In October 2026, Lincoln Financial announced completion of its USD 6.3 billion reinsurance transaction with Talcott Financial Group, effective on 1 October. Approximately USD 5.8 billion of guaranteed universal life statutory reserves were ceded to a Talcott subsidiary. Including an earlier Fortitude Re transaction, about 60 per cent of Lincoln’s total guaranteed universal life block is now reinsured. Lincoln continues administering the policies. The deal concerns individual life business

In October 2026, Marsh announced that it had completed the acquisition of Iowa-based Accel Holdings. Accel will operate within Marsh Agency, bringing employee benefits, retirement and wealth advice alongside its other insurance capabilities. Its colleagues have joined the business and will continue working from their existing locations. Financial terms were not disclosed. The completion establishes the ownership change; it does not demonstrate that integration has already improved outcomes for

In September 2026, WTW announced a partnership with Sapien Software to support mid-market divestitures, mergers and acquisitions. The arrangement brings HR systems, payroll, international benefits administration and managed services into WTW’s Human Capital Divestitures in a Box offering. It is intended to improve readiness at completion and reduce dependence on transition service agreements. The announcement describes an offering and expected advantages, rather than independently measured client results. Benefits are

In September 2026, TerraTern announced that it had placed more than 200 Indian nurses and physiotherapists in healthcare institutions in Germany and Austria. Its release, dated 25 September, describes language instruction, interview preparation, qualification recognition, visa assistance and settlement support in a combined pathway. It does not give the dates of individual placements, an independently audited count, comparable retention figures or a full breakdown by employer and destination. The

In September 2026, The Guardian reported that Starbucks workers responding to a Starbucks Workers United survey faced sharp increases in their health-insurance contributions for cover beginning on 1 October. More than 130 workers from union and non-union stores took part. The newspaper described individual employees who expected to drop coverage or considered taking another job because of the cost. The evidence is serious as testimony, but the survey is

In September 2026, Fortitude Re announced that a new Fortitude Life entity had acquired substantially all the assets of Dayforward. The stated perimeter includes technology, intellectual property, distribution agreements and staff. It excludes Dayforward’s insurance entities and their legacy policy liabilities. Fortitude Re is known for reinsurance and life and annuity transactions, but the new deal is a distribution and technology move. The commercial case may depend on customer

In September 2026, Assurex Global announced that Kansas City-based The Miller Group had joined its partnership of independent brokers. The Miller Group is a family-owned broker established in 1961. According to Assurex, it has expanded from construction insurance and surety into employee benefits and wider risk advisory. The firm remains independently owned and operated, while gaining access to a network of more than 100 brokers across six continents. Assurex

A dedicated operating entity In September 2026, Sedgwick announced the launch of Carrier and Captive Solutions, a dedicated entity for insurers, captives, risk retention groups and delegated-authority businesses. Its offer combines claims administration, carrier programmes, MGA and MGU support, captive reporting, legacy-claims work and accident-and-health administration. Sedgwick says more than 1,000 professionals support the unit. The launch is an organisational and commercial announcement; it does not establish that client

A large-scale intervention in the individual health market The US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in September 2026 said it had cancelled about 315,000 Affordable Care Act policies covering roughly 760,000 people in August 2026. The agency cited unverified citizenship or immigration documentation and suspected improper enrolments. It also moved to exclude 569 brokers whose 2026 applications allegedly showed statistically implausible patterns or lacked essential applicant information. The

A proposed route from client flow to private capital Blackstone has held discussions with Aon about creating a Lloyd’s syndicate that could earn returns on as much as $2 billion of annual premium, according an article published in September 2026 by the Financial Times. The project has not been confirmed as a final launch. Its significance lies in the proposed link between one of the world’s largest brokers and

A busy market, with more smaller transactions The UK pension risk transfer market remained active in the first half of 2026. Hymans Robertson counted more than 135 transactions, with an aggregate value of about £10.2 billion, compared with £9.8 billion in the same period a year earlier. A notable feature was the number of transactions below £100 million. The figures are evidence of activity, not a forecast for the

In September 2026, Howden Re announced a new International Alternative Solutions practice led by Alexander Roth to develop risk and capital structures for clients across Europe, Asia and other international markets. The practice combines structured reinsurance, climate science, data analytics, product design, portfolio structuring, pricing, capital-markets access and placement. Peter Steiner and Kanika Anand have moved from Howden’s Climate Risk and Resilience practice to establish a dedicated parametric capability

In March 2026, Vitality, a member of Discovery Limited of South Africa, announced that its US acquisition of Ramp Health would combine an AI-enabled health platform with onsite clinical, coaching and workplace-safety services for employers. The transaction brings together two forms of intervention that are often purchased separately. Vitality contributes behavioural science, incentives, data analytics and personalised health-risk insights. Ramp Health adds clinicians, coaches and safety professionals who can

In September 2026, The Wall Street Journal reported that Vitruvian Partners was leading a 600 million dollar investment in Angle Health at a 2.7 billion dollar valuation. The transaction is expected to include 200 million dollars of new equity and a 400 million dollar secondary component providing liquidity to existing shareholders. Other participants named in the report include Town Hall Ventures, Blumberg Capital, Portage Ventures, PruVen Capital and Y

In September 2026, AXA’s official presentation of its 2027–2029 strategic plan, Growing Forward, made artificial intelligence one of the most explicit value-creation levers in the group’s next phase of development. At first sight, another major insurer intends to use more AI. In fact, this goes further. AXA has attached a recurring pre-tax value target of €500 million to €700 million by 2029 to its AI programme, while aiming for

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) in August 2026 launched a Bermuda-domiciled captive, AFC Captive Insurance Company, to strengthen risk management and support its infrastructure financing activities across the continent. Backed by up to $30 million in equity capital, AFC Captive will initially insure loans AFC extends to its counterparties, with the goal of reducing reliance on external commercial insurance markets over time. Wola Asase, AFC’s deputy director and head of

Aon in August 2026 confoirmed it had agreed to acquire USI Insurance Services from KKR and other shareholders in a $17 billion deal, marking its second major middle-market push in two years following the 2023 NFP acquisition. On a net basis, accounting for roughly $278 million in tax attributes, the price comes to $16.7 billion, or about 14.5 times USI’s synergized trailing-twelve-month adjusted EBITDA. USI, the tenth-largest US insurance

Generali Group in May 2026 announced Redion: a new brand for its global Care platform, which brings together the activities of Europ Assistance and Generali Employee Benefits under a single identity and offering. Having operated as an integrated entity within Generali Care for nearly three years, Redion is the brand Generali Care deserves — one that honours the extraordinary work already accomplished and makes visible, to the world, what

AXA Health International in March 2026 announced it had partnered with Alliance Insurance Corporation Limited and MIC Global Risks to launch its Global Executive Health Plan in Tanzania, marking a strategic expansion across Africa’s growing markets. The collaboration positions AXA as the international healthcare administrator and global network provider, while MIC Global Risks serves as exclusive distributor and Alliance Insurance acts as the licensed local insurer. This structure ensures

Dutch financial services firm Achmea in March 2026 announced it posted a 7% increase in operational results to €938 million in 2025, even as its core Pension & Life Netherlands division saw profits drop 25% to €282 million. The pension unit’s decline stemmed partly from provision harmonization related to Achmea’s strategic partnership with Lifetri. However, the broader business benefited from significant premium growth, jumping from €648 million to €2.17

Employee benefits captives have transformed from simple financing mechanisms into strategic platforms that deliver long-term financial value and support broader corporate objectives, according to International SOS Chief Risk Officer Franck Baron. Baron’s company has used its employee benefits (EB) captive to retain underwriting results, smooth volatility, and improve predictability across cycles while expanding into health risk management initiatives. The captive now addresses medical inflation, absenteeism, and long-term disability while

Generali Group and Swiss Life Global Solutions in February 2026 announced they had entered into a long-term commercial partnership under which Generali Employee Benefits (GEB) will acquire Swiss Life Network, subject to regulatory approvals. The transaction will combine the two groups’ global employee benefits networks, creating the largest platform worldwide in terms of geographical reach and premium volume. Once completed, the combined network will manage more than €3 billion

Dutch financial services giant Achmea in January 2026 appointed Frank Olde Hartman as director of Achmea Pensioenservices (APS), effective February 1, 2026, to oversee the unit’s strategic wind-down by 2030. The appointment comes as APS undergoes a major transition, with the business being phased out due to unprofitability as key clients migrate to the Netherlands’ new pension system. Achmea will continue supporting pension fund clients including Centraal Beheer APF,

Generali Employee Benefits (GEB) marks 60 years in global employee benefits, highlighting its 127-country network and a forward agenda focused on digital transformation, analytics, inclusivity and sustainability.

Utmost Group in December 2025 announced it had agreed to sell its bulk purchase annuity (BPA) business, Utmost Life and Pensions (ULP), to JAB Insurance for an undisclosed sum, subject to regulatory approval. Completion is expected by mid-2026. JAB will acquire the entire business, which holds more than £5bn in assets and employs around 175 people. ULP entered the BPA market in late 2024 and has completed 11 buy-in

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) in August 2025 published the 2025 edition its annual “2025 Global Benefits Financing Matrix and Poolable Coverages” table. An indispensable tool of the trade for global employee benefits practitioners, it is available for download as a PDF. For the first time, WTW requires prior registration. The matrix “provides a complete listing of the eight global benefits networks, and their affiliated insurers and their offshore (i.e. third-country national

MAXIS Global Benefits Network (MAXIS GBN) in July 2025 announced it is working with Care Plus, the largest premium healthcare provider in Brazil. Care Plus will offer medical coverage to MAXIS GBN’s captive clients across Brazil. Care Plus was founded in 1992 and was later acquired by Bupa in 2016. It provides healthcare solutions to more than 1,000 companies, covering 600,000 members across Brazil. It has more than 15