Posts In Category

_Issue024

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 –

Swiss Re in December 2017 announced the appointment of John Dacey, who is currently the group’s Chief Strategy Officer, to replace David Cole, who is stepping down as Chief Financial Officer, effective 1 April, 2018. Dacey, who holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Washington University and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard University, joined Swiss Re in 2012, after serving as Group Regional CEO and

Abelica Global, an international network of financially and legally independent actuarial consulting firms, in December 2017 announced that it was joined by Portuguese firm Actuariado. Actuariado advises Portuguese clients on a range of actuarial and related consulting issues for both employee benefits and insurance. They also provide services to a number of clients in the Portuguese speaking African countries of Angola, Cabo Verde, and Mozambique. ‘We are happy to

Swiss Re in December 2017 announced their intent to merge the Group Chief Financial Officer and Group Chief Strategy Officer roles, bringing the total number of Group Executive Committee members to 12. The world’s second-largest reinsurer will also propose adding three new members to its Board of Directors when they hold their annual general meeting on April 20. Karen Gavan, Eileen Rominger, and Larry Zimpleman are expected to replace

UNCTAD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in December 2017 launched its annual Handbook of Statistics to celebrate its fiftieth year of publication. The 2017 edition has been overhauled, making it user-friendly, and features a wealth of maps, charts, and infographics. Of particular interest to anyone involved in global mobility or multinational business, the Handbook provides a coherent overview of trends worldwide, as well as novel summary

DaVita Medical Group, a U.S. independent medical group and a subsidiary of DaVita, and Optum, a health services company that is part of UnitedHealth Group, have agreed to merge as of 5 December 2017 for approximately $4.9 billion in cash. The transaction is expected to close in 2018 and is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. DaVita, a Fortune 500 company, is the parent company of

The announcement that CVS Health has purchased Aetna, referred to in our earlier news item, was made on Sunday, 4 December 2017, laying to rest months of rumor and speculation. The acquisition sets the stage for a new type of company that will include a health insurer, a retail pharmacy, and a pharmacy benefits manager that negotiates prescription drug prices with drug-makers. The announcement comes at a time when

British insurer Britannia’s plans in relation to Brexit include a location in Luxembourg. A P&I club, Britannia is one of the leading U.K. marine insurers. Its contracts generally cover pollution risks and accidents at sea. 40% of gross written premiums is in the E.U. market, which it cannot cut itself off from. The company in December 2017 announced that the board of directors, after consulting with experts, had mandated

Zenefits, the embattled San Francisco-based HR software company, has jettisoned its Broker-of-Record (BOR) business after Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler ordered the company to cease free distribution of its HR software, and has partnered with OneDigital Health and Benefits as first benefits brokerage partner. Zenefits, founded in 2014 by Parker Conrad, offered software that promised to streamline HR tasks for small businesses. While this was lauded at the time

Employee benefit consultants (EBCs) are forecasting market growth for the United Kingdom, despite concerns about major challenges from newly-introduced data regulations and the impact of Brexit. New research* published in November 2017 by MetLife Employee Benefits shows that more than two out of five consultants (42%) expect their businesses to grow over the next year and another 41% believe they will, at the very least, stand still. Just 13%

Chicago-based global insurance brokerage Hub International in November 2017 announced that it has acquired the assets of the Burlington, Vermont-based Summit Financial Corporation and Summit Financial Insurance Agency. Summit’s leadership team and staff will continue to operate out of Summit’s existing offices and will report to Charles Brophy, President and CEO, Regional President, Hub International US East. Summit, founded by Joe Bonasera and Brian Babcock, is one of New

Aetna International has announced the launch of Access US, a product aimed at helping any non-US headquartered company that currently has, or is hiring, American citizens based in the USA. The Access US Plans are an ideal fit for companies with geographically dispersed employees located in the US. They are an ACA-compliant (Obamacare-compliant) medical product designed for organizations with 50 or more total employees worldwide and allow US companies

Lockton in November 2017 added six new hires to its U.K. domestic and global employee benefits teams. Michael Gillan joins Lockton as Associate Benefits Consultant. Michael joins Lockton from Ombudsman Services where he worked as Investigation Officer. Prior to this, Michael spent four years as Group Risk Scheme Underwriter at Friends Life/Aviva. Michael joins the Manchester team to add additional risk expertise to Lockton’s growing portfolio of SME clients.

EY in November 2017 announced a partnership with Concur to develop services that help global business travelers manage tax and immigration compliance risks via Concur’s App Center. The integrated offering will capture relevant travel and business activity data within Concur. Using EY tax and immigration technology, the integration will analyze Concur data to make real-time assessments of a business traveler’s tax and immigration obligations before they travel. Corporate users

KPMG and global provider of Human Capital Management (HCM) solutions ADP in November 2017 joined forces to help multinational companies better manage employees who need to relocate from one country to another. By combining KPMG’s Global Mobility Services (GMS) practice, including its proprietary LINK Enterprise technology platform, with the ADP Global Payroll solution, the two companies can provide multinational companies with an integrated approach to managing payrolls and reporting

Japanese insurer Sompo in November 2017 announced it would set up its new European headquarters in Luxembourg in the wake of Brexit, citing in particular the potential loss of E.U. passporting right and looming uncertainty. The new entity, SI Insurance Europe, is to be owned by Bermuda-based Sompo International Holdings and will offer both insurance and reinsurance. Sompo is mainly a specialty provider of property and casualty insurance. The

AXA Group is simplifying its operating model, empowering its entities to operate closer to their customers. In order to accomplish this, AXA will shift from its current, three-layer model of separate head office, global business lines, and regional headquarters, to a refocused corporate center that will oversee five geographies (France, Europe, the U.S., Asia, and International). Concurrently managed with the five geographies will be key transversal entities AXA Investment

Advocacy organization Cross Border Benefits Alliance-Europe (CBBA-Europe) will hold its inaugural conference to a packed audience on 6 December, 2017 in Brussels, Belgium. Over 100 delegates have registered and the conference no longer accepts applications to attend, due to space restrictions. Focusing on ‘Cross-border and pan-European Pensions, and Why CBBA Supports Them’, the inaugural event is supported by the likes of Mercer, Zurich, Generali’s GEB, Amundi, and Previnet. As

According to early versions of the 2018 U.S. budget that in November 2017 is making its way through the legislative process, a new 20% excise tax is to be introduced. The tax shall apply to almost all payments made by U.S. companies to non-U.S. affiliates of the same group (an “international financial reporting group”: subsidiaries, parents companies, and sister companies). The tax will not be deductible from U.S. corporate

KPMG International has undergone a few changes to its top-tier professionals, the first being the election of Bill Thomas to the position of Chairman, and the second being the appointment of Laura Hay to Head of Global Insurance. Thomas, 49, will lead the KPMG global network of professional services firms for a four-year term. He succeeds John Viehmeyer, who is retiring; he previously served as Chairman of KPMG’s Americas

U.S. employer premiums rose an average of 6.6 percent in the first three fiscal quarters of 2017, according to the 2017 United Benefit Advisors (UBA) Health Plan Survey released on 26 October. This is a significant increase from the five-year average increase of 5.6%. Two states, Connecticut and New York, saw stunning increases of 24% and 14% respectively, while some states, such as Arizona and Washington, saw decreases of

Bug Insights’ human resources analytics and rewards optimization offering in November 2017 was acquired by Deloitte Consulting. Viewed as a critical step on the journey to creating a total relationship with employees, the offering allows employers the ability to determine what their employees value most from their rewards programs. It leverages trade-off analysis and employee preference measurements to give companies specific information about their employees’ attitudes, helping to design

Canadian provider of employee and family assistance programs (EFAP) Morneau Shepell in November 2017 announced that they have acquired Pro Health Group, an EFAP and wellness program provider based in Quebec City, Canada, which focuses on prevention of mental and physical health issues and on supporting employees and their families. The acquisition represents approximately one percent of Morneau Shepell’s revenue and is not expected to have a material impact