Author Archive

Eric Muller-Borle

Eric Muller-Borle

Global Benefits Vision founder and expert in global compensation & employee benefits, global mobility and insurance at large. A former industry executive and management consultant, Eric leads a team dedicated to providing accurate, high value business information to today's practitioners.

Zenefits Insurance Services and co-founder and former CEO Parker Conrad will pay a combined $980,000 in fines after a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the latter said in October 2017. The SEC alleged Zenefits had misled investors when raising capital through private offerings, by making false statements about their compliance with state insurance laws, specifically whether its business and employees were licensed to sell insurance. The

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) in October 2017 announced that Paul Devitt has joined its Global Services and Solutions consultancy team as a director, based in London, U.K. According to Mark Cook, a director with the WTW Global Services team and a frequent speaker on the global E.B. conferences circuit, E.B. captives consulting “is an area that is growing fast as more and more companies look to leverage their scale

Zenefits in October 2017 announced a major change in its strategy. It now intends to become the technology backbone for the employee benefits industry by linking carriers, brokers, companies, and employees with its Zenefits Certified Broker Partner Program and Zenefits Ben Connect. This will allow Zenefits to cooperate with brokers rather than compete against them. The Zenefits Broker Partner Program was launched with the announcement of a partnership with

U.S. life insurance company Northwestern Mutual (NM) has released its 2017 Planning & Progress Study, which pinpoints healthcare costs as the biggest obstacle to attaining financial security in retirement for Americans. In fact, there has been a significant increase in the number of Americans citing healthcare costs as their chief concerns (from 45% in 2016 to 58% in 2017). Lack of savings (44%) and uncertainty over Social Security (31%)

The Pensions & Investments (P&I) Research Center in October 2017 announced that it has just added data about pension risk transfers (PRTs) to a new database that contains details on more than 200 transactions over the past five years. The vast majority of the transactions in the database occurred in the U.S. and in the U.K.. These transactions represent more than $200 billion in liabilities that have been moved

Global mobility services provider SIRVA in October 2017 released its annual mobility report, which focuses on the challenges and opportunities associated with the increasing need and prevalence to align organizational growth and talent strategy with mobility. The evolution of talent mobility as a key enabler of organizational growth initiatives has created a demand for mobility programs that help organizations through policy support and service delivery. The report, Talent Mobility

The French government presented their highly-anticipated finance bill for 2018 on 27 September 2017, indicating a number of employment-related measures that will affect both individuals and companies. The tax package complements recent changes in employment law that are designed to make France a more attractive place for creating jobs, a key part of President Macron’s policy. The bill is being debated by both houses of parliament before being adopted

MSH International, citing favorable U.S. state regulations allowing self insurance for groups with as few as ten plan members, along with the growth of the medical stop-loss business, in October 2017 announced a new stop-loss product for self-insured expatriate and third-country national (TCN) customers that includes medical benefits as well as life and disability options. President and CEO Philippe de Dreuzy said “Based on my 25 years’ experience I

It is becoming more challenging for human resources (HR) departments to retain talent, according to the July 2017 edition of McKinsey Quarterly titled The CEO’s guide to competing through HR. The report outlines the state of HR in the fight to stem high turnover and recruit more talent, and suggests steps that an innovative HR department might take in order to become competitive in today’s talent market. The report

Generali Group in October 2017 announced the global launch of the Human Safety Net, an initiative to help the world’s most vulnerable communities. The Human Safety Net is based on the idea of communities of “people helping people” creating sustainable change and that these changes will create a positive ripple effect. The three programs selected and detailed below target key social issues affecting the communities where we live and

The United States and the European Union in September 2017 signed an agreement that will help U.S. insurers and reinsurers operate in the E.U. by ending Solvency II (S2) regulatory barriers. The American Insurance Association said the agreement provides mutual acknowledgement of prudential supervision in both the E.U. and the United States, and will eliminate barriers that U.S. insurers have faced since S2 was implemented. For reinsurance, the agreement

Arthur J. Gallagher in October 2017 acquired DiBrina Group, a Sudbury, Ontario, Canada HR insurance firm. The terms of the sale were not disclosed. Founded by Michael DiBrina in 1989 and incorporated in 1997, DiBrina Group provides human resources, employee benefits, wealth management, and life insurance consulting and brokerage services. The team, which includes Mr. DiBrina, as well as Tim Lychy, Diego Favero, Aurel Malo, Ehren Baldauf, Jeff St.

International medical and travel insurance company, International Medical Group (IMG), in September 2017 announced the appointment of Steve Paraboschi as the company’s executive vice president. Paraboschi will be responsible for P&L across the company and support of IMG’s international insurance distribution and operations. IMG was founded in 1990 and offers a full line of international medical insurance products, as well as travel insurance plans, medical management services and 24/7

MSH International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paris-based broker SIACI SAINT HONORE Group and supplier of expatriate insurance services worldwide, in September 2017 announced the acquisition of Imagine Financial and its travel medical assistance group, Intrepid 24/7. Both Imagine Financial and Intrepid 24/7 are housed under the umbrella of Ingle International, a provider of plug and play solutions that drive revenue and enhance customer engagement for the insurance, healthcare, special

OECD Sees Synchronized Momentum for Global Economy, But Urges Further Policy Action To Ensure Sustainable And Inclusive Medium-Term Growth The world economy has picked up momentum as expanding investment, employment, and trade support has synchronized growth across most countries, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Outlook. The pace of expansion is projected to be faster in 2017 than in 2016, with a further uptick expected in 2018, but

AIA Group has reached an agreement with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) to acquire CommInsure Life and Sovereign, CBA’s life insurance business in Australia and life and health insurance businesses in New Zealand. In addition, AIA will enter into 20-year strategic bancassurance partnerships with CBA in Australia and ASB Bank in New Zealand. The gross consideration to be paid with respect to the transaction is AUD3,800 million (which

The Nationwide Retirement Institute Consumer Social Security PR Study, released in August 2017 and conducted by Harris Poll, reveals a discouraging outlook for many Americans when it comes to retirement and Social Security benefits. According to the survey, only 21 percent of future retirees say life in retirement will be better, and 28 percent of recent retirees say life is worse in retirement. Retirees who say life is worse

The U.S. uninsured population is expected to decrease to 26.9 million individuals in 2021, according to a report recently released by Freedonia Focus Reports and titled Healthcare Insurance: United States. Factors contributing to the decline include continued improvements in the labor market, which helps individuals gain private coverage; uninsured persons reaching the age of 65 and qualifying for Medicare; continued gains in Medicaid enrollment; and some gains in the

According to the 2017 “Getting Paid In America” survey conducted by the American Payroll Association, 82 percent of employees across America have access to a self-service portal where they have the ability to view their pay and benefits information at their convenience. Most employers are also happy to use these portals, whereby the employee experience becomes more personalized with access to scheduling, time tracking, pay and other information at

The OECD in October 2017 published its annual Entrepreneurship at a Glance report. The 2017 edition includes a new trends chapter, which also introduces recent developments related to the emergence of the “gig economy” and the use of digital tools by micro-enterprises. Summary In most OECD countries where data are available, numbers of new firm creations continue to recover, and in many countries are above pre‑crisis highs, suggesting that

Activehours, a mobile app that gives people access to their pay directly from their smartphones whenever they need it, has announced a $39 million investment round led by Andreessen Horowitz, along with participation from earlier-stage investors Matrix Partners, Ribbit Capital, and March Capital Partners. Launched in 2014, Activehours has added employees from more than 25,000 companies including Starbucks, Apple, Home Depot and Target, who use the app. Activehours charges

Dr. Klaus-Peter Röhler in September 2017 was named Chairman of the Management Board (CEO) at Allianz Deutschland, replacing Dr. Manfred Knof effective 1 January, 2018. Röhler, 52, has been CEO of Allianz Italia since 2015, a post he assumed after serving as CEO of Allianz Suisse for two years. Dr. Röhler holds a PhD, a degree in Law, and a diploma in Business Administration, and is a member of

Tokio Marine HCC in October 2017 acquired the medical stop-loss operations of AIG through its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, HCC Life. The deal includes renewal rights, inforce business and employees.  The acquired operations produce gross written premium of approximately $350 million and increase Tokio Marine HCC’s medical stop-loss business to over $1.3 billion of premium, making it one of the top three largest players in the medical stop-loss industry,

B3i, a group of fifteen global insurers and reinsurers, in September 2017 launched a fully functional beta version of its integrated blockchain solution for the re/insurance industry at the 61st Monte Carlo RVS Conference. In seeking to fulfill the potential of blockchain, B3i group members have attempted to build an efficient worldwide industry platform for market participants to more easily cede, handle, and trade risks. Speaking for B3i, Paul

Canada Life Reinsurance, a provider of innovative reinsurance solutions worldwide, has entered into a long-term reinsurance agreement to cover the longevity risk on £1.7 billion in liabilities for approximately 7,500 pensioner members of the Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) UK Pension Fund. The transaction was written by the Barbados branch of Canada Life via a reinsurance agreement with captive insurance cells managed by Marsh Guernsey. Canada Life is part

Manulife Financial Corporation in September 2017 announced a number of structural and leadership changes that are meant to drive better alignment with the company’s strategic priorities, accelerate growth, optimize legacy blocks of business in North America, and leverage its talent across geographies. The company will focus on creating stronger global alignment and direct accountability for its wealth and asset management businesses by bringing them together under the umbrella of

Aon in October 2017 announced it had purchased Portus Consulting, an independent U.K.-based employee benefits firm. Portus has a leading position in the U.K. professional services market, particularly the legal sector and among SMEs with 50 to 750 employees. It will join Aon Employee Benefits, which says it has 2,500 large and SME corporate clients, covering over 1 million lives in the U.K.