Big-Four firm Ernst & Young in November 2021 released the 2021 edition of its Worldwide Corporate Tax Guide. The 2012-page document summarizes corporate tax systems in more than 160 jurisdictions and is current as of January 1, 2021. It can be downloaded here as a PDF (free of charge, personal details required).

Recently formed French mutual insurance carrier Aéma in October 2021 announced it has completed the acquisition of Aviva’s French operations. As a result, the company now ranks #5 among French insurance carriers. British seller Aviva plc received EUR 3.2 billion in cash for the sale of Aviva France, including its life, non-life, and asset management businesses. Aéma Groupe was launched in January 2021 by mutuals Macif and Aésio Mutuelle,

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in October 2021 published its latest data about inflation. According to the OECD, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) continued upward, reaching 4.3% in August 2021 driven by energy and food prices. The new data point compares with 4.2% in July, continuing the upward trend beginning in December 2020. In the euro area, annual inflation picked up strongly to 3.0% in August

Ranked by 2020 employee benefits revenue, the Top Ten E.B. brokers are:   Rank Company EB Revenues 2020 Growth 2020/2019 EB as % of Total Revenues 1 Marsh & McLennan $4.9bn -1.9% 28.6% 2 Willis Towers Watson $4.8bn 5.6% 51.5% 3 Aon $3.4bn -2.2% 30.8% 4 Arthur J. Gallagher $1.2bn 4.1% 17.8% 5 NFP $0.8bn 5.5% 49.0% 6 Hub International $0.8bn 17.6% 28.8% 7 USI $0.7bn 7.5% 36.3% 8

Ranked by 2020 brokerage revenue, the Top Ten insurance brokers are: The average growth in 2020 was close to 5%. The 2020 rankings differ from the 2019 league table only by #9 and #10, Acrisure and USI, which have swapped their places.  

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)’s Composite Leading Indicators (CLI) in September 2021 indicated that growth remains at above-trend levels but is moderating in the OECD area. Among the major OECD economies, the signs of a moderating growth at above-trend levels already were flagged in last month’s assessment. They now have been confirmed in Canada, the euro area as a whole, including Germany and Italy, and in

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in September 2021 published its July 2021 unemployment data. The OECD area unemployment rate fell to 6.2% in July 2021 (41.1 million workers) from 6.4% in June (minus 1.6 million), and still 0.9 percentage point above the rate observed in February 2020. The latest rate largely reflects the return of temporary laid-off workers in the United States and Canada, where they

According to SwissRe Institute’s sigma study published in September 2021, global premiums in P/C insurance are expected to grow by an average 5 to 6% per year over the 2020 to 2040 period, reaching USD 4.3 trillion by 2040, up from 450 billion in 2020. The expected growth is driven by effects of economic development and climate change, and includes a shift from lower-risk, high-volume motor insurance to catastrophe-exposed property

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in August 2021 announced that the Gross domestic product (GDP) of the OECD area remains below pre-pandemic levels, despite increasing growth in the second quarter of 2021, by 1.6% from 0.6% in the previous quarter, according to provisional estimates. The United Kingdom recorded the strongest growth (4.8% from minus 1.6% in the previous quarter), followed by Italy (2.7% from 0.2% in the previous quarter).

Global brokers Aon and Willis Towers Watson (WTW) in July 2021 announced they had mutually agreed to terminate their combination agreement after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an antitrust lawsuit against the $30bn deal. Aon also announced the extension of employment agreements for CEO Greg Case and CFO Christa Davies to April 1st, 2026, in a move to reassure financial markets. The merger was announced in early

Why a harmonious collaboration with Employee Benefits Providers can be advantageous for International Companies A long-term perspective is key In today‘s world of fast flows of information and increased striving for transparency, it became natural to source products and services from distant markets and change providers/vendors regularly. Often the main reason for repeated changes of providers is price. While in many moments in private and business life providers are

Global benefits network IGP (International Group Program) in July 2021 announced the appointment of Marco Giacomelli as its new Head, replacing Peter de Vries who retires after a long and distinguished career in multinational pooling. Marco joins from iPMI carrier Generali Global Health where he served as CEO. He previously was with Generali Employee Benefits (GEB), serving as Chief Insurance Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and earlier as Technical Director;

In the previous articles of this series, we examined the importance of gaining control over employee benefits (EB) costs and management. As a foundation for action, the Head Office should consider its data acquisition and evaluation. In practice, this is much more complicated than it sounds. The biggest challenge is that EB data flows from different sources (Benefits Networks, insurers, brokers, TPAs, accountants etc.) to subsidiaries and then to

Multinational pooling network IGP in May 2021 announced a new partner in Cambodia, Sovannaphum Life Assurance. Sovannaphum Life Assurance (SVL) is a joint venture between Canadia Investment Holding, the owner of Canadia Bank, and Muang Thai Life Assurance, IGP’s partner in Thailand. The company was granted full license as a life insurance Company by Ministry of Economy and Finance of Cambodia in December 2015 and started operations in 2016.

A group of nine European associations in June 2021 announced the launch of European Retirement Week, which will take place during the week of 29 November 2021. The goal of this initiative is to provide a platform for a wide range of stakeholders to debate the future of pensions in Europe and to raise citizens’ awareness of the need to save for retirement. Achieving pension adequacy is indeed crucial

In our previous article in this series (see Part I here) we examined a case in the Netherlands that demonstrates how the head office of an organization can help subsidiaries with an international approach. We will now analyse another example in which an international solution added value to local employee benefits (EB) provision. Maintaining the example of the German Group, we are assessing a subsidiary located in the United

Swiss Re in June 2021 published a new edition of its SONAR research report under the title “New Emerging Risks Insights”. The report addresses the threats that will shape the future post-COVID-19 risk landscape. They range from the unintended consequences of government interventions through to the dangers of restarting under-maintained industrial facilities. The key issues addressed include: COVID-19 to worsen income inequality; growth in the global middle class slowed

In the previous articles of this series (Article I & Article II), we discussed the importance of knowing the insurable employee benefits (EB) specific to your organisation, so as to understand the total costs associated with providing benefits to employees. With this knowledge gathered centrally in the head office of your organisation, your central Finance and Benefits managers will be able to seek possibilities of optimisation at a local

Zürich, Switzerland-based broker ASN, Advisory Services Network, in April 2021 appointed Kieran Brown as their General Manager in the UK. Brown’s appointment occurs as ASN enters the post-Brexit UK international insurance market. Brown, who was General Manager of Now Health International Europe (NHI) from 2018 to 2021, comes to ASN with over 25 years of experience in international insurance, having worked for Bupa, AXA PPP Healthcare, Cigna and NHI.

t is well known that companies with operations in multiple countries are in the best position when their employee benefits (EB) plans are controlled centrally. The largest companies have implemented a central function within their HQ that is responsible for EB management. However, in medium-size companies with international operations (i.e., 1’000 – 5’000 employees), this level of control and management is still often non-existent. The key to gaining control

. ithin the head offices of many organisations, employee benefits (EB) come as a concern to a variety of C-level decision makers. The responsibility of ensuring suitable employee benefits for an organisation’s workforce is linked closely to a manager’s capacity to meet specific targets. However, to meet those targets, companies require the ideal employee benefits scenario – the ‘dream.’ As a result of operational limitations, the ‘dream’ EB scenario

The European Association of Paritarian Institutions (AEIP) in April 2021 announced the 2021 edition of the World Pension Alliance & Transatlantic Conference. The event will be held online on 2 and 3 June 2021. It brings together leading experts in pension and healthcare benefits, as well as trustees and employee benefits plan professionals from around the world to share their knowledge and experience on the most prevalent issues. The

U.K. risk and insurance management association Airmic in April 2021 appointed Julia Graham as its new CEO. She takes over from John Ludlow and will work with the association’s chairwoman Tracey Skinner. Previously, Graham served as director of risk management and insurance at global law firm DLA Piper; head of strategic risk, insurance, and compliance for RSA; and was Airmic’s deputy CEO and technical director since 2015. A past

AXA in March 2021 announced a series of senior leadership changes in the context of the implementation of its new strategic plan, Driving Progress 2023, presented in December 2020. According to CEO Thomas Buberl, “[…] a renewed leadership team and a simpler organisation [will] accelerate the execution of our strategic priorities […]”. Simplification of AXA’s Corporate Center AXA’s Corporate Center will be led by two Deputy CEOs: Frédéric de

Gallagher in February 2021 announced that Dieter Gistelinck had joined as Managing Consultant, in the Multinational Benefits & HR Consulting practice in Gallagher’s Benefits and HR Consulting Division. Gistelinck will be based in Brussels, Belgium. In his new role at Gallagher, Gistelinck will be responsible for developing the Gallagher Global Workforce Strategy consulting portfolio in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. This is achieved through understanding clients’

The World Economic Forum (WEF) in January 2021 published the 16th edition of its annual Global Risks Report. Prepared with input from global broker Marsh McLennan, South Korean conglomerate SK Group, and insurance carrier Zurich, the 2021 edition of the report focuses on risks arising from societal fractures, with implications for human health, unemployment, widening digital divides, youth disillusionment, and geopolitical fragmentation. According to the WEF, large cohorts of

International employee benefits network IGP in December 2020 announced the launch of its “Virtual Training Series” to be held in the first half of 2021. The series of six webinars will be repeated in different time zones and will be available in English, German and/or French. January 21, 2021: Trends & Development of the International Employee Benefits Market February 18, 2021: Introduction to IGP Pooling March 18, 2021: Introduction