AIA Group in July 2018 completed the acquisition of Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s life insurance businesses in Australia and New Zealand. According to AIA Group regional chief executive Bill Lisle, the acquisition will significantly transform and expand the company’s presence in New Zealand. The combined business, according to Lisle, will transform AIA’s scale and reach to become the market leader in New Zealand’s life insurance market. In September 2017,

Manulife Hong Kong in July 2018 announced the promotions of Raymond Ng to Vice President and Head of Employee Benefits of Manulife (International), and Ellen Leung to Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Manulife Provident Funds Trust Company.. Raymond Ng heads the strategic development and operation of both the pensions (MPF and ORSO) and group benefits (Life & Health) business of Manulife Hong Kong. He is responsible for

Global broker Gallagher in July 2018 announced the acquisitions of three firms: Chicago-based Reassurance Holdings, including its subsidiaries Coverdell and Carefree Marketing. Founded in 1963, Coverdell is a licensed insurance broker, discount medical plan organization and third-party administrator, providing direct marketing of insurance and membership programs to many of the largest financial services institutions in the U.S. and Canada. Vince Di Benedetto and his associates will continue to work

Next Insurance in July 2018 raised $83 million in new financing, money it said will fuel its continued U.S. expansion as a full-service digital insurance carrier focused on the small business market. A California-based startup, Next Insurance debuted in 2016 as a digital insurance agency for small to midsize businesses. The new financing will allow Next to add more lines of insurance. The firm changed its agency status in

The OECD in July 2018 released its Annual Survey of Investment Regulations of Pension Funds 2018, which describes the main quantitative investment regulations that pension funds are subject to in OECD and a selection of IOPS member countries. It covers all types of pension plans, and concerns all forms of quantitative portfolio restrictions applied to pension funds at different legal levels. The 356-page survey’s findings conclude, in part, that:

Preliminary data, released in July 2018 by the OECD, shows an increase in life and/or non-life gross premiums of domestic insurance companies for 2017, with 40 out of 43 countries reporting. Gross premiums of domestic insurance companies rose in real terms in 15 countries in both the life and non-life sectors, and in 10 other countries in the life sector only, while another 15 reported rises in the non-life

The number of studies that have found a link between a disease and a specific gut microbiome composition seems to be ever increasing. Until recently, though, almost all these studies have looked at single diseases in isolation. But most people tend to have more than one health complaint at a time – “comorbidities”, in medical parlance.

Gallagher President, Chairman, and CEO J. Patrick “Pat” Gallagher, Jr., and Vice President – International, Gallagher Benefits & HR Consulting, Leslie Lemenager, sat down with GBV during the 2018 IBIS Academy. They discussed Gallagher’s history and values as well as client needs and market trends in global employee benefits and global mobility. Gallagher’s long history and family connections result in unique, long-term, and people-oriented perspectives. Read on.

The 48th IBIS Academy Conference was held from 7 – 11 May 2018, in conjunction with the IBIS Institute, a “boot camp” for practitioners, and the IBIS Mobility and Partner Program. It included a three-day series of cutting-edge presentations and panels for more experienced colleagues. The overarching theme was “Your Future, Your Workforce” and focused on what it takes to be an employer of choice for the future.

Global Benefits Vision: Why has MAXIS GBN decided to launch its new wellness solution now? What were the key drivers behind the launch? Dr. Leena Johns MD: Over the past few years we have worked with clients to identify the cost drivers of their health claims data across disparate geographies, through our sophisticated data reporting tools. While some markets offer solutions to mitigate these drivers, often, in reality, there is an absence of data-based recommendations and a lack of cohesive, centralised solutions that can be rolled out globally.

Many of us may be considering “burning some fat” so we feel better in our bathing suits out on the beach or at the pool. What does that actually mean, though?

The new health care venture formed by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase announced June 20 that Harvard professor and well-known author Atul Gawande would be the company’s CEO. The idea for the new company is to innovate by cutting costs from the health care system, starting with the more than 1 million employees of the three companies behind the venture.

AXA in July 2018 announced its business insurance operations would trade under the new AXA XL brand once the acquisition of XL Group is completed. The master brand AXA remains untouched. AXA XL will combine existing P&C commercial lines and specialty risks into a new entity. It will include four main business units: XL Insurance, XL Reinsurance, XL Art & Lifestyle, and XL Risk Consulting. The new entity will

Digital insurance company ONE in July 2018 entered into a new joint venture with Swiss geolocation experts Axon Vibe, and Munich Re. The joint venture, called “ONE Coach,” is poised to use encryption technology, a novel approach, within the insurance domain. ONE is based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, and operates in the German market. After launching in February 2018, ONE has become the fastest-growing digital insurance company in Europe. Using

Swiss Re’s annual sigma report on premium volumes and growth trends for 2018 reveals that global life premiums increased to roughly USD 2.7 trillion in 2017, while global non-life premiums rose to about USD 2.2 trillion, while growth in both the life and non-life sectors slowed, partly due to falling life premiums in advanced markets such as the U.S. or Western Europe. Nevertheless, emerging markets remain an important driver

Poor quality health services are holding back progress on improving health in countries at all income levels, according to Delivering Quality Health Services – a Global Imperative for Universal Health Coverage, a joint report published in July 2018 by the OECD, World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank. Factors that hinder progress include inaccurate diagnoses, medication errors, inappropriate or unnecessary treatments, inadequate or unsafe clinical facilities or practices,

Chris Burns in April 2018 joined EBCG as a Partner. With over 35 years of diverse experience in the employee benefits, healthcare, digital health and retirement industry in the U.S. as well as globally, he contributes expertise and depth to EBCG’s suite of professional services. For 25 years, EBCG’s team has helped clients unlock the hidden value in their employee benefit programs. EBCG is a member of the Worldwide

A new OECD Health Statistics 2018 report, released in June 2018, shows that health spending in 2016 grew by its fastest rate in seven years, with further growth expected in 2017. OECD countries spending on health care increased by 3.4% on average in 2016, its highest rate since 2009. That percentage is still below pre-global financial crisis levels, when average health expenditures rose by around 4-6% per year (in

Realogy Holdings, a full-service residential real estate services company in the United States, in June 2018 appointed Katrina L. Helmkamp as CEO of its relocation services subsidiary, Cartus Corporation. She reports to Realogy CEO and President Ryan Schneider. Helmkamp has more than 27 years of leadership experience in business strategy, operations, product development, technology and innovation across multiple sectors. Most recently, she has been CEO of Lenox Corporation, a

U.S. virtual care provider Teladoc in June 2018 acquired Advance Medical, a virtual care provider with strong presence outside of the United States, creating a global virtual care platform. Advance Medical adds its suite of international clinical capabilities to Teladoc’s technology and scale. The new company is now equipped to meet the needs of U.S. multinational employers, for whom one-third of all employees live abroad. Advance Medical is present

Privately held broker Lockton in July 2018 announced posted record revenue of $1.57 billion in its recently completed fiscal 2018, a 9.9 percent increase above fiscal 2017. This is the 52nd consecutive year of revenue growth for Lockton. The company posted organic growth in the U.S. of $84 million, or 7.7%, with the employee benefits business leading the way with 14.1% year-over-year revenue growth. Lockton’s international operations grew 10.9

From automated check-outs in grocery stores to autonomous vehicles, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay, prompting fears of robots replacing humans. The latest McKinsey Global Institute briefing note, which was published in June 2018 for the Tech4Good summit organized by the French government, addresses “both the promise and the challenge” of automation and AI in the workplace and provides a list of ten things we need

MassMutual’s international insurance holding company MassMutual International and Nippon Life, Japan’s leading life insurer, have announced the completion of the sale of 85.1 percent of MassMutual Japan, its Japanese life insurance and wealth management subsidiary, to Nippon Life. The transaction was first announced in March 2018. MassMutual International will retain 15 percent of the company and receive approximately JPY 104.2 billion (about USD 955 million) in cash. MassMutual Japan

Global broker Aon in June 2018 announced that Andy Marcell has been appointed as CEO of its new Reinsurance Solutions division. Aon recently announced a rebranding of its reinsurance broking unit Aon Benfield to just Aon and has split its operations into new Solutions divisions, one of which is the Reinsurance Solutions arm. Along with the change, Eric Andersen who was CEO of Aon Benfield was made co-President of Aon,

International Benefits Network – IBN in June 2018 added Dutch broker Van Lanschot Chabot / Mandema and Partners to its network as member for Netherlands. Van Lanschot Chabot / Mandema and Partners is the largest Dutch broker in risk and benefits management. They have access to national and international insurance markets with 250 employees (including lawyers, economists, engineers, risk analysts, actuarial advisors and trainers). Mandema and Partners work with clients

Gallagher in June 2018 named Todd Woodward as its head of global communications, where he will be responsible for developing, implementing, executing, and enhancing the global communications strategy for the entire Gallagher organization, both internally and externally. Woodward was most recently vice-president, corporate and brand marketing communications at Amway Global. He was also an associate vice-president, marketing communications for the University of Notre Dame from 2006 to 2011. Prior

Health insurance start-up Oscar Health in June 2018 announced it would sell Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) health insurance policies in six new markets as of 2019, adding three U.S. states – Florida, Arizona, and Michigan as well as three large metropolitan areas in Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas. Oscar offers individual products as well as a small group health plan targeted at small businesses of up to 100 employees, “Oscar