Human beings are living longer than ever, which can be a wonderful thing. As the T-shirts say, life is good. But human longevity has big consequences for society, which is one reason President Obama is hosting today’s White House Conference on Aging. It’s great that we can get new hips when our old ones wear out, but someone has to pay for them. It’s great that Baby Boomers will

Aging reduces the production of new immune cells, decreasing the immune system’s response to vaccines and putting the elderly at risk of infection, but antioxidants in the diet may slow this damaging process. That’s a new finding by scientists from the Scripps Research Institute in Florida, published in an open-access paper in the journal Cell Reports. The problem is focused on an organ called the thymus, which produces T lymphocytes

As of June 2015, Candriam – BIL Pension Fund is still the Luxembourg representative at AEIP (Association Européenne des Institutions Paritaires, or European Association of Paritarian Institutions), even after its former owner, leading Luxembourg bank Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (BIL) separated from Dexia group and was acquired by Precision Capital of Qatar and Candriam was sold in February 2014 to New York Life Insurance Company, the largest U.S. mutual

Prime factors for a higher probability of reaching age 100+ are long telomere length and low inflammation. Newcastle University’s Institute for Ageing in the UK and Keio University School of Medicine in Japan note that severe inflammation is part of many diseases in the old, such as diabetes or diseases attacking the bones or the body’s joints, and chronic inflammation can develop from any of them. The study was

IGP hosts its annual international employee benefits seminar in Boston, Massachusetts on September 29 and October 1st, 2015. The seminar includes a choice of up to 12 country panel presentations about local social security programs and customary private employee benefits practice, including legislative updates and recent trends and new products. An optional training program on multinational pooling and related issues is offered on September 28 pm. Registration fees start

In a August 5, 2015 press release, New York-based insurance brokerage Integro said it has reached an agreement to be acquired by PE firm Odyssey Investment Partners. Odyssey re-enters the insurance industry after previous investments in Montpelier Re, OneCall Medical and York Insurance Services.  

INTEGRO TO BE ACQUIRED BY ODYSSEY INVESTMENT PARTNERS Investment Strongly Endorses Specialty Growth Strategy New York, NY (August 5, 2015) – Integro Ltd., an international insurance brokerage and risk management firm, today announced that it has reached an agreement to be acquired by entities affiliated with Odyssey Investment Partners, LLC, positioning Integro for continued growth. Financial details of the investment were not disclosed. Founded in 2005, Integro has evolved

Two years after joining AON France as its Global Benefits practice leader, Bruno Valette joins Mercer France as Client Relationship Director and Principal. Or, rather, rejoins, as Valette had spent 14 years with Mercer in Paris right before AON. Mercer was his first employer in the insurance sector from 1989 to 1997, to be followed by leading French broker Gras Savoye, soon to be a division of Willis –

After leaving Allianz Deutschland, Dr. Markus Riess has joined Ergo as CEO and Munich Re’s management board. Ergo is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Munich Re, which operates under the brand names Ergo, Victoria, DKV and others. Munich Re’s CEO Nikolaus von Bomhard has no known successor and has not announced any plans to retire, despite the fact that he will reach the mandatory retirement age of 60 in 2016.

Willis announced the acquisition of PMI Health Group, an independent healthcare adviser and broker in the U.K. The deal will  raise Willis’s presence in the U.K. employee benefits and healthcare market, and  enhance its product offerings and skills base.

Willis announced the appointment of Brian Shea as Head of Europe for Willis Capital Markets & Advisory, its insurance investment banking division, based in London, effective August 24, 2015. Brian joins from reinsurer  SCOR, where he was Chief Corporate Strategy Officer after 20 years as an investment banker with Salomon Brothers and Merrill Lynch.

IGP welcomes Gothaer Lebensversicherung AG as their new Network Partner in Germany. Previously, Victoria Lebensversicherung -part of Ergo group and no longer in existence as a separate brand- was IGP’s German partner. Ergo Germany is no longer a member of a pooling network. Gothaer Germany remains a member of the new AIG network (formerly known as ING Global Network).  

Aetna will acquire Humana for cash and stock valued at $37 billion. The acquisition will push Aetna’s Medicare Advantage membership to  4.4 million and make it possible for the two companies to share knowledge and innovations in order to create better healthcare products, the company said. The deal is subject to regulatory and other approvals; it is expected to be completed in late 2015.

Willis appointed Simon Weaver as CEO of its Singapore office, as well as to the newly-created role of regional CEO for South-East Asia.

AIG in early May 2015 announced that it has acquired a controlling stake in Brussels-based ING Employee Benefits Global Network and renamed it AIG Global Benefits Network (AIG GBN). AIG’s American General Life Insurance Company unit joined the pooling network as the new US partner, taking the place of ING USA, recently spun-off and renamed VOYA. VOYA, in turn, exits the US global employee benefits market in order to

Vittorio Zaniboni has been appointed in April 2015 as Chief Technical Officer at GEB. Based in Brussels, Vittorio has been with GEB since early 1998, first as an actuary, then reinsurance manager and as chief actuary since late 2006. He joined Generali in 1996 after graduating from Trieste University with an MSc in actuarial sciences.

GEB launched GEB Horizon Plan, an international retirement and savings product for its small and medium-sized corporate clients.

Willis in July announced three new members to Willis Network, bringing the total number to 119. The three new members are: Smith England Ltd (Cheshire), Bluestone Insurance Services Ltd (Gloucestershire) and Rankin Risk Solutions Ltd (Perthshire). The news follows the addition earlier in the year to the network of Allianz Business Services Ltd and Clark Thomson Insurance Brokers.

Willis confirmed that Steve Hearn, Deputy CEO, will leave  to join Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford at the beginning of November, 2015.

Willis combines with Towers Watson to create a new $18 billion insurance, personnel, and risk company. Willis shareholders will own 50.1% of the new Ireland-based company, Willis Towers Watson. The new $18-billion company has annual revenue of about $8.2 billion and 39,000 staff in 120 countries, and advises more than 80% of the world’s top 1,000 companies.

Dr. Manfred Knof has become CEO of Allianz Deutschland, succeeding Dr. Markus Riess, who joins Ergo as CEO and Munich Re’s management board. Ergo is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Munich Re that operates under the brand names Ergo, Victoria, DKV, and others.

Willis announced in July 2015 the appointment of Cedric Luah as Asia Head of Human Capital and Benefits, to lead its Asia regional operations based in Singapore. Cedric joins Willis from the AIA group office in Hong Kong where he was responsible for multinational strategies, corporate clients relationships and multinational pooling. Prior to AIA, he spent seven years with the Swiss Life network, where he was the Head of Sales

In another instance of the on-going consolidation of the life insurance sector in Europe and of European banks selling their insurance subsidiaries, Monceau Assurances, a French composite insurer, announced the acquisition of Vitis Life Luxembourg from KBL European Private Bankers on July 7, 2015. KBL is owned by Precision Capital, based in Qatar. Vitis Life specializes in life insurance for high net-worth individuals (HNWI) and sells mostly unit-linked products

Generali announced in June 2015 a reorganization of its corporate structure in the Central & Eastern European (CEE) region. Generali increased its ownership of Generali PPF Holding B.V. (GPH) to 100% by acquiring the remaining 24% minority share held by PPF Group, in line with the agreements signed on January 8, 2013. The holding company operating in Central-Eastern Europe changes its name to Generali CEE Holding B.V. The CEE

AXA has announced in June 2015 the creation of AXA Lab Asia in Shanghai, identical to AXA Lab in the Silicon Valley. Led by Frank Desvignes, it will act as a business-focused center of expertise on data analytics and foster Research & Development. Meanwhile, AXA Strategic Ventures will open a new office in Hong Kong, so as to be in the best position to seize the numerous investment opportunities

AIG USA launched a new product, AIG Home Protection, a voluntary employee benefit that covers out-of-pocket expenses related to repairing or replacing home appliances. Available to groups with at least 2,500 employees, it covers parts and labor for repairing or replacing mechanical and electrical failures on products within the home, up to USD 5000/year. The program is an interesting example of B2B2E (business-to-business-to-employee) marketing and of leveraging P/C capabilities

French wholesale broker APRIL Group released in June 2015 a service card for employees facing hardship such as divorce,accident, death of a relative, etc. “April for Me” allows employers to support these employees through help with administrative procedures, hands-on assistance (babysitting, cleaning services, etc.), and support (social worker, psychologist, etc.) in case of a traumatic event. This is expected to drive greater employee engagement and a quicker return to