Stephen Koca
FCAS, MAAA
Principal & Consulting Actuary
Pasadena, CA, US
Stephen Koca is a principal and consulting actuary with the Los Angeles office of Milliman. He joined the firm in 2005.
Experience
Prior to joining Milliman, Stephen worked for a leading nationwide medical professional liability carrier.
Stephen specializes in medical professional liability. His primary areas of expertise include unpaid claim analyses and loss ratio projections for traditional insurers, risk retention groups, captives, and self-insureds in all property and casualty lines of business. His expertise also includes the evaluation of excess or reinsurance layers of loss and the evaluation of reinsurance contracts as well as pro-forma financial projections.
Stephen is active with the NAIC and frequently participates in calls and meetings relating to casualty actuarial issues with NAIC task forces. In addition, Stephen leads the American Academy of Actuaries update of its Practice Note for Statements of Actuarial Opinion on Property and Casualty Loss Reserves for 2022.
Publications and Presentations
- “How will Assembly Bill 35 affect MICRA and non-economic damage caps in California?” Milliman Insight, May 13, 2022.
- “Analysis of Maryland’s Hospital Medical Liability Climate.” Publicly available report prepared for the state of Maryland, June 2021.
- “Considerations in premium refunds for Medical Professional Liability coverage stemming from the novel coronavirus pandemic.” Milliman P&C Perspectives, April 2020.
- “RRGs in a Future of Healthcare Without Health Insurance.” Presented at NRRA National Conference 2019.
- “Has Fortune Turned its Back on MPL Insurers?” Published in Inside Medical Liability, Fourth Quarter, 2017.
- “Actuarial Challenges: Building RRGs for New Industries without the Safety Net of Historical Data.” Presented at NRRA National Conference 2016.
- “A Difficult Choice.” Published in Inside Medical Liability, Third Quarter, 2016.
- “Undoing California’s MPL Tort Reform?” Published in Best’s Review, July 2014.
- “FASB Changes Affecting Healthcare Companies.” Published in the Milliman P&C Perspectives, October 2010.
Professional Designations
- Fellow, Casualty Actuarial Society
- Member, American Academy of Actuaries
Education
- BS, Mathematics, Pennsylvania State University
Affiliations
- American Academy of Actuaries, Casualty Practice Council
- American Academy of Actuaries, Committee on Property Liability Financial Reporting
- American Academy of Actuaries, Workers’ Compensation Subcommittee
- Southern California Casualty Actuarial Club, President (2012)
Publications
Read their latest work
Article
How will Assembly Bill 35 affect MICRA and non-economic damage caps in California?
13 May 2022 - by Stephen Koca, Leah A. Windt
The potential passage of California Assembly Bill 35, amending key provisions of the state’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act will have reverberations for years to come.
Article
Personal auto insurance: In the time of COVID-19, being a compassionate insurer is a good financial strategy
27 April 2020 - by Stephen Koca, Anne C. Kallfisch, Patricia Kinghorn
The personal auto insurance market has taken a unique response to the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has chosen to reflect the impact of the short-term change in driver behavior.
Article
A well-deserved thank you to healthcare providers: Considerations in premium refunds for medical professional liability coverage stemming from the novel coronavirus pandemic
22 April 2020 - by Susan J. Forray, Stephen Koca
Modeling medical professional liability costs affected by the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbated by tort law changes, variation in effect among specialties, and an apparent reduction in current claims that may prove to be only a delay contributing to an increase in future reported claim frequency.
Article
Has fortune turned its back on MPL insurers?
23 January 2018 - by Stephen Koca, Richard Lord
In 2016, the medical professional liability industry’s profitability was still strong, though income was derived from slightly improving investment income and still favorable prior year loss development.
Article
2017 California Hospitals Workers’ Compensation Benchmarking Report
14 June 2017 - by Stephen Koca, Richard Lord
This study provides fundamental healthcare industry benchmarks from which informed decisions related to managing workers’ compensation in California can be made.
Article
A difficult time: MPL insurers navigate the future
27 September 2016 - by Stephen Koca, Richard Lord
How will medical professional liability insurers compete in a shrinking market and what will their role be?
Article
2014/2015 California Hospitals Workers' Compensation Benchmarking Report
27 January 2016 - by Stephen Koca, Richard Lord
This report provides industry-wide benchmarks in terms of the fundamentals from which informed decisions related to workers’ compensation and maintaining appropriate risk can be made: claim frequency and severity, medical and indemnity costs, and allocated loss adjustment expense.
Article
Survival: It's more than a numbers game
01 September 2015 - by Stephen Koca, Richard Lord
The forces now sweeping through the healthcare market will call for agility and diversification from medical professional liability insurers.
Article
A pause in time
13 October 2014 - by Stephen Koca, Richard Lord
For continued success, MPL insurers must embrace dynamic business models.
Article
CA Proposition 46: Undoing tort reform?
09 July 2014 - by Susan J. Forray, Stephen Koca
An initiative on the ballot this fall in California could have critical implications for tort reform, more than quadrupling the state's landmark cap on noneconomic damages in medical professional liability (MPL) awards.