indust...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 9
•
36:51
Nobody Actively Seeks Out an Insurance Career | Lucy Carter
Mehb chats with Lucy Carter, Senior Vice President – Accident and Health Practice Leader, BMS Group in this next episode. Their discussion covers a wide-range of topics focusing on the international reinsurance market. You’ll hear about the dif...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 8
•
36:54
Building Your Brand | Spencer Smith
If you listen to stop loss podcasts, you KNOW this next guest! “Self Funded with Spencer” podcast host and SVP, ParetoHealth joins Mehb for episode 7 of Firm & Final. You won’t want to miss this discussion about the power of content, growin...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 7
•
45:17
The Power of Relationships | Erin Duffy
In episode 6, Mehb chats with Erin Duffy, Director of Business Development at Imagine360 about her entrance to the industry, mentor and mentee relationships, and the importance of networking on LinkedIn. Erin, who is Chair of the SIIA Future Le...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 6
•
41:58
The Entrepreneurial Side of the Industry | Ryan Sachtjen
Season 2 of Firm & Final continues with episode 5, featuring Ryan Sachtjen, Co-Founder and CEO of software company ThreeFlow. The conversation kicks off with the largest single stop loss case Ryan ever sold – which happened to be the last c...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 5
•
39:46
Captives & Career Development | Dale Sagen
In episode 4, Mehb chats with Dale Sagen, VP, Business Development Leader at QBE North America about all things captives in the self-funded/stop loss industry. During the wide-ranging discussion, they talk about the early days of Dale's career,...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 4
•
25:05
Growing Up in the Industry | James Donnelly
Season 2 of Firm & Final continues with episode 3 featuring James Donnelly, Senior Broker (Accident, Health and Life) at Lockton Re. James talks with Mehb about college majors, the power of relationships, the art of the deal, and more. Watc...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 3
•
24:50
Learning & Developing in the Industry | Andrew Trupiano
Next up on Firm & Final is an energizing discussion with Andrew Trupiano, starting with his beginnings in the family business to his current role as President of ATS Underwriting. Andrew and Mehb chat about growing up in the business, "bein...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 2
•
31:50
Advice for Starting Out in the Industry | Dan Davey
Firm & Final Season 2 kicks off with Dan Davey, National Director, Stop Loss at Alliant Insurance Services. Dan chats with Mehb about his career path from intern to industry expert, peppered with advice for newcomers about building relation...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 1
•
26:54
"Capacity comes and goes" – Gary Nidds, Executive Vice President, Crum & Forster
Episode 16 marks the final episode of season 1! Don't miss out on this conversation with Gary Nidds, Executive Vice President, Crum & Forster, as he chats with Mehb about all things stop loss, reinsurance, and self-funding. Gary's story, an...
•
29:26
"I think people overestimate the number of TPAs" – Larry Thompson, CEO, BSI Consulting
Larry Thompson's career began with "group school" in 1977 and has lasted through a myriad of companies, roles, and even two attempts to leave the industry. He was the youngest EVP in the history of Dun & Bradstreet, worked for all the major...
•
46:40
"I just love building businesses" – Richard Fleder, President & CEO, ELMC Risk Solutions
Join Mehb and Richard Fleder, President and CEO of ELMC Risk Solutions, LLC, for episode 14 of Firm & Final!Richard, a serial entrepreneur who has been working in the industry since the 1970s, has started and sold a TPA, a broker/d...
•
46:19
"We have some of the best and the brightest in this industry" – Alison Saifer, President & CEO, Actuarial Management Strategies
Channel your inner entrepreneur for this episode! Mehb chats with Alison Saifer, President and CEO of independent consulting firm Actuarial Management Strategies about the "dynamic, constantly-changing" stop loss and reinsurance industry. With ...
•
39:42
"The real conversation has to be about transfer of risk" – Ken Maginot, Partner, Mercer
Tune in to hear Ken Maginot, Partner at Mercer, chat about his background, how he got started in the self-insurance industry, and the processes and innovations he developed at Mercer over the years – many of which are now table-stakes in the in...
•
55:40
“Stop Loss is kind of like the Wild West of insurance” – Rob Bachler, Principal & Consulting Actuary, Milliman
In another not-your-average-actuarial discussion, Mehb chats with Rob Bachler, Principal and Consulting Actuary at Milliman, about his 20+ years of experience in the stop loss industry, the term “spaggregate”, and the breadth of work he has don...
•
45:14
"There's still a lot of runway for growth" – Mike Ferguson, President and CEO, SIIA
In episode 10, BCS Chief Actuary Mehb Khoja chats with Mike Ferguson, President & CEO of the Self-Insurance Institute of America, Inc. (SIIA), about the objectives SIIA is driving to bring value to members, the challenges facing the industr...
•
45:10
"Reinsurance is a small industry, and reputation is important"– Joann DeBlasis, Former SVP, The Hartford/Navigators Re
Mehb chats with Joann DeBlasis, who started her career as a CPA working in financial reporting. Joann talks about her career path and the chances she took along the way to find the right fit, ultimately spending 30+ years in reinsurance and ret...
•
58:37
"Have fun. Learn new things. Add maximum value." – Ray Marra, President, RJM Insurance Consulting Services
Employee benefits legend Ray Marra talks with Mehb about the "fun, dynamic, and fast-paced" self-funded industry, particularly in the Hartford, Connecticut area. Surprisingly, these two actuaries steer clear of reserves and rates talk, instead ...
•
34:27
"This industry has been driven by the great American entrepreneur" – Hobson Carroll, Former President, MedRisk Actuarial Services
Mehb chats with Hobson Carroll, who recently retired from his role as President of MedRisk Actuarial Services, Inc. With 45 years of experience and expertise, Hobson's stories take us back in time to a budding industry in the 70s, to the "big d...
•
1:02:21
"I've never been bored!” – Liz Mariner-Ford, Senior VP of Risk Strategies Company
Listen in as Liz Mariner-Ford share her learnings from a 40-year career journey, from when she was the only female in the room, to her first SIIA meeting in 1992, and to her "final stop" at Risk Strategies, where she recently pulled a Tom Brady...
•
44:06
