Posts In Category

Companies

M&A, Reorganizations and other Corporate News

Global Bankers Insurance Group, the insurance and reinsurance division of Eli Global, in April 2017 acquired Luxembourg insurance company NN Life Luxembourg, a subsidiary of NN Group of The Netherlands. According to George Luecke, Vice Chairman and Co‐Chief Executive Officer of Global Bankers, the deal is part of their strategic expansion in Europe and follows on the acquisition of a portfolio of in‐force life and annuity insurance policies from

Ms Chua Wan Ching in March 2017 joined the IGP Singapore team as IGP Regional Director – Asia. Wan Ching, a Singapore national, brings with her a 17-year career in health and benefits, mainly gained within the advisor community, most recently with Willis Towers Watson and Aon, where she has been responsible for maintaining key relationships with global, regional and domestic clients. Her responsibilities in IGP include overseeing regional

As of April 2017, Michael Spincemaille, IGP Regional Director, will coordinate IGP’s LATAM regional activities via the offices of Network Partner in Mexico, Seguros Monterrey New York Life. Back in 2012, Michael began performing that same role via the Bogotá head office of Colombian IGP Network Partner, MAFPRE. The regional offices’ key objectives remain unchanged, i.e. servicing clients’ regional headquarters and subsidiaries in respect of their employee benefits arrangements;

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

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

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

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

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

Cigna Global Health Benefits in September 2016 announced an expanded partnership with African-based insurer, Hollard Insurance Group. Hollard and Cigna have created a fully compliant health insurance product in sub-Saharan Africa, Hollard Cigna Health, that meets the legal requirements of globally mobile staff as well as regional expats and key local nationals from corporations with operations in the region. A pan-African product, it is able to cater to national

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in January 2017 found that Aetna’s proposed merger with Humana fell afoul of antitrust laws and ordered it to stop. According to Judge John Bates, the efficiencies generated by the merger will not be sufficient to mitigate the anti-competitive effects for consumers, specifically in respect of individual Medicare Advantage plans and of individual commercial insurance on the public exchanges in

Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC (MMA) has acquired J. Smith Lanier (JSL), a group of middle market insurance agencies. JSL will operate as MMA’s Southeast Region hub with D. Gaines Lanier, JSL’s chief executive, and Gary Ivey of MMA at the helm. MMA will absorb all of JSL’s over 600 employees. JSL, founded in 1868 and which has annual revenues of approximately $130 million, is a provider of insurance,

The MAXIS GBN pooling network on February 7, 2017, officially opened its new headquarters in London, U.K., located at 11 Monument Street in the City. Since its launch in 1998, MAXIS, an AXA-MetLife partnership, had been managed from Paris and New York City. According to CEO Mauro Dugulin, in the present context of diminishing returns on multinational pooling; increasing interest in the use of captives; a greater thirst for

Global broker Arthur J. Gallagher in January 2017 announced its acquisition of Chicago’s Gruppo Marcucci. Gruppo Marcucci specializes in human resource and benefits technology solutions for benefit brokers and consultants, employers, insurance carriers, and service providers as well as the investment community. The acquisition compliments Gallagher’s growing employee benefits and consulting operations. Partners Rhonda Marcucci and Ed Barry, leaders of Gruppo Marcucci, will continue to operate from their Chicago

Optum, a health services company and part of UnitedHealth Group is merging with Surgical Care Affiliates (SCA). The primary and urgent care delivery services business works with over 80 health plans, and will acquire SCA, enabling the company to create expanded capabilities in outpatient surgical procedures. Surgical Care Affiliates is an ambulatory surgery center and surgical hospital provider. The combination of OptumCare and SCI will create a comprehensive ambulatory

Generali in January 2017 promoted its Group Head of Corporate Finance Luigi Lubelli to Group CFO, replacing Alberto Minali who leaves the group. Mr. Lubelli will join the Group Management Committee and Minali will not immediately be replaced in his role as General Manager as defined by the articles of incorporation. All the first-level business functions previously reporting to Minali now report directly to the Group CEO, Philippe Donnet.

After Aetna and Humana in December 2016 extended the deadline of their proposed merger to mid-February 2017 ( see here ), Anthem in January 2017 extended to April 30, 2017 its own deadline for completing its proposed merger with Cigna. All four healthcare providers await U.S. federal court rulings to decide the legality of their respective deals.

Worldwide Broker Network (WBN) in January 2017 announced that three current members of its Board of Directors have been reelected to three-year terms.  The reelected directors include Juan Carlos Arias of Panama; Pavanjit Singh Dhingra of India; and Steve Hylant of the U.S. The 16-member WBN Board of Directors now is comprised of: Daniel de Swaan, WBN board chairman and Director at Meijers Assurantien in the Netherlands Juan Carlos

U.S. health insurance providers Aetna and Humana in December 2016 announced they had come to an agreement to extend the deadline for their proposed merger from December 31, 2016 to February 15, 2017, as U.S. federal courts are poised to decide whether to allow the merger to proceed. The decision is expected by mid-January. The deal was first announced in August 2015.

One of the major events of 2016 was Generali Employee Benefits’s 50th anniversary celebration with the GEB Forum held in Brussels, Belgium on November 21, 22 and 23, 2016. The three-day conference gathered approximately 300 delegates from over 60 countries including 52% from outside the E.U. . Business leaders and experts discussed and shared insights on the future of the employee benefits industry. The agenda included inspirational keynote speakers,

According to a December 2016 Reuters report, Aon is in the process of selling its employee benefits TPA business unit for $5 billion. Aon had in 2010 acquired most of this unit as Hewitt Associates for $4.9 billion. The negotiations with potential buyers, who are understood to include several private-equity firms, are expected to take more time. The unit’s EBITDA is estimated at close to $500 million, implying a