Swiss Re in August 2019 announced it had acquired the UK closed book business of Quilter. The acquisition was made through Swiss Re’s specialized subsidiary ReAssure and includes Old Mutual Wealth Life Assurance and Old Mutual Wealth Pensions Trustees. Quilter is mostly comprised of companies belonging to the former Old Mutual group. It is active in investment consulting and asset management (GBP 45 billion in assets under management –

Non-life reinsurer TransRe in July 2019 completed the redomiciliation of its Swiss subsidiary, TransRe Zurich, to Luxembourg. Owner Transatlantic Holdings had announced the move in September 2018. TransRe Zurich changes its name to TransRe Europe in the process. In addition to P/C, the company also reinsures Accident & Health risks. The continental European offices in Munich, Paris and Zurich, as well as Dubai, become branch offices of Luxembourg. TransRe

AM Best’s Review in July 2019 released the 2019 edition of its list of the top 20 global insurance brokers, with Marsh & McLennan Companies leading the pack. The list ranks global insurance brokers by total yearly revenue. With $14.95 billion in total revenue, Marsh & McLennan (MMC) maintained the lead it held in 2017 thanks to the acquisition of Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) in September 2018 for $5.6

Gallagher in July 2019 announced the purchase of a minority interest (29.7%) in Czech based insurance broker Renomia. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Prague, Renomia is the largest independent broker based in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region, and has achieved double digit growth over the past five years. This growth is credited to a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions. With more than 1,500 associates,

Generali Belgium in June 2019 became Athora Belgium. The name change is the final stage in the January 2019 acquisition of Generali Belgium by Athora Holding. Since the acquisition, the company is led by CEO Dorsan van Hecke. The Athora brand came into existence at the beginning of 2018 following the spin-off from former parent company Athene Holding. Athora now is an insurance and reinsurance group that focuses on

Bermuda-based Athora Holding in June 2019 announced plans to acquire Netherlands-based Vivat from Anbang Group Holdings along with NN Group of The Netherlands. NN will become the new owner of Vivat Schadeverzekeringen (Vivat Non-Life). Athora will retain Vivat’s life and asset management businesses. The acquisition in the Netherlands comes soon after Athora’s January 2019 acquisition of Generali’s operations in Belgium. It is in line with the company’s external growth

Independent captive management firm USA Risk Group‘s senior management team in May 2019 completed a management buyout from Spencer Capital Holdings. The buyout includes operations from all jurisdictions USA Risk Group operates in. The senior management team includes Paul Macey as President; Rob Leadbetter, Senior Vice President and Charmain Aggarwal, Vice President. Jeanne Crawford leads the Barbados office; John Tortell, the Malta office; and Steven Lill, the Cayman Islands

The newly established Dajia Insurance Group will absorb Anbang Insurance Group’s life, pension and asset management businesses, according to a May 2019 statement from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission. Dajia Baoxian, which translates to “Everyone Insurance,” will engage in businesses ranging from insurance underwriting to consulting and brokering. Some investment-type policies sold by Anbang in excess of quotas assigned by the government (for up to 724 billion

Swiss insurer Baloise in April 2019 said it is acquiring the Belgian insurer Fidea for 480 million euros ($543 million) from China’s state-controlled Anbang Insurance Group to boost its position in the Belgian non-life and life insurance market. The acquisition of Antwerp-based Fidea means that Baloise will employ around 1,600 employees in Belgium. Baloise said the deal will increase its share of the non-life business in Belgium by 1.7

Luxembourg-based captive manager Sogecore in April 2019 acquired Abacus Risk Management Services in Malta. Abacus manages and operates captives and insurance carriers on behalf of their owners; it also offers Protected Cell Company (PCC) services. What is a PCC? A PCC is essentially a slice of a single insurance or reinsurance carrier that operates separately from other such slices in the same carrier. The carrier’s license and support functions

According to regulatory filings made in February 2019, Aon has incurred nearly $1 billion in costs related to a restructuring plan announced in May 2017, and will incur about $243 million more in costs when the plan is completed by the end of 2019. Initiated in 2017, Aon’s global restructuring plan has now estimated the number of job losses between 4,800 and 5,400, a 12 percent increase from a

American International Group (AIG) in April 2019 announced it had sold its entire stake in People Insurance Co. of China (PICC) for HK$3.8 billion (US$482 million). AIG had bought into PICC as a “cornerstone investor” in its initial public offering in December 2012. According to Bloomberg, AIG made a 1.75% profit including dividends over the six years, when Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index generated a total return of

Munich Re-owned ERGO Group, which includes ERGO Deutschland, ERGO International, and ERGO Digital Ventures, in March 2019 sold four ERGO International subsidiaries to the Euroins Insurance Group (EIG) for an undisclosed amount. The sale involves ERGO’s life and non-life subsidiaries in Romania and the Czech Republic as well as its non-life company in Belarus. In 2017 they had a combined gross written premium of €72 million. The purchase agreement

Aon in March 2019 announced, then cancelled plans to merge with Willis Towers Watson (WTW) in what would have been the industry’s largest ever merger. The cancellation announcement was made just one day after Aon announced it was considering a takeover bid for WTW. According to a statement released on Tuesday, March 5, Aon was in the early stages of exploring an all-share tie-up with WTW, and indicated that

Swiss Life in March 2019 announced that it has increased its net profit by 7% from CHF 1013 million to CHF 1080 million for the year 2018. Adjusted profit from operations increased by 4% to CHF 1553 million with a result in the savings segment of CHF 889 million. The risk segment result was CHF 410 million. Swiss Life achieved an increase of 8% over the previous year in

Allianz in February 2019 announced it had increased the size of its Insurtech venture capital fund Allianz X to €1 billion. Allianz Group’s initial investment in Allianz X was €430 million in 2016. The funds will be used to make more direct investments in digital companies that are strategically relevant for Allianz. To date, Allianz X has made more than 15 direct investments. For example, Allianz X invested $96.6

Max India in February 2019 sold its 51% stake in Max Bupa Health Insurance to private equity firm True North for USD 72 million. Max Bupa Health was co-owned by Max India, itself owned by Max Group. The Max Group is an Indian conglomerate with a presence in life insurance, health and related businesses, as well as in manufacturing. Max Group also owns Max Life Insurance through its Max

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) in February 2019 published the 2019 edition its annual “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. The matrix “provides a complete listing of the eight global benefits networks, and their affiliated insurers across 200 countries and the offshore (third-country national or expat) capabilities for each.”

Swiss Re in February 2019 reported it had realized an overall full-year net income of USD 421 million in 2018. The result includes estimated large claims of USD 3.0 billion, net of retrocession and before tax, which significantly affected both Property & Casualty Reinsurance (P&C Re) and Corporate Solutions’ segment earnings. In addition, an estimated pre-tax USD 599 million impact due to a change in US GAAP accounting guidance

Global broker Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) in February 2019 announced the appointment of Martine Ferland as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mercer. Ferland reports to MMC President and CEO Dan Glaser and joins the company’s Executive Committee. She joined Mercer in 2011 as Retirement Business Leader for Europe and Pacific regions.  She then served as Europe and Pacific Region President and Co-President, Global Health, before being

AXA XL in February 2019 announced it would shed over 700 jobs in Europe. AXA XL has 9,500 staff worldwide. AXA’s business insurance division will end 275 positions in the UK, 222 in France, 140 in Germany, 41 in Italy, and 33 more across the rest of Europe. The move is a step in the integration of XL Catlin, AXA Corporate Solutions, and other AXA entities into AXA XL.

Generali Global Assistance (GGA) in February 2019 announced the acquisition of U.S. travel insurance specialist TripMate. GGA is Europ Assistance’s main brand name outside of Europe, and Europ Assistance is part of Generali Group. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, TripMate is a specialized provider of travel insurance products. It acts as a managing general agent (MGA), operating as an intermediary between travelers and the U.S. travel insurance market. It

AXA Egypt in February 2019 joined pooling network MAXIS Global Benefits Network (MAXIS GBN). AXA Egypt is the second MAXIS partner in the country, along MetLife Egypt, and joins the global network of over 140 local insurers. AXA Egypt was established as recently as 2015 and is a multi-line insurance carrier, offering general insurance, life and protection insurance, health insurance, and micro-insurance plans. The company is ranked fourth in

French social protection group (SPG) Malakoff Médéric Humanis (MMH) in January 2019 arose from the merger of the two former Malakoff-Médéric and Humanis SPGs. As the new French market leader in group life and health insurance (market share 17%), MMH has 426,000 corporate clients with 10 million people insured. Furthermore, it is the recommended employee benefits provider for 93 professional sectors, a significant competitive advantage. In pensions, MMH has

Here is the list of the 30 French insurance carriers by assets under management (AUM) as of 31 December 2017, the most recent data available. Numbers include individual and group life; health, life, and pension products; and unit-linked as well as guaranteed savings products. Companies with the “B” marker are bancassurance players, owned by a banking group and mainly distributed through bank agencies. #   Name AUM (in m€)

French insurance group Apicil in January 2019 announced it has completed the acquisition of Luxembourg life insurance company OneLife. Luxembourg regulator CAA has granted its approval. OneLife has more than €5.2 billion in assets under management and employs more than 150 staff across Europe. It focuses on wealth management and asset management services to ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW), high-net-worth (HNW) and highly affluent clients. Apicil, the fourth largest social protection group

Bermuda-based Athora Holdings in January 2019 completed the acquisition of Generali Belgium, first announced in April 2018. The final consideration paid is approximately €540 million. Generali Belgium has 530,000 customers and sells a range of life and non-life insurance policies through around 1,000 independent brokers. In 2017, total premium income amounted to €640 million and assets to €6.5 billion. The company will be rebranded to Athora Belgium in the