Sompo International Holdings, a Bermuda-based specialty provider of property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and wholly-owned subsidiary of Sompo Holdings of Tokyo, Japan, has launched a new strategic partnership in Africa: Sompo International will form alliances with both Sanlam Limited and SAHAM Finances through a partnership agreement executed by Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance. This partnership will give access to new markets by allowing Sompo to leverage the experience and

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that between 291,000 and 646,000 people worldwide will die from seasonal influenza-related respiratory illnesses each year, higher than a previous estimate of 250,000 to 500,000. These findings are based on a multinational survey from a collaborative study by CDC and global health partners. The study appeared in a December 2017 issue of The Lancet. The new estimates, which exclude deaths

SunCorp Group, one of Australia’s largest financial services institutions, announced in October 2017 that they have named Gary Charles Dransfield as Chief Executive Officer, Insurance. Mr. Dransfield has been with Suncorp since August 2009, first as Executive General Manager for Personal Insurance Retail Distribution, and then as Chief Executive Officer Vero New Zealand in April 2011, Chief Executive Officer Personal Insurance in October 2015. He most recently filled the

Global Bankers Insurance Group, an international family of insurance and reinsurance companies, will acquire Lincoln Benefit Life Company, a Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.-based provider of life insurance and annuity solutions. The transaction that will conclude in the first quarter of 2018. Subject to appropriate regulatory approvals by the Nebraska Dept. of Insurance, the sale was prompted by the decision of Lincoln’s Resolution Group, which planned consolidation of Lincoln’s insurance activities

Lloyds Banking Group, the parent of Scottish Widows, in October 2017 announced a deal wherein it will buy Zurich UK’s workplace pensions and savings business in Q1 of 2018. The combined deal would place Scottish Widows as the UK’s third largest workplace savings provider. Zurich will get exclusive distribution rights for group life protection to certain corporate clients of Lloyds’ commercial banking business, while broadening Scottish Widows’ offering in

The Organisation for Economic Development (OECD) has released a report that provides ‘a series of policy recommendations aimed at enhancing the contribution of the cyber insurance market to managing increasingly prevalent risk’. The report, based on questionnaire responses culled from insurers, reinsurers, and brokers active in the global market, as well as the ministries of finance and insurance regulators responsible for overseeing that market, identifies the growing cyber risk

Thomsons, the company behind the online benefits platform Darwin and a member of Mercer, in December 2017 released its Global Employee Benefits Watch Report 2017/8 entitled “The next wave of globalization and digitization.” The report focuses on the pace and scale of change in the global benefits market and especially the importance of the adoption of a technology infrastructure which is “three times more likely to see a reduction

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) in October 2017 announced that it has appointed Neil B. J. Irwin as the new leader of the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEEMEA) region, reporting to Adam Garrard, WTW’s head of International. Irwin will also act as head of Corporate Risk and Broking for CEEMEA. The CEEMEA is a diverse and high-growth region with around 2,300 WTW employees in more than

The Canadian Bar Association and the American Bar Association together with the International Pension and Employee Benefits Lawyers Association (IPEBLA) announce a joint conference, to be held in Boston, USA, June 10-12, 2018. This two-day session will deal in-depth with legal issues concerning pensions and benefits in the context of a changing global environment. It will provide educational and networking possibilities for lawyers from all countries, with attendees encouraged

This event organised by IGP on recent developments concerning employee benefits in Indonesia will be held on 11 April 2018 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Maria Madjid, Head of Employee Benefit Distribution at Manulife Indonesia, will present “Employee Benefits Programs in Indonesia.” Followed by “Introduction to the World of Pooling”, presented by Chua Wan Ching, IGP’s Regional Director for Asia. The event is open to Human Resources professionals, benefits specialists and risk managers

Lockton hosts its annual Global Benefits Forum focusing on “Rethinking Corporate and Employee Wellbeing”. In 2018, the Forum will be held in Chicago, Hong Kong, and London. General and breakout sessions will address how corporate policies and employee benefit programs can best support the financial, physical, mental, and social wellbeing of employees in a global organization. The European edition of the Forum is held over two days on June

Lockton hosts its annual Global Benefits Forum focusing on “Rethinking Corporate and Employee Wellbeing”. In 2018, the Forum will be held in Chicago, Hong Kong, and London. General and breakout sessions will address how corporate policies and employee benefit programs can best support the financial, physical, mental, and social wellbeing of employees in a global organization. The American edition of the Forum is held over two days on May

Lockton hosts its annual Global Benefits Forum focusing on “Rethinking Corporate and Employee Wellbeing”. In 2018, the Forum will be held in Chicago, Hong Kong, and London. General and breakout sessions will address how corporate policies and employee benefit programs can best support the financial, physical, mental, and social wellbeing of employees in a global organization. The Asian edition of the Forum is held over two days on June

IGP’s “Workshop on International Employee Benefits, Multinational Pooling & Captives” provides an opportunity for representatives of global companies to learn more about multinational pooling, captives and employee benefits from an international perspective. The program runs from Monday, June 4 at 14:00 to June 5 at 14:30 and includes dinner and a light lunch. Registration is subject to a contribution of EUR 125 to defray costs (payable by credit card).

IGP’s “Workshop on International Employee Benefits, Multinational Pooling & Captives” provides an opportunity for the European advisor community to learn more about multinational pooling and captives. The workshop is mainly aimed at newcomers to the international benefits field or people needing a refresher course on international pooling & captive matters and the services IGP can offer. The program runs on June 7, 2018 from 10:00 to 16:15 and includes

Pensions at a Glance 2017, a new report issued in December 2017 by the OECD, warns that further reforms are needed across OECD countries to mitigate the impact of population aging, increasing inequality among the elderly and changing the nature of work. The OECD also says that public spending on pensions for the OECD as a whole has risen by about 1.5% of GDP since 2000; however, the pace

As the growth of pan-European pension plans is reported to accelerate, asset manager Amundi and insurer LaLux jointly organize a topical half-day conference on 5 February 2018 in Luxembourg. Featured speakers include: Luxembourg Minister of Finance, Pierre Gramegna European Commission head of the insurance and pensions unit, Nathalie Berger PensionsEurope CEO, Matti Leppala EIOPA Executive Director, Fausto Parente Create Research CEO, Prof. Amin Rajan Group head of compensation &

Engineers at Cornell University have developed a simple method for gathering a patient’s vital signs using radio waves. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags use low-power radio frequencies and are similar to the anti-theft tags we find in department stores. These ‘passive’ RFID tags require no batteries, and can transmit information such as heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rates from multiple patients simultaneously. By measuring internal body motion, such

Deloitte in December 2017 released three reports discussing potential developments in the insurance industry for 2018 and beyond. 2018 Insurance Industry Outlook – Industry trends, strategies to stay competitive Page with link to report 2018 U.S. Insurance Regulatory Outlook – Forging ahead amid uncertainty Page with link to report IAIS update: 2017 annual meeting – Insurance supervisors focus on risk and regulatory standards Page with link to report The

The RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional certification (RIMS-CRMP), is now the only certification program in the world to hold accredited status, RIMS announced in December 2017. RIMS-CRMP received official accreditation by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) under ISO/IEC 1702:2012. ANSI accreditation signifies that the Institute recognizes the competence of RIMS to carry out certification activities in accordance with requirements defined in International Standards and confirms approval by government and

Sleep technology firm Shleep in December 2017 announced plans to showcase its neuroscience-driven sleep application at CES 2018. Available on iOS and Android mobile devices, Shleep is a fun, easy to use, science-based sleep coaching app that helps people change their behavior to improve sleep. Poor sleep has many negative effects More than a third of American adults are not getting enough sleep on a regular basis and, as

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s report, Technology and Pensions, was released in December 2017, providing an overview of how technology (FinTech) is being used to improve pension design and delivery and how regulators are managing these changes. The report comes after a discussion on the challenges that regulators face to support FinTech from a roundtable held at the G20/OECD Task Force on Financial Consumer Protection meeting held

Governments in Paris, Berlin, London, Madrid, and Rome sent a joint letter to U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin in mid-December 2017 warning him of the risk of tax treaty violations arising from the tax reform under discussion in the United States. If Donald Trump is relying heavily on the tax reform submitted to Congress in autumn − to rebuild his image − he is sending shudders through

Randstad North America, a global provider of HR services, in December 2017 released its 4th Quarter Talent Trends Quarterly, an analysis of current hiring and workplace trends that will impact the U.S. workplace in 2018 and beyond. The report opens with a warning to human capital and business leaders: ‘embrace change to (their workforce’s) advantage or potentially fall behind’, and recommends that employers ‘become more agile, open, and flexible

The overarching theme of the 48th edition of the IBIS Academy is “Your Future, Your Workforce” – what does it take to be an employer of choice in the coming years? Sponsors Announced Sponsors announced for 2018 include headline sponsor Cigna; Diamond sponsor GeoBlue; other sponsors known as of mid-December 2017 include tax advisors GTN, ECA International, and law firm Littler Mendelson. The week-long 2018 IBIS Academy includes a

The Organization for Economic Development (OECD), in December 2017 released a new report, Robo-Advice for Pensions, which looks at the rising trend of technological innovation in finance, specifically the robo-advice model. This model has been proposed as one potential solution for helping individuals manage pensions and invest for retirement. Essentially, ‘robo-advisors’ propose to make investing more affordable and accessible for consumers by relying on user-friendly digital platforms, algorithms, and

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