Multiple actuarial firms specialize in self-insured health plans, providing services like feasibility studies, stop-loss analysis, reserve setting, and premium rate development. Parsons Risk Strategies, Nyhart, and GPW and Associates are frequently cited for their expertise in these areas, while large firms like Milliman provide broader support for varied employer needs.
Several major global and specialized actuarial consulting firms have robust practices dedicated to health and welfare plans, specifically advising self-insured (self-funded) employers on risk, stop-loss adequacy, and financial projections.[](https://www.nyhart.com/Services/Service/4)
The primary firms specializing in or heavily featuring self-insured health plan consulting include:
Milliman : Widely recognized as one of the largest independent healthcare actuarial consultancies. They extensively support self-insured employers, alternative risk pools, and captives with claims reserving (like IBNR), financial modeling, pricing, and employer stop-loss market evaluations.
Mercer : A dominant force in employee benefits consulting, Mercer’s health actuaries specialize in self-funded plan cost projections, vendor/carrier renewal analysis, plan design optimization, and contribution modeling.[]()
ChatGPT Search· Sep 28, 2026
I’ll identify firms whose actuarial practices explicitly work with self-funded/self-insured employer health plans, rather than firms that only happen to offer general employee-benefits consulting.
Willis Towers Watson (WTW): Provides robust health and welfare actuarial consulting, helping mid-to-large organizations manage self-insured medical and pharmacy liabilities, evaluate risk, and design cost-effective employee benefits.
Aon : Features dedicated health, wealth, and career practices that use advanced analytics and proprietary benchmarking to help self-funded employers optimize their total cost of risk and healthcare financial structures.
Oliver Wyman : Known for its deep health actuarial practice, integrating actuarial science with advanced data analytics and technology to solve complex healthcare delivery and self-insured risk challenges.
Boutique & Specialized Firms (such as Nyhart and Perr&Knight ): Often chosen by middle-market employers, public entities, or Taft-Hartley plans for niche self-insured evaluations, including specific/aggregate stop-loss recommendations, COBRA rate settings, and IBNR valuations.[](https://www.nyhart.com/Services/Service/4)
If you are looking for assistance with a specific project, tell me:
Are you looking for support for a small/mid-sized business or a large enterprise/public entity?
What specific services do you need most (e.g., stop-loss analysis, IBNR calculations, or general renewal reviews)?
I can help you narrow down which firm type fits your exact situation.
Yes. If by “actuarial consulting” you mean firms that can independently analyze a self-insured/self-funded employer health plan—claims experience, IBNR, funding rates, plan design, stop-loss, PBM/network costs, etc.—there are several established firms worth looking at.
Firms with substantial self-funded health-plan work
Milliman — Probably the clearest example. Its employer-health practice explicitly serves private employers and provides actuarial services, benchmarking, vendor selection, pharmacy consulting, stop-loss/reinsurance, and plan-design work. Milliman also has a specific analytics product, DEPTH, designed to assess and optimize self-funded health benefits.
Segal — Strong in employer, public-sector, and multiemployer health & welfare plans, including self-insured arrangements. Its actuarial consultants work on plan design, rate setting, claims and retiree-health issues.
Mercer — A major employee-benefits consultancy with extensive large-employer self-funded health-plan work, including actuarial analysis, health-plan strategy, vendor/PBM evaluation, and benchmarking.
WTW — Another large benefits consultancy with health actuarial capabilities serving self-funded employer plans, particularly larger organizations.
Aon — Provides health and benefits consulting and actuarial/risk analysis for employers, including self-funded plans and stop-loss strategies.
Gallagher — Particularly relevant if you want actuarial analysis combined with benefits brokerage, stop-loss, and plan-management services.
More specialized / independent actuarial firms
If your objective is specifically to get an independent actuarial opinion rather than a broker's benefits recommendation, I'd also investigate firms such as:
Lewis & Ellis — actuarial and healthcare consulting, with health-plan pricing and financial analysis.
Wakely — strong healthcare actuarial/analytics practice, although historically more concentrated on insurers, government programs, and healthcare organizations than conventional employer benefits.
Axene Health Partners — independent healthcare actuarial and consulting firm with employer/health-plan analytics capabilities.
Haugen Consulting Group and similar boutique health actuaries — potentially attractive for a smaller employer or a very specific actuarial engagement.
One important distinction
There are really three different types of firms you might be looking for:
If you're evaluating a self-funded employer plan, the first category can be especially useful when you want an unbiased second opinion on whether your TPA/PBM/stop-loss carrier's numbers and recommendations make sense.
Milliman is particularly notable here: its published materials specifically identify experience with self-funded employer plans, including self-insured premium-equivalency calculations, employee contribution scenarios, network analysis, reserving, and plan pricing.
If you tell me what you're trying to have the actuary do (e.g., audit claims, determine appropriate stop-loss attachment points, evaluate a level-funded proposal, benchmark a TPA/PBM, calculate IBNR, or price a self-funded plan), I can narrow this to the 5–10 firms that are most relevant and explain what each actually specializes in.
The primary actuarial consulting firms specializing in or heavily featuring self-insured health plans include:
Milliman – One of the world's largest independent, pure-play actuarial consultancies. They feature extensive healthcare practices that consult directly with self-insured employers, providing specialized healthcare cost analytics, stop-loss market surveys, and IBNR reserve calculations.
Willis Towers Watson (WTW) – A global advisory and broking leader that assists employers with comprehensive employee benefit strategies. WTW has deep expertise in managing the financial frameworks of self-insured medical, dental, and disability funding approaches.
Aon – Offers robust health and benefits actuarial consulting. They help large organizations evaluate financial risks, optimize self-insurance arrangements, and navigate complex healthcare pricing and reinsurance placement.
Are you looking for an actuary for a specific company size , or do you need help with a particular service like an IBNR valuation or stop-loss evaluation?
Healthcare Actuaries focuses specifically on health and welfare benefit plans, guiding local and national organizations through the financial mechanics and performance evaluations of self-funded health plans.[](https://healthcareactuaries.com/)
Are you looking for an independent consultant (free of ties to stop-loss carriers/TPAs) or a large-scale global brokerage firm (like Mercer or WTW) to handle broader benefits strategy?
If you mean independent actuarial consulting firms that work specifically with employer-sponsored self-insured (self-funded) health plans, the market includes both boutique specialists and larger employee-benefits actuarial practices. Common firms to evaluate include:
Firm
Self-insured health plan focus
Osborn, Carreiro & Associates
Provides self-insured group health actuarial services including IBNR reserves, ACA actuarial certifications, stop-loss analysis, claims trend analysis, plan modeling, and financial projections.
Parsons Risk Strategies
Specializes in actuarial consulting for self-insured health plans, including forecasting, healthcare risk strategy, and multi-year financial modeling.
Rudd and Wisdom
A long-established actuarial firm with health and welfare consulting experience, including insured and self-funded plans, plan design analysis, funding decisions, and public-sector health programs.
Healthcare Actuaries
Focuses on health actuarial services for self-insured health plans, retiree healthcare, and related benefit programs.
Davies Group
Offers self-insured major medical actuarial services such as premium-equivalent rate development, IBNR studies, stop-loss optimization, and TPA/broker support.
Nyhart
Provides actuarial analysis for self-insured health plans, including contribution modeling, reserving, stop-loss recommendations, benchmarking, and plan design modeling.
Blue Raven Actuarial
A benefits-focused actuarial firm supporting employers, brokers, TPAs, and consultants with self-funded plan analytics, modeling, and actuarial tools.
Peak Actuarial
Provides self-funded plan services such as IBNR reporting, renewal projections, premium-equivalent development, and plan analysis.
Large consulting firms that also have self-insured health actuarial practices
For larger employers, brokers, or complex benefit programs, companies such as these also provide health actuarial and employee-benefits consulting:
Mercer — health benefits consulting, actuarial modeling, funding strategy, and employer health plan analytics.
Aon — health solutions, actuarial analysis, and employer benefits consulting.
Willis Towers Watson — health and benefits consulting with actuarial capabilities.
Milliman — one of the largest actuarial firms, with extensive healthcare actuarial work.
Wakely Consulting Group (part of Milliman) — known for healthcare actuarial analytics and payer/employer health work.
Services you would typically want from a self-insured health actuary
When comparing firms, look for experience with:
IBNR (incurred but not reported) claim reserves
Self-funded plan feasibility studies
Premium-equivalent rate setting
Stop-loss attachment point analysis
Stop-loss renewal reviews
Claims trend and utilization analysis
Plan design change modeling
ACA actuarial value/minimum value certifications
Captive or MEWA actuarial support
Vendor/TPA financial reviews
A key distinction is whether the firm works directly for plan sponsors as an independent actuary versus primarily supporting brokers, TPAs, carriers, or stop-loss insurers. For an employer fiduciary perspective, independence from vendors can be an important consideration.
If you are looking for firms for a specific employer size (e.g., 500 lives vs. 50,000 lives), geography, or a particular need (IBNR, stop-loss, RFP review, or self-funding feasibility), the shortlist changes substantially.
The primary actuarial consulting and advisory firms specializing in or heavily featuring self-insured health and welfare plans include:
Milliman — Widely recognized as the premier independent, pure-play actuarial consultancy globally. They have extensive healthcare and employee benefits practices that work directly with self-insured employers, multiemployer/Taft-Hartley funds, and carriers on claims reserving, stop-loss contract valuation, and healthcare cost forecasting. You can explore their capabilities via the Milliman Employee Benefits Consulting practice.[](https://davies-group.com/northamerica/insurance-services/actuarial-solutions/life-health-self-insured-major-medical-insurance/)
Aon — A global leader in human capital and risk solutions, Aon’s Health Solutions practice houses hundreds of credentialed actuaries who specialize in self-insured health plans. They utilize proprietary predictive modeling (such as their Health Risk Analyzer) to help self-funded employers forecast risk, evaluate stop-loss structures, and optimize benefit spend. More details can be found through Aon Health Solutions.
Mercer — As part of Marsh McLennan, Mercer is a dominant force in health and benefits actuarial consulting. They advise mid-to-large corporate clients on the financial mechanics, strategic design, ongoing analytics, and operational compliance of self-funded medical plans. Learn more on Mercer Health & Benefits.[](https://your-policy.com/employee-benefits/self-funded-medical-plan-consulting/)
WTW (Willis Towers Watson) — WTW brings deep data analytics and actuarial rigor to employer-sponsored health and welfare programs. They assist large plan sponsors with financial projections, total rewards strategy, and managing the long-term cost curves of self-insured group health plans. Visit WTW Health & Benefits for more information.
Yes. There are several actuarial consulting firms with a meaningful focus on self-insured/self-funded employer health plans. The market ranges from large national actuarial firms to smaller specialists that primarily support brokers, TPAs, and plan sponsors.
Firms worth looking at
Milliman — A large, independent actuarial firm with extensive healthcare capabilities. Its work includes employer-sponsored health plans, plan design, forecasting, reserving/IBNR, stop-loss, and health & welfare funds.
EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants — Particularly relevant if you're looking for actuarial support integrated with employee-benefits consulting. Its actuarial practice specifically lists underwriting self-insured health plans, plan-design analysis, funding factors, reserves, and premium-equivalent rates.
Nyhart — Has a dedicated healthcare actuarial practice. Services include self-insured plan financial analysis, COBRA and premium rates, plan/contribution modeling, benchmarking, reserving, stop-loss recommendations, and evaluating fully insured vs. self-insured arrangements.
Blue Raven Actuarial — A more specialized/modern actuarial consultancy. It explicitly serves employers, brokers, TPAs, consultants and health-solution providers, with self-funding feasibility analysis, IBNR, plan-performance studies, plan-design modeling, and outsourced actuarial support.
Healthcare Actuaries — A boutique practice whose stated client base includes organizations with self-insured health plans. Its health-plan practice specifically addresses self-funded plans.
Parsons Risk Strategies — Particularly focused on self-insured health-plan actuarial consulting and healthcare risk strategy, including projections, premium calculations, actuarial forensics, and multi-year risk forecasting.
Leif Associates — A smaller actuarial firm that explicitly works with large employers maintaining self-funded plans, including plan design, claims/enrollment analysis, financial projections, contribution rates, reserves, and special studies.
Rudd and Wisdom — Has substantial health & welfare actuarial expertise, including self-funded plan contribution rates, liability estimates, alternative funding arrangements, risk evaluation, and self-funded MEWAs.
Osborn, Carreiro & Associates — An independent firm with a specifically defined Self-Insured Group Health practice covering IBNR, ACA actuarial-value certifications, stop-loss analysis, financial projections, and rate calculations.
If you're looking specifically for a specialist
I'd distinguish the market this way:
Type
Examples
Typical use
Large national actuarial firm
Milliman
Complex plan modeling, benchmarking, large employers, stop-loss, independent actuarial work
Benefits consulting + actuarial
EPIC, Nyhart
Ongoing employer benefits consulting with actuarial support
Boutique self-funded specialists
Blue Raven, Parsons, Healthcare Actuaries, Leif
One important distinction: "actuarial consulting" doesn't necessarily mean the firm specializes in self-funded employer health plans. Many actuarial firms primarily serve insurance companies, Medicare/Medicaid plans, pensions, or property & casualty insurers. For a self-insured employer, I'd specifically look for experience with claims experience analysis, IBNR, self-funding feasibility, stop-loss, plan-design modeling, funding/contribution rates, PBM/carrier analysis, and ACA certifications.
If you tell me whether you're looking for a firm for an employer, a benefits broker/consultant, a TPA, or a stop-loss/captive arrangement, I can narrow this to the most relevant 5–10 firms and include approximate firm size, geography, and what each specializes in.
Yes. If you mean independent actuarial firms whose health practice is particularly relevant to employer-sponsored, self-funded/self-insured medical plans, rather than general P&C or pension actuaries, there are several good candidates.
Strongest matches
milliman.com — Probably the best-known large actuarial firm in this space. Its employer-health practice explicitly covers self-funded plans, actuarial analysis, plan design, claims forecasting, vendor selection, benchmarking, and stop-loss/reinsurance. Milliman also has actuaries whose stated expertise includes self-funded employer plans and establishing self-insured premium-equivalency amounts.
segalco.com — A major employee-benefits actuarial/consulting firm with a substantial health & welfare practice. Its team includes actuaries, claims analysts, pharmacists, clinicians, and benefits consultants, making it particularly relevant if you want actuarial work combined with broader benefits consulting.
conradsiegel.com — An especially interesting independent firm for large self-funded employers and collectively bargained plans. It explicitly describes its health & welfare practice as having special expertise with large, self-funded workforces and emphasizes independence from carriers/vendors.
ocaactuaries.com — Much more specialized than the giant consulting firms. Its services specifically include self-insured group health, IBNR/reserve calculations, stop-loss attachment-point analysis, ACA actuarial-value certifications, rate development, claims trends, and financial projections. It serves Tennessee and several surrounding states.
parsonsrisk.com — A boutique actuarial firm that explicitly says it specializes in actuarial consulting for self-insured health plans. Its focus is actuarial modeling, projections, premium calculations, forensic analysis, and healthcare risk strategy.
blueravenactuarial.com — A newer, tech-oriented actuarial consultancy serving employers, brokers, TPAs and consultants. Its tools/services include self-funding feasibility analysis, plan-experience reporting, design modeling, renewal projections and rate calculations. This could be attractive if you want faster, project-based actuarial support rather than a traditional large consulting engagement.
healthcareactuaries.com — A boutique firm focused specifically on health and welfare actuarial work, with an explicit Self-Funded Health Plans practice.
How I'd segment them
Firm
Self-funded focus
Best fit
Milliman
High
Large employer / sophisticated actuarial analysis
Segal
High
Employer benefits + actuarial + consulting
Conrad Siegel
Very high
Large self-funded employers / public sector / Taft-Hartley
If your objective is to find an actuarial firm to independently evaluate a self-funded plan's claims experience, set the expected claims rate/IBNR, evaluate stop-loss, and/or assess whether the TPA or broker's numbers are reasonable, I'd narrow the list considerably. OCA, Parsons, Conrad Siegel, Blue Raven, and Milliman are the ones I'd investigate first, depending on the size and complexity of the plan.
If you tell me whether you're looking for (1) an employer, (2) a broker/benefits consultant, (3) a TPA, or (4) a plan fiduciary and roughly how large the plan is, I can give you a more targeted shortlist of 5–10 firms and compare their specialties, independence, and likely fit.
Major and specialized firms operating in this space include:
Milliman – Recognized as one of the largest independent, pure-play actuarial consultancies globally. Milliman's healthcare practice provides extensive analytics, pricing, reserving, and plan design evaluations for self-funded medical plans, working with private employers, public entities, and multi-employer health and welfare funds.
Aon – Offers comprehensive health and benefits brokerage alongside sophisticated actuarial consulting. They routinely model funding arrangements, analyze self-insured claims trends, and evaluate stop-loss attachment points for corporate sponsors.
Axene Health Partners (AHP) – A specialized healthcare actuarial consulting firm that works extensively with health plans, providers, and self-funded groups on data analytics, risk management, and financial optimization.
Regional/Independent Actuarial Firms (e.g., Osborn, Carreiro & Associates ) – Smaller independent consultancies focus explicitly on regional self-insured employer groups and governmental entities, often operating on a fee-for-service model to avoid conflicts of interest with stop-loss carriers or TPAs. [](https://www.ocaactuaries.com/services/self-insured-group-health)
If you're looking for support, would you like to narrow this down by company size, geographic region , or specific services (like stop-loss bidding or IBNR calculations)?
