The plan to repeal and replace “Obamacare,” more formally known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which was put in place by President Barack Obama, experienced a rough week in late March 2017, as more Republican leaders sided with Democrats who are feeling reticent about passing the controversial American Health Care Act (AHCA). The defections come after Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports that the bill would result in higher

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in February 2017 published its monthly Composite Leading Indicator (CLI) with data from December 2016. Growth is anticipated to pick-up in the United States, Canada, Japan as well as Germany and France. In the United Kingdom, there are tentative signs of growth gaining momentum, although the CLI remains below trend and uncertainty persists about the nature of the agreement the UK

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in March 2017 released its Worldwide cost of living 2017 survey. Using a cost-of-living approach, it compares the price of over 150 items in 133 cities around the world. It found that Singapore is the world’s most expensive city for the fourth year running and 20% more expensive than New York and 5% pricier than Hong Kong, which lies in second place. Asia now

AIA Group in March 2017 announced that its CEO and President, Mark Tucker, will retire from his executive positions with the company and its subsidiaries. Tucker will become non-executive Group Chairman of HSBC Holdings, and Ng Keng Hooi will take over for Tucker at AIA as of 1 September, 2017. Hooi, 62, who joined AIA in 2010 and is currently their regional executive, was previously CEO of Great Eastern

As part of its continuing expansion across the Asia Pacific region, Cigna has announced the appointment of Raymond Ng as the new Regional Head of Distribution – Global Health Benefits, for Cigna’s Asia Pacific Leadership Team, which is led by Patrick Graham, Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific, Cigna International Markets. Ng, a graduate of Curtin University in Bentley, Western Australia, will be responsible for cross-market growth and development of

As part of its continuing expansion across the Asia Pacific region, Cigna has announced the appointment of Ray Bond as the new Regional Head of Distribution – Individual Health, for Cigna’s Asia Pacific Leadership Team, based in Hong Kong and reporting to Patrick Graham, Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific, Cigna International Markets. Bond’s duties will include expanding Cigna’s Global IPMI business in the Asia Pacific region, which targets globally

Peter D. Hancock, President and Chief Executive Officer of American International Group (AIG), has announced his intention to resign after the insurance giant posted a disappointing quarterly loss of $3 billion. As AIG’s fifth chief executive since 2015, he will remain in his position until a successor is found. A graduate of the University of Oxford, Hancock was the vice-chairman of KeyCorp during the financial crisis of 2008. Upon

Cigna in March 2017 announced the appointment of Alison Meckiffe as Chief Marketing Officer for Cigna’s Global Individual Private Medical Insurance business, reporting to Arjan Toor, Director of Cigna Global IPMI. Meckiffe joins Cigna with over 17 years’ experience of strategic marketing and customer insight, most recently with AXA U.K., where her most recent role was Chief Operating Officer Chief Operating Officer for Direct & Retail Partnerships, with responsibility for

Some ten months after selecting its key service providers, European cross-border pension plan RESAVER is poised to begin operations in March 2017. A brainchild of the European Commission, RESAVER is a pension plan specially designed for highly mobile researchers working at public and private research institutions and universities, SMEs, and research and technical development companies. It is advised by Aon Hewitt; BlackRock won the initial investment management mandate; and

American International Group (AIG) in March 2017 announced that they will open offices in Luxembourg to ensure operations in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland after Britain leaves the European Union are not affected in any way. AIG has long written business in Continental Europe from the U.K. under the umbrella of AIG Europe Limited, which has branches across the EEA and Switzerland. By 2019, AIG will have

The European Association of Paritarian Institutions, AEIP, in cooperation with the Multi-Employer Benefit Plan Council of Canada (MEBCO) and the National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans (NCCMP) organizes the 9th edition of the Transatlantic Conference in Montreal, Canada from May 10 to 12, 2017. Experts from Canada, the United States and Europe will discuss topics such as the Evolution of Pension Systems, Regulation and Supervision Trends, Healthcare Innovation, Best

Sweden has made a number of changes to their Anti-Discrimination Act as of January 1, 2017. These include extending the scope of an act requiring all employers to take active measures to bring about equal rights and opportunities in the workplace regardless of gender, ethnicity and religion to include transgender identity or expression, disability, sexual orientation, and age. Other developments include a requirement for comprehensive documentation of all employers’

The government of the United Kingdom in December 2016 published a revised version of the gender pay gap regulations that come into force in April, 2017. These regulations require private sector employers within the U.K. with at least 250 employees to publish certain information about the differences in pay between men and women. It is anticipated that 34 percent of the total U.K. workforce (7,960 employers and around 11

Egon Zehnder in March 2017 released the findings of its Leaders & Daughters Global Survey, which tracks working women’s motivations, ambitions, and their own definition of professional success. Findings highlighted seven countries – Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, India, the United States, and the United Kingdom – and shows global similarities between women at different stages of their careers. The findings indicate that while the majority of women in the

Aetna International is expanding into the Canadian market to provide tailored coverage for expatriate clients. With the main office in Toronto, Aetna expects to open additional offices throughout 2017 and is actively hiring staff to fill key roles. Carrie Chapman in September 2016 was appointed country manager for Canada, reporting to Richard di Benedetto, president and CEO of Aetna International. The plans offered by Aetna will cover everyone whether

The annual Benefits and Trends Survey, released in February 2017 by Aon Employee Benefits, the U.K. health and benefits business of Aon plc, reveals that 90% of the 200 employers surveyed want increased employee engagement and understanding of benefits packages. However, what was telling was that only 36% have a specific communications strategy in place. The survey also shed light on employer actions and intentions. Aon commented that the

While publication of solvency ratios for the insurance industry is not a requirement, many companies do publish this information as part of their risk appetite and financial targets. The E.U. solvency regime, called Solvency II, also allows countries operating outside the E.U., ‘third country insurers’, to operate and comply with E.U. rules. The chart, compiled by Guy Carpenter, a Marsh & McLennan company, and published in February 2017, shows

Results of the Deloitte Global Chief Procurement Officer Survey 2017 point to reducing costs in the face of global uncertainty as the biggest priority Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) face. Eighty-four percent of the CPOs surveyed in North America said that managing risks is the second highest priority, indicating that they are taking a cautious approach at a time when risks include weakness and volatility in emerging markets and rising

Remarks by President Trump in Listening Session with Health Insurance Company CEOs Source: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary February 27, 2017 THE PRESIDENT:  You are the big ones.  You are the biggest of the big, right?  (Laughter.)  That’s very impressive.  Thank you for being here.  We just had a great meeting with the governors on the horrible effects that Obamacare is having.  We’re going to change

Aetna International in February 2017 announced the appointment of Andy O’Cain as New Business Sales Director, in charge of the development and growth of the self insured corporate sector (ASO) in the large group market. Based in the U.K., Andy joins Aetna International from Cigna Insurance Services where he was Head of Sales and Business Development, having previously been Head of Travel Development. Prior to Cigna, Andy was Head

Just days after hiring Jay Fulcher as CEO to replace David Sacks, the interim CEO who took over after former CEO Parker Conrad was ousted over a fraud investigation, Zenefits in February 2017 announced a third and largest round of layoffs in a year that saw the embattled company fined $7 million as part of a settlement with the state of California. The layoffs are part of a plan

Zenefits, designers of all-in-one HR solutions for small businesses, has appointed Jay Fulcher as executive officer and chairman of the board effective in February, 2017. Fulcher, who formerly served as president and CEO of Ooyala, as well as executive vice president of Peoplesoft, brings more than 20 years of senior management experience to Zenefits at a key time in its evolution. The announcement comes days after the company’s second

Aon in February 2017 sold its human resources business process outsourcing (BPO) platform and operations to private equity firm and alternative asset manager Blackstone for $4.3 billion plus an additional $500 million earn-out based on future performance. Closing is expected by the end of the second quarter of 2017. The sale, according to Aon’s website, is a “natural extension of the strategy the firm has pursued over the last

Cigna’s global expatriate segment, Cigna Global Health Benefits Europe (Cigna GHB), in February 2017 announced the promotion of Raymond Linnartz to the senior management position of European Sales Director. Linnartz, who has almost 17 years’ experience in sales and business development, has been with Cigna for 11 years. He was previously with Aon and Mercer in multiple roles as an adviser on employee benefits solutions to Fortune 500 companies.

Cigna’s global expatriate segment, Cigna Global Health Benefits Europe (Cigna GHB), in February 2017 announced the promotion of Frank Indestege to Market Development Director, Europe. His new duties at Cigna GBH will include responsibility for business development projects and strategic partnerships across Europe. His remit will include identifying product and partnership needs for strategic markets, notably France, Germany, and the Nordic territories. Indestege, who holds a Master’s degree in

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in February 2017 published the 2016 edition of its yearly global insurance market trends report. Since the early 1980s, the OECD has collected and analyzed data on insurance in OECD countries. Since 2008, the Global Insurance Statistics project has extended the global reach of the database and expanded the data collected which now includes not only the number of insurance companies

The U.S. district court for the District of Columbia in February 2017 has blocked health insurer Anthem’s proposed merger with Cigna, citing antitrust concerns in respect of large national employers. Anthem announced it will appeal the decision, whilst Cigna “evaluates its options”. U.S. district judge Amy Berman Jackson found that “the merger is likely to result in higher prices”. Earlier in 2017, the same U.S. district court had found