Hong Kong-based property and infrastructure group New World Development (NWD) in January 2019 acquired FTLife Insurance, Hong Kong, from JD Group. NWD, through its subsidiary NWS Holdings, paid HK$21.5 billion (US$2.75 billion) for FTLife. The deal is one of the top five insurance M&As ever in Hong Kong. Beijing-based Chinese financial firm JD Group in November 2018 had put FTLife up for sale. It was reported to be looking for

American International Group (AIG) in December 2018 announced that it has completed the acquisition of Ellipse, a specialist group life, critical illness and income protection carrier in the UK, from Munich Re. Ellipse CEO Lee Lovett reports to Adam Winslow, CEO, International at AIG Life & Retirement. AIG expects Ellipse’s expertise in group protection and its technology to significantly enhance existing AIG Life operations. AIG Life will now distribute

French insurer Apicil in December 2018 launched an EUR 10 million insurtech fund along with private equity firm Odysseus Alternative Ventures (OAV). The fund will invest in European startups “seeking to develop new technologies, new business models and new forms of delivery for the insurance sector”. APICIL Group is France’s 4th largest provider of occupational health, life, and retirement plans. OAV is the private equity and venture capital arm

French regulator ACPR in November 2018 gave its final approval to the merger between Malakoff Médéric and Humanis, effective January 1, 2019. Both companies are paritarian institutions and offer supplementary pensions and life and health insurance. The new leadership team announced in December 2018 includes: Thomas Saunier, CEO Michel Estimbre, Deputy CEO, in charge of supplementary pensions, Human Resources, IT, underwriting, and operations; Christophe Scherrer, Deputy CEO, in charge

Global employee benefits network IBN (International Benefits Network) in December 2018 expanded its network of independent employee benefit consulting firms into Africa by adding RCL as member for Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Founded in 2014 and based in Kenya, RCL is an actuarial consultancy firm which provides actuarial, financial modeling and risk management advice to governments and governmental organizations, public and private pension scheme trustees and sponsors, (re)insurance companies, not-for-profit

Generali in November 2018 launched Generali Global Pension (GGP), a global business unit dedicated to pensions. The initiative is in line with Generali’s strategic targets of “consolidating its global leadership in Employee Benefits, and accelerating the growth of its asset management business.” GGP will provide multinational corporations with pensions de-risking solutions and cross-border plans. It will also create an additional distribution channel for Generali’s multi-boutique asset-management platform and develop

Generali in September 2018 changed its organizational structure. Group CEO Philippe Donnet adapted Generali’s organization to carry out the new Strategic Plan 2019-2021 and better support “integrated projects at Group level and a strong involvement of the operating companies within the Group.” A new position of General Manager reports to the Group CEO. Frédéric de Courtois is in charge of the Group CFO; Group Chief Marketing & Customer Officer;

Lloyd’s in October 2018 confirmed it will be able to write facultative and excess of loss treaty reinsurance on Lloyd’s Brussels paper from January 1, 2019 across all markets in the European Economic Area (EEA). Should the UK not secure Solvency II reinsurance equivalence in 2019, Lloyd’s will be ready to process proportional treaty reinsurance business through Lloyd’s Brussels from January 1, 2020. In any event, the market said

AIG in October 2018 received approval from British courts for its European subsidiary, AIG Europe Limited (AEL) to transfer its business into two new entities: American International Group UK Limited (AIG UK), based in London, UK, and AIG Europe SA (AESA) in preparation for Brexit. AESA’s headquarters are in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, and has 21 branches across the European Economic Area and Switzerland. It is led by Christophe Nicolas

Aon in October 2018 announced it had established a “New Ventures” group and appointed its senior leaders. The stated goal is “to further accelerate the creation of new sources of value for [our] clients”. Aon in 2018 already created the “Aon Operating Committee”; appointed two new co-presidents – Michael O’Connor and Eric Andersen; and transitioned to a single Aon brand. The “New Ventures” initiative is a component of the

Global brokerage Arthur J. Gallagher (Gallagher) in October 2018 acquired global employee benefits and global mobility firm Richter International Consulting, based in Issaquah, Washington – U.S.A, near Seattle. Richter International designs international benefits programs for multinational companies and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and their employees. Offerings include: expatriate health plans, international employee assistance plans (EAP), international medical and security assistance programs, traveler medical insurance, business travel accident insurance, disaster preparedness

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) in October 2018 announced it would expand its existing partnership with InsurTech platform Plug and Play. WTW will now have access to all of Plug and Play’s InsurTech international platforms, which include Beijing, Munich, New York, Silicon Valley, Singapore and Tokyo. WTW and Plug and Play also partner on innovation platforms dealing with health and wellness, as well as on transforming management structures, company culture

Chief executives of the multinational pooling networks meet from time to time to discuss general industry trends, and recent discussions focused on the future of multinational pooling and how to grow the market for global solutions offered by the multinational networks. While the structure and focus areas vary between the networks, there was consensus on a number of issues relating to the current state of the market.

Unum Group in October 2018 acquired Pramerica Życie TUiR SA from U.S. insurer Prudential Financial. Unum is a provider of employee benefits products and services, and the largest provider of group and individual disability income protection insurance in the U.S. and UK. Pramerica Zycie offers group and individual life insurance products in Poland. Aneta Podyma-Milczarek, president of Pramerica Życie, will report to Unum UK President and CEO Peter O’Donnell.

Ahead of Brexit, London-based Prudential in August 2018 announced the reorganization of its long-term non-UK European operations. Currently, Prudential’s European operations are split across The Prudential Assurance Company (PAC), based in the UK, and Prudential International Assurance (PIA), based in Ireland. Going forward, all long-term European business, excluding the UK, will be written by PIA. This includes today’s PAC Poland, PAC France, PAC Malta, and PAC’s branches in Germany

Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy (Fragomen) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in September 2018 announced a strategic alliance to offer common immigration, tax and global mobility services to clients and their cross-border employees. Cross-border employee mobility is changing dramatically with frequent business travel replacing traditional, long-term assignments and relocations. In addition, the geopolitical landscape makes immigration increasingly complex. Developments in the field are creating new compliance challenges for organizations as

American International Group (AIG) in September 2018 acquired Glatfelter Insurance Group, a Pennsylvania-based full-service broker and insurance company that provides services for specialty programs and retail operations. Headquartered in York, Pennsylvania, Glatfelter “brings high-quality program underwriting capabilities that will accelerate the strategic positioning of AIG’s general insurance business,” AIG said in a statement. Glatfelter is a large privately owned U.S. insurance broker and has more than 500 employees. Its

Cigna in September 2018 announced the launch of Cigna Ventures, a corporate venture fund focused on transformative and innovative healthcare companies. Cigna has committed $250 million of capital to help it find, assess and sponsor early-stage innovation ideas that call for deeper exploration through pilots and test-and-learn activities. The $250 million will be used to invest in startups and growth-stage companies across three strategic areas: insights and analytics; digital

Next Insurance, a Palo Alto, California-based digital insurance company that focuses on small businesses, in August 2018 became a licensed insurance carrier, shedding its brokerage business model. As a carrier, Next Insurance is able to write policies independently, resulting in better control over underwriting, pricing, and policy wording. The company now works directly with U.S. state insurance regulators to introduce innovations in the small business insurance market, including on-demand

Marsh & McLennan (MMC) in September 2018 announced the acquisition of Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) for $5.6 billion. Based in London, JLT is the eighth-largest insurance broker and employee benefits provider in the world as per 2016 revenues (1.55 billion). JLT was created in 1997 when Jardine Insurance Brokers merged with Lloyd Thompson Group. The firm operates in 40 countries with particular strength in the UK and Australia. MMC

Insurer – Country of Destination – Date Announced – Source MS Amlin – Brussels – 28 June 2017 – Press release Lloyd’s of London – Brussels – QBE – Brussels – CNA Hardy – Luxembourg – RSA – Luxembourg – AIG – Luxembourg – FM Global – Luxembourg – Hiscox – Luxembourg – Liberty Mutual, Special Markets – Luxembourg – Admiral – Dublin – Beazley – Dublin – Chesnara –

U.S. reinsurer TransRe in September 2018 announced plans to redomicile its continental European legal entity TransRe Zurich to Luxembourg and change its name. The continental European offices in Munich, Paris and Zurich, as well as Dubai, will become branch offices of Luxembourg. Commenting on the move, Paul Bonny, President TransRe Europe and Asia Pacific, said: “we are now simplifying our corporate structure [for] our European, Middle Eastern and North

Gallagher in September 2018 acquired Wheatman Insurance Services from Woodland Hills, California, a retail property/casualty broker that also offers employee benefits consulting services. Since January 1, 2018, Gallagher has closed 26 acquisitions for an total amount of approximately $240 million.

Gallagher in September 2018 acquired Australian brokers Super-Advice Corporate Services and Personal Advice Services, based in Perth, Western Australia and Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Super-Advice is an employee benefit consultants and corporate advisory group, expanding Gallagher’s superannuation (employer-funded occupational pension programs) and employee benefit consulting service capabilities across Australia. Robert O’Shea, Dean Lawson and their associates will continue to work from their current locations in Perth and Sydney

U.S. insurance carrier Travelers in August 2018 acquired a reported 60% stake in Canadian insurtech broker Zensurance. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Zensurance offers online commercial lines broker services and will continue to work independently. Founded in 2016, Zensurance creates segmented insurance packages for each industry. It says it has more than 2,500 clients in Canada and works with over 40 insurers. Zensurance CEO Danish Yusuf and CTO Sultan Mehrabi keep

Global broking network Brokerslink in August 2018 announced it was considering a private share placement for third-party investors. The purpose of the expected capital increase is to support growth. Operating from Portugal and incorporated in Zug, Switzerland, Brokerslink features cross-shareholdings between the network and its partners, to create “a unity of purpose and vision”. Since an October 2016 private stock offering, Brokerslink has 55 independent shareholders in 40 countries;

U.S. insurance carrier Allstate in August 2018 acquired identity theft services company InfoArmor for $525 million. Allstate’s stated intent is to grow its employee benefits business. According to Tom Wilson, Chairman, President and CEO of Allstate, in 2017 “there were over 16 million victims of identity fraud [in the U.S.], which resulted in over $16 billion of losses.” InfoArmor is a private company with headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona. Its