Jeremy Freestone is senior VP of stop loss for Symetra Life Insurance Company’s benefits division. He started his career with Symetra as an actuarial assistant in 2005 after earning a degree in mathematics from Western Washington University. Freestone is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.
Get to know Jeremy:
What do you like most about working for Symetra?
Great people. I enjoy the culture—it’s very positive and it’s a small enough company that you can make a difference and think entrepreneurially.
What do you like most about working in stop loss?
Health care is really expensive in the U.S. so employers often choose to self-fund to improve the outcome; stop loss is a key to making it work.
What's the most important quality in an insurer?
Trust. Earn and deserve people’s trust and keep your promises.
What inspires you?
Seeing high-energy people tackling challenges with breakthrough ideas that change the way things have been done for the better. I try to be like that myself.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned in your career?
Get on the same page as everyone else on a team. Collaborate; be deliberate and mindful of those around you.
What is your team doing to help Symetra “eliminate the noise?”
I’d say one way we are working to eliminate the noise is by partnering with firms such as Enquiron to bring better transparency to the self-funded industry. Now Symetra stop loss clients can get legal assistance on complex compliance topics—another advantage to being a Symetra stop loss policyholder.
Fun Facts
- First job: Cafeteria server in a retirement home
- Favorite music genre: Classical
- He takes his coffee: Black
- Hidden talents: Pilot; technical scuba diver (deep diving and cave diving); plays classical guitar with the Seattle Classical Guitar Orchestra
- Pets: Two poodles
- Childhood hero: Spock
