Preparing for Your Milliman Interview: Common Questions and How to Ace the Answers

Interviewing at Milliman can be an exciting yet nerve-wracking experience. As one of the world’s largest independent actuarial and consulting firms, Milliman attracts top talent and conducts rigorous interviews. With proper preparation, you can enter your Milliman interview with confidence, ready to showcase your qualifications.

In this article, we will cover some of the most common Milliman interview questions along with advice for crafting winning responses. Whether you are interviewing for an actuarial, consulting, technology, or corporate role, this inside look at the Milliman interview process will help you put your best foot forward.

Overview of the Milliman Interview Process

The interview process at Milliman typically includes 2-3 rounds of interviews, with the first round often conducted over the phone or video call. For actuarial roles, you can expect technical questions testing your knowledge of actuarial concepts, Excel modeling skills, and communication abilities. Consulting roles also assess analytical thinking and fit within the consulting environment.

Later-stage Milliman interviews may include a case study presentation, group exercises, and behavioral questions to evaluate your leadership, collaboration, and problem-solving capabilities. Some tips for acing the Milliman interview process include

• Researching the position, company culture and your interviewers on LinkedIn to prepare targeted responses

• Refreshing your knowledge of technical concepts if interviewing for an actuarial role

• Having 2-3 examples ready that showcase your top strengths or skills

• Practicing your storytelling and communication skills

• Being prepared with smart questions to ask your interviewers

With some prep work, you can feel empowered to have engaging conversations focused on your talents and great fit for the role and company.

Common Milliman Actuarial Interview Questions

For actuarial roles like Actuarial Analyst or Actuarial Associate, Milliman interviews dive deep into your technical skills and problem-solving abilities. Some frequent actuarial interview questions include:

1. Walk me through how you would price an insurance product from scratch.

For pricing questions, interviewers want to understand your intuition for evaluating risk and how to build pricing models. Structure your response by outlining the pricing process step-by-step, including data collection, risk assessment, financial modeling, and evaluating assumptions. Provide examples when possible to showcase your hands-on experience.

2. How would you go about estimating IBNR reserves?

Estimating IBNR (incurred but not reported) claims reserves tests your conceptual knowledge and practical judgment. Discuss your approach for leveraging triangles, Bornhuetter-Ferguson methods, and benchmark data to project an accurate IBNR reserve. Share any experience you have in selecting appropriate techniques based on product lines and data availability.

3. What do you look for when testing loss ratios and why?

This question examines your understanding of actuarial loss ratios. In your answer, dig into trend analysis on earned premiums, paid losses, and incurred losses over time. Discuss insights into pricing adequacy, claims patterns, and reserving accuracy that can be drawn from loss ratio movements and stability. Relate to any real-world experience monitoring and investigating loss ratio trends.

4. How would you go about modeling the risks associated with extreme mortality events?

Here you can highlight your skills in statistical modeling and risk analysis. Discuss how you would leverage historic data, scan for emerging trends, and simulate possible scenarios. Share conceptual knowledge of approaches like stress testing for mortality spikes. Offer examples if you have modeled mortality risks in past roles.

5. How do you decide when to reinsure a product and what reinsurance structures make sense?

This evaluates your understanding of risk mitigation through reinsurance. Walk through how you would assess capital needs, risk exposure, and reinsurance options. Tie in real examples of how you have optimized reinsurance programs if possible. Emphasize your balanced approach to manage pricing versus risk transfer.

Common Milliman Consulting Interview Questions

For consulting roles at Milliman, you can expect a mix of case studies and behavioral questions to assess your analytical thinking and communication abilities. Some examples include:

1. How would you help a client identify cost drivers and reduction opportunities in their claims process?

This case study tests your process for breaking down issues and guiding analysis. Outline your approach such as benchmarking claims processes, identifying pain points through data analysis, interviewing stakeholders, and research on industry best practices. Emphasize building consensus and tailored solutions.

2. Tell me about a time you struggled to get stakeholder buy-in. How did you eventually gain alignment?

Behavioral questions evaluate soft skills critical for consultants. This looks at your resilience when facing opposition. Discuss your experience identifying concerns, adjusting your communications approach, involving supportive stakeholders, and demonstrating the benefits of your recommendation. Emphasize takeaways that make you a stronger team influencer.

3. Imagine you are briefing an executive leadership team on your proposed market entry strategy and they disagree with your top recommendation. How would you respond?

Here you can highlight business acumen and ability to think on your feet. Share how you would probe the concerns raised, walk through your logic and research again, and offer modifications or alternatives to your approach. Emphasize openness to critique and collaboration to reach the optimal solution. Use a real example if possible.

4. Tell me about a time you struggled with an unclear client request. How did you get clarification and meet their needs?

Another behavioral question, this assesses how you handle ambiguity. Discuss going back to the client with specific clarifying questions, supplemental research to better understand their goals, outlining your proposed approach, and collaborating closely throughout execution. Share lessons learned on sharpening your questioning and communication skills.

5. Describe a situation where you had to simplify a complex analysis for a non-technical audience. How did you ensure it resonated?

This evaluates your ability to synthesize data and tailor messaging. Share your experience utilizing analogies, visuals, customer impacts, and clear takeaways that connected with leadership. Demonstrate your understanding of diverse communication styles and empathy for the audience’s needs and perspective.

Smart Questions to Ask in Your Milliman Interview

The interview is a two-way process – you want to make sure the role at Milliman aligns with your skills, interests, and professional goals. Preparing 2-3 thoughtful questions for your interviewers demonstrates your engagement. Some examples include:

• How would you describe the key attributes of people who are most successful here?

• What are one or two of the most interesting projects or initiatives underway that I could contribute to?

• What do you enjoy most about working for Milliman?

• What are opportunities for professional development and growth over time within this role?

• Could you share examples of the types of clients I might serve if joining your team?

• What are some of the day-to-day challenges or frustrations that come with this position?

Asking insightful questions makes a great impression and helps you gather intel to assess your fit. Just be mindful not to ask anything too personal or easily found on the company website.

How to Stand Out in Your Milliman Interview

With nearly 4,000 employees globally, competition for top roles at Milliman is fierce. Here are some final tips to stand out:

Highlight Specific Examples: Back up your responses with real data, metrics, and impacts from past projects whenever possible. This demonstrates you can put concepts into practice successfully.

Ask Clarifying Questions: If you need an interview question repeated or rephrased, don’t be shy to ask. Interviewers want to see you thinking through responses carefully.

Show Passion and Personality: Share what excites you about insurance and consulting and convey genuine enthusiasm. A bit of appropriate humor also never hurts!

Send Thank You Notes: Following up with brief thank you emails to your interviewers shows care and interest in the role. Include a highlight or two from your conversation.

With preparation and practice, you can tackle Milliman interviews with confidence. Showcase your technical expertise, soft skills, and fit for the position and company culture. You’ve got this! Good luck with your pursuit of exciting opportunities at this highly regarded firm.