New Zealand’s prudential supervisor, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, in February 2018 placed CBL Insurance under “interim liquidation”. CBL is a P/C insurer specializing in credit surety and financial risk, such as builders risks, sureties, guarantees and contractor bonds. It operates worldwide and in particular in Europe and Scandinavia through an Irish subsidiary, CBL Insurance Europe Designated Activity Company (DAC). It does not underwrite employee benefits or workers’

China’s insurance regulator, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), in February 2018 “temporarily” took over Anbang Insurance Group. Its chairman Wu Xiaohui in June 2017 was detained by authorities and is now facing prosecution on charges including fundraising fraud and embezzlement. Anbang’s growth was driven by high-yield, investment-type insurance products, many of which allowed redemption after as little as two years with little or no penalties. The growth helped fund

Arthur J. Gallagher in February 2018 acquired Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Williams Insurance Agency. Founded in 1967, Williams Insurance Agency offers property/casualty, life, health and voluntary benefits coverages to businesses and individuals primarily across South Dakota. Greg Heineman, Timothy Donohue, Dwight Vondra and their associates will continue to operate from their current location. They will report to Patrick M. Gallagher, head of Gallagher’s Midwest retail property/casualty brokerage operations, and

Global insurance brokerage Hub International (Hub) in February 2018 announced that it has acquired the shares of Kindersley Insurance. Headquartered in Kindersley, Saskatchewan (Canada), with an office in Dodsland, Kindersley Insurance Ltd. is a full-service, independent personal and commercial insurance brokerage that specializes in insurance solutions for the agriculture, oil field and trucking industries. Principals Mark Stockford and Barry Andrew will join Hub Manitoba and report to Doug Trapp,

Alera Group, a U.S. employee benefits, property/casualty, risk management and wealth management firm, in February 2018 announced that they have acquired three more firms, bringing the grand total of their acquisitions since their January 2017 launch to 20. The February 1, 2018 transaction includes Aisling Partners Insurance Brokerage of Worcester, Massachusetts; Davidson Benefits Planning (DBP) of Tigard, Oregon; and HR Benefits Advisors headquartered in Rochester, New York. Aisling is

Alera Group, a U.S. employee benefits, property/casualty, risk management and wealth management firm, in February 2018 announced that they have acquired Spring Consulting Group, located in Boston, Massachusetts. This acquisition expands the national presence of Alera Group to 17 U.S. states. Spring Consulting Group is a multidisciplinary employee benefits and risk management consulting firm that is well known in the employee benefits captive market. Their expertise covers the full

After raising $48 million in 2017 to tap into the growing needs of businesses to handle their global workforces, MOVE Guides in February 2018 announced the acquisition of Polaris Global Mobility, in order to expand its footprint in the market and the services it offers to customers. Polaris works with large enterprises to build software to manage expat programs and payroll. With the acquisition, MOVE Guides will now be

Swiss Re in February 2018 announced it was in preliminary talks with Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, which could end up owning up to one-third of the global reinsurer. The deal is valued at around USD 10 billion. Other $10+ bn investments by SoftBank include Sprint (telecoms), ARM Holdings (microprocessors), Vodafone Japan (telecom), Didi Chuxing, Uber Technologies (both transportation); smaller investments in insurance include Lemonade. As to the rationale behind the

Allianz in January 2018 invested $59.2 million in Boston, Massachussets-headquartered U.S. telehealth platform American Well. Allianz carried out the investment through its digital investment unit, Allianz X, supported by the Health Innovation Center of Allianz Partners. Furthermore, Allianz will join American Well’s Board of Directors. American Well’s telehealth platform, called The Exchange, handles clinical, administration, and security requirements according to U.S. healthcare regulations and best practices. In addition to

Aviva, the UK’s largest general insurer and a leading life and pensions provider, in January 2018 announced its intention to withdraw from the international private medical insurance (iPMI) market, following a strategic review which found that iPMI “is not central” to the company’s focus on growing its health business in the UK. As of 1 May 2018, existing iPMI customers will be able to continue coverage by accepting a

Mid-2018 will see German insurer Allianz sell part of its Taiwan business’s traditional life insurance portfolio to China Life Insurance in a move by Allianz to actively manage its Taiwan life portfolio for more capital-efficient solutions. The deal includes a portfolio of around 78,000 policies with a guaranteed interest rate of 4 percent or higher, with combined policy reserves of 1.2 billion euros (on a IFRS basis, $1.42 billion

AIG in December 2017 became the sole owner of the AIG Global Benefits Network (AIG GBN). By way of background, through one of its units, AIG in mid-2015 had acquired a controlling 50%+1 stake in the former ING network. Two years later, the two minority shareholders of AIG GBN, Malakoff-Médéric of France and NN (formerly ING) of The Netherlands, sold their respective stakes. The move confirms AIG’s commitment to

Aetna in November 2017 sold its group life and disability insurance and absence management business to The Hartford for $1.45bn. Life and disability was the only non-health insurance related part of the business remaining after Aetna cut its property casualty insurance business in the mid-1990s. It only brought in about $2bn in premiums in 2016, while Aetna recorded $63.1bn in total revenue, and healthcare premium revenues reached $54.1bn. The

Sompo International Holdings, a Bermuda-based specialty provider of property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and wholly-owned subsidiary of Sompo Holdings of Tokyo, Japan, has launched a new strategic partnership in Africa: Sompo International will form alliances with both Sanlam Limited and SAHAM Finances through a partnership agreement executed by Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance. This partnership will give access to new markets by allowing Sompo to leverage the experience and

Global Bankers Insurance Group, an international family of insurance and reinsurance companies, will acquire Lincoln Benefit Life Company, a Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.-based provider of life insurance and annuity solutions. The transaction that will conclude in the first quarter of 2018. Subject to appropriate regulatory approvals by the Nebraska Dept. of Insurance, the sale was prompted by the decision of Lincoln’s Resolution Group, which planned consolidation of Lincoln’s insurance activities

Lloyds Banking Group, the parent of Scottish Widows, in October 2017 announced a deal wherein it will buy Zurich UK’s workplace pensions and savings business in Q1 of 2018. The combined deal would place Scottish Widows as the UK’s third largest workplace savings provider. Zurich will get exclusive distribution rights for group life protection to certain corporate clients of Lloyds’ commercial banking business, while broadening Scottish Widows’ offering in

Abelica Global, an international network of financially and legally independent actuarial consulting firms, in December 2017 announced that it was joined by Portuguese firm Actuariado. Actuariado advises Portuguese clients on a range of actuarial and related consulting issues for both employee benefits and insurance. They also provide services to a number of clients in the Portuguese speaking African countries of Angola, Cabo Verde, and Mozambique. ‘We are happy to

DaVita Medical Group, a U.S. independent medical group and a subsidiary of DaVita, and Optum, a health services company that is part of UnitedHealth Group, have agreed to merge as of 5 December 2017 for approximately $4.9 billion in cash. The transaction is expected to close in 2018 and is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. DaVita, a Fortune 500 company, is the parent company of

The announcement that CVS Health has purchased Aetna, referred to in our earlier news item, was made on Sunday, 4 December 2017, laying to rest months of rumor and speculation. The acquisition sets the stage for a new type of company that will include a health insurer, a retail pharmacy, and a pharmacy benefits manager that negotiates prescription drug prices with drug-makers. The announcement comes at a time when

British insurer Britannia’s plans in relation to Brexit include a location in Luxembourg. A P&I club, Britannia is one of the leading U.K. marine insurers. Its contracts generally cover pollution risks and accidents at sea. 40% of gross written premiums is in the E.U. market, which it cannot cut itself off from. The company in December 2017 announced that the board of directors, after consulting with experts, had mandated

Zenefits, the embattled San Francisco-based HR software company, has jettisoned its Broker-of-Record (BOR) business after Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler ordered the company to cease free distribution of its HR software, and has partnered with OneDigital Health and Benefits as first benefits brokerage partner. Zenefits, founded in 2014 by Parker Conrad, offered software that promised to streamline HR tasks for small businesses. While this was lauded at the time

Chicago-based global insurance brokerage Hub International in November 2017 announced that it has acquired the assets of the Burlington, Vermont-based Summit Financial Corporation and Summit Financial Insurance Agency. Summit’s leadership team and staff will continue to operate out of Summit’s existing offices and will report to Charles Brophy, President and CEO, Regional President, Hub International US East. Summit, founded by Joe Bonasera and Brian Babcock, is one of New

Japanese insurer Sompo in November 2017 announced it would set up its new European headquarters in Luxembourg in the wake of Brexit, citing in particular the potential loss of E.U. passporting right and looming uncertainty. The new entity, SI Insurance Europe, is to be owned by Bermuda-based Sompo International Holdings and will offer both insurance and reinsurance. Sompo is mainly a specialty provider of property and casualty insurance. The

AXA Group is simplifying its operating model, empowering its entities to operate closer to their customers. In order to accomplish this, AXA will shift from its current, three-layer model of separate head office, global business lines, and regional headquarters, to a refocused corporate center that will oversee five geographies (France, Europe, the U.S., Asia, and International). Concurrently managed with the five geographies will be key transversal entities AXA Investment

Advocacy organization Cross Border Benefits Alliance-Europe (CBBA-Europe) will hold its inaugural conference to a packed audience on 6 December, 2017 in Brussels, Belgium. Over 100 delegates have registered and the conference no longer accepts applications to attend, due to space restrictions. Focusing on ‘Cross-border and pan-European Pensions, and Why CBBA Supports Them’, the inaugural event is supported by the likes of Mercer, Zurich, Generali’s GEB, Amundi, and Previnet. As

Bug Insights’ human resources analytics and rewards optimization offering in November 2017 was acquired by Deloitte Consulting. Viewed as a critical step on the journey to creating a total relationship with employees, the offering allows employers the ability to determine what their employees value most from their rewards programs. It leverages trade-off analysis and employee preference measurements to give companies specific information about their employees’ attitudes, helping to design

Ping An Insurance Company of China in October 2017 announced that it has established two units, the Global Financial and Economic Development Research Center. and the Global Medical and Healthcare Research Center, in association with Tsinghua University, with the aim of creating a global, top-grade think tank supported by the scientific research capabilities and scientists of Tsinghua, and the technology innovation in fintech, healthtech, and smart-city development expertise of