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MSH International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paris-based broker SIACI SAINT HONORE Group and supplier of expatriate insurance services worldwide, in September 2017 announced the acquisition of Imagine Financial and its travel medical assistance group, Intrepid 24/7. Both Imagine Financial and Intrepid 24/7 are housed under the umbrella of Ingle International, a provider of plug and play solutions that drive revenue and enhance customer engagement for the insurance, healthcare, special

OECD Sees Synchronized Momentum for Global Economy, But Urges Further Policy Action To Ensure Sustainable And Inclusive Medium-Term Growth The world economy has picked up momentum as expanding investment, employment, and trade support has synchronized growth across most countries, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Outlook. The pace of expansion is projected to be faster in 2017 than in 2016, with a further uptick expected in 2018, but

AIA Group has reached an agreement with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) to acquire CommInsure Life and Sovereign, CBA’s life insurance business in Australia and life and health insurance businesses in New Zealand. In addition, AIA will enter into 20-year strategic bancassurance partnerships with CBA in Australia and ASB Bank in New Zealand. The gross consideration to be paid with respect to the transaction is AUD3,800 million (which

The Nationwide Retirement Institute Consumer Social Security PR Study, released in August 2017 and conducted by Harris Poll, reveals a discouraging outlook for many Americans when it comes to retirement and Social Security benefits. According to the survey, only 21 percent of future retirees say life in retirement will be better, and 28 percent of recent retirees say life is worse in retirement. Retirees who say life is worse

The U.S. uninsured population is expected to decrease to 26.9 million individuals in 2021, according to a report recently released by Freedonia Focus Reports and titled Healthcare Insurance: United States. Factors contributing to the decline include continued improvements in the labor market, which helps individuals gain private coverage; uninsured persons reaching the age of 65 and qualifying for Medicare; continued gains in Medicaid enrollment; and some gains in the

According to the 2017 “Getting Paid In America” survey conducted by the American Payroll Association, 82 percent of employees across America have access to a self-service portal where they have the ability to view their pay and benefits information at their convenience. Most employers are also happy to use these portals, whereby the employee experience becomes more personalized with access to scheduling, time tracking, pay and other information at

The OECD in October 2017 published its annual Entrepreneurship at a Glance report. The 2017 edition includes a new trends chapter, which also introduces recent developments related to the emergence of the “gig economy” and the use of digital tools by micro-enterprises. Summary In most OECD countries where data are available, numbers of new firm creations continue to recover, and in many countries are above pre‑crisis highs, suggesting that

Activehours, a mobile app that gives people access to their pay directly from their smartphones whenever they need it, has announced a $39 million investment round led by Andreessen Horowitz, along with participation from earlier-stage investors Matrix Partners, Ribbit Capital, and March Capital Partners. Launched in 2014, Activehours has added employees from more than 25,000 companies including Starbucks, Apple, Home Depot and Target, who use the app. Activehours charges

Dr. Klaus-Peter Röhler in September 2017 was named Chairman of the Management Board (CEO) at Allianz Deutschland, replacing Dr. Manfred Knof effective 1 January, 2018. Röhler, 52, has been CEO of Allianz Italia since 2015, a post he assumed after serving as CEO of Allianz Suisse for two years. Dr. Röhler holds a PhD, a degree in Law, and a diploma in Business Administration, and is a member of

Tokio Marine HCC in October 2017 acquired the medical stop-loss operations of AIG through its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, HCC Life. The deal includes renewal rights, inforce business and employees.  The acquired operations produce gross written premium of approximately $350 million and increase Tokio Marine HCC’s medical stop-loss business to over $1.3 billion of premium, making it one of the top three largest players in the medical stop-loss industry,

B3i, a group of fifteen global insurers and reinsurers, in September 2017 launched a fully functional beta version of its integrated blockchain solution for the re/insurance industry at the 61st Monte Carlo RVS Conference. In seeking to fulfill the potential of blockchain, B3i group members have attempted to build an efficient worldwide industry platform for market participants to more easily cede, handle, and trade risks. Speaking for B3i, Paul

Canada Life Reinsurance, a provider of innovative reinsurance solutions worldwide, has entered into a long-term reinsurance agreement to cover the longevity risk on £1.7 billion in liabilities for approximately 7,500 pensioner members of the Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) UK Pension Fund. The transaction was written by the Barbados branch of Canada Life via a reinsurance agreement with captive insurance cells managed by Marsh Guernsey. Canada Life is part

Manulife Financial Corporation in September 2017 announced a number of structural and leadership changes that are meant to drive better alignment with the company’s strategic priorities, accelerate growth, optimize legacy blocks of business in North America, and leverage its talent across geographies. The company will focus on creating stronger global alignment and direct accountability for its wealth and asset management businesses by bringing them together under the umbrella of

Aon in October 2017 announced it had purchased Portus Consulting, an independent U.K.-based employee benefits firm. Portus has a leading position in the U.K. professional services market, particularly the legal sector and among SMEs with 50 to 750 employees. It will join Aon Employee Benefits, which says it has 2,500 large and SME corporate clients, covering over 1 million lives in the U.K.

PartnerRe in September 2017 announced the appointment of Jerome Matrundola to the new position of CEO, Life & Health, Asia Pacific. Matrundola will be responsible for growing and enhancing PartnerRe’s presence in the life and health reinsurance market in Asia Pacific, and will work with PartnerRe’s existing teams in Singapore and Zurich, leveraging PartnerRe’s Life and Health expertise and solutions to develop innovative, holistic reinsurance solutions specifically geared to

Chubb in September 2017 announced that the company intends to locate its European Union headquarters in France if the United Kingdom leaves the E.U. as expected in March 2019. The company wants to remain well positioned to serve clients, regardless of the ultimate terms of the U.K.’s exit from the European Union. According to Chairman and CEO Evan Greenberg, France was the logical choice as Chubb’s E.U. headquarters as

Marc Archambault in September 2017 joined PartnerRe as CEO of the Life & Health business unit with responsibility for growing PartnerRe’s business in those segments and expanding the company’s franchise in all markets. He will be based in PartnerRe’s Zurich, Switzerland, office, reporting to President & CEO Emmanuel Clarke, and replaces Marvin Pestcoe, who has been appointed Chief Risk & Actuarial Officer. Archambault has more than 25 years’ experience

Advocacy organization Cross Border Benefits Alliance-Europe (CBBA-Europe) will hold its inaugural conference on 6 December, 2017 in Brussels, Belgium. CBBA-Europe’s purpose is to promote cross-border and pan-European employee benefit plans in Europe. The two keynote speakers are former Obama Administration’s Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security of the US Department of Labor, Phyllis Borzi, and Chairman of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), Gabriel Bernardino. Attendance is

Global insurance brokerage Hub International (HUB) in September 2017 announced that it named Marc Cohen, currently President of HUB, as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2018. He will also be a member of the Board of Directors. Cohen will continue to report to Martin P. Hughes, who will continue to serve as Executive Chairman. Cohen will be responsible for the financial strategy, including directing organic sales

American International Group (AIG) in September 2017 announced changes to its organizational structure. AIG will no longer have Commercial and Consumer segments, and will transition to: General Insurance, led by Peter Zaffino, currently Group COO, as CEO; Life & Retirement, led by Kevin Hogan, currently CEO of Global Consumer Insurance, as CEO; and a stand-alone, technology-enabled platform, led by Seraina Macia as its CEO. The platform “aims to transform

Global broker Arthur J. Gallagher in September 2017 announced the acquisition of property and casualty insurance broker Nordic Försäkring & Riskhantering  in Gothenburg, Sweden, for an undisclosed amount. Sweden is considered to be a core strategic development area for Gallagher, following the 2013 purchase of international marine and energy broker Bergvall Marine, based in Norway, and Brim, who are Stockholm trade credit, political risk and consulting specialists. The deal

Local tax authorities throughout China are stepping up efforts to collect individual income tax (IIT), with more frequent and extensive investigations of both individuals and companies, according to a September 2017 report from management consultancy Deloitte. This includes particular focus on three areas: claims relating to non-taxable benefits in kind (BIKs), potential permanent establishment (PE) exposure where a non-resident company sends business travelers to China, and the taxation of

UnitedHealth in August 2017 acquired Advisory Board’s health-care analytics, research and consulting operations for about $1.3 billion including debt. The merger is part of a two-way deal that will also see private equity firm Vista Equity Partners purchase Advisory Board’s education arm for $1.55 billion. Advisory Board will become a part of UnitedHealth’s Optum pharmacy-benefit and health-care services unit. That business has been a major source of revenue growth

New research in the UK from MetLife Employee Benefits shows the number of British workers who value their employee benefits has surged to 55% in the past two years, but employers need to work harder to increase trust among their employees. MetLife’s research shows that rising uncertainty in the job market and the wider economy is increasing employees’ interest in benefits: 55% of employees now say they value their

HR software provider for mid-sized companies Namely has released the results of its open enrollment survey, which identifies what is most important to U.S. employees when it comes to benefits. Findings indicate that 36% of employees rate their HR departments with a “C” or lower when it comes to open enrollment. While 57% of respondents say that their employer has prepared them “pretty well,” only 27% give them an

Nicola Fordham in September 2017 was appointed as Director of Underwriting of the MAXIS Global Benefits Network (MAXIS GBN), the international employee benefits joint venture between MetLife and AXA. She joins from MetLife UK, where she was Chief Pricing Underwriter. In this role, she was in charge of technical relationship between MetLife UK and MAXIS GBN, and led a 25‑strong team of underwriters and built and delivered trainings for

Tine Thorsen in September 2017 joined Chubb as Director of Marketing and Communications for Europe, Eurasia and Africa, based in London. Previously, Tine had been the global head of market development for the corporate customer segment at Zurich Insurance in Zürich, Switzerland; head of marketing for global corporates in Europe at Zurich Financial Services in London; and several other leadership position in marketing at Zurich. In addition to her