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

Increased leisure time and reduced labor supply of young men may be partly due to the improved quality of video games, according to a working paper published in September 2017 by the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). The objective of the paper is to distinguish the increase in leisure due to improved leisure technology from increases in leisure due to other forces such as declining labor market

Cyril Samson in July 2017 was appointed as Managing Director, Head of Sales of Allianz Global Benefits (AGB), reporting to AGB CEO Dirk Hellmuth. Based in Stuttgart, he is responsible for the operational management of AGB‘s sales & account management teams, servicing multinational clients in the risk as well as the pension field. Cyril joined Allianz Global Benefits in January 2004 as Managing Director. Since 2013, he has been

Jayesh Patel in July 2017 was appointed as Regional Director for the UK and Ireland of Allianz Global Benefits (AGB), reporting to AGB Head of Sales, Cyril Samson. Based in London, he is responsible for UK multinational clients and is the senior point of contact for AGB network partners in the region. Jayesh joined Allianz Global Benefits in the UK in 2009 and has performed a number of roles

The demand for short term international private health insurance or IPMI which bridges the gap between travel insurance and longer term cover looks set to keep growing, particularly as events such as Brexit unfold. Brexit could unleash yet more demand as international arrangements such as the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) may no longer cover travelers to and from the U.K. . The impact of the internet, budgetary pressures

American International Group in August 2017 appointed Peter Zaffino as Executive Vice President, Global Chief Operating Officer, reporting to CEO Brian Duperrault. Zaffino joins AIG after serving as Chief Executive Officer of Marsh, a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) and as Chairman of the Risk and Insurance Services segment of MMC. He was also a member of MMC’s Executive Committee. Brian Duperreault, who joined AIG in May

MIBAV from Pulheim, Germany, a firm specialized in consulting corporate top managers and private owners of multinationals in all matters related to strategy and supply chain management of global benefits, received in June 2017 the German “Top Consultant” certification. It is the first time a consulting firm specializing in global employee benefits is certified. The “Top Consultant” certification focuses on work performed for medium-sized firms, in German “Mittelstand”, that are

Zurich in September 2017 announced the appointment of Peter Huber as Chief Executive Officer, Zurich International. He reports to Patrick Manley, CEO of Zurich Insurance and Chief Administrative Officer for the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region. Zurich International includes the international life businesses in the Isle of Man, Middle East and Zurich International Corporate Solutions (including Zurich Eurolife based in Luxembourg). Peter Huber had been working as

Data breaches and cyber security are a significant concern with U.S. businesses expecting to see an all-time high of nearly 1,500 reported data breaches in 2017. Business owners need to be more vigilant than ever in order to avoid these near-certain attacks, and to protect their employees’ and customers’ personally identifiable information (PII). Generali Global Assistance, in cooperation with the Identity Theft Resources Center (ITRC), in August 2017 released

In the context of the impending Brexit, Tokio Marine Group in September 2017 announced plans to set up an insurance company in Luxembourg for writing European business. For decades, the group has been active in the European Economic Area through several of its subsidiaries, principally Tokio Marine HCC and Tokio Marine Kiln. Tokio Marine is aiming to have the new insurance company incorporated and capitalized within the first half

GeoBlue, the international health insurance provider of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, in August 2017 announced the appointment of Linda Cote to Vice President, Corporate Sales and Account Management. Linda Cote brings 13 years of international experience from Aetna International, where she held sales and leadership positions within the organization. Prior to her tenure at Aetna, Linda spent 14 years within the domestic health insurance market, where

GeoBlue, the international health insurance provider of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, in August 2017 announced the appointment of Jill Milliken to Vice President of Scholastic Sales. The Scholastic business unit for GeoBlue provides educational institutions the international healthcare and assistance services their schools need for both study outside of the U.S. and inbound programs. Jill Milliken comes to GeoBlue from Generali Global Assistance where she was Vice

US-based employee benefits consultants United Benefit Advisors (UBA) in August 2017 published a report revealing that, contrary to common belief, small businesses are keeping pace with large employers when it comes to offering health benefits to their employees. The report, “Small Business Health Care: How Employees Are Faring,” outlines how employees across all plan types pay an average of $3,378 toward annual health insurance benefits, with their employer picking

Management consulting firm McKinsey & Company in August 2017 published an article, “A 360-degree approach to patient adherence” that discusses how an insight-driven approach can help when patients drive up healthcare costs by neglecting their treatment regimens. The article points out that 50 to 60 percent of patients are likely to skip medications, follow-up appointments and other treatment protocols, which places them at risk for complications and overall worsening

The strategic partnership between Allianz and Brokerslink, a company of brokers and risk consultant firms, is intended to give small and mid-sized enterprises better access to Allianz worldwide expertise and market access solutions. Brokerslink was created in 2004 as a global network of independent brokers. Since then, it has integrated a number of risk expert firms with a view to becoming a credible alternative to the mainstream models in

Europ Assistance Holding in August 2017 appointed Fabio Carsenzuola as the new CEO and General Manager of Europ Assistance Italy, a member of the Generali Group. Carsenzuola replaces Bruno Scaroni, who was recently named Strategy & Business Accelerator Director at Generali Group. He began his professional career as project leader in Pride Group and later worked for management consulting firm McKinsey, where he focused on banking and insurance in

David Wichmann, president of UnitedHealth Group, in September 2017 succeeds Stephen Hemsley as the company’s chief executive officer and becomes a director of the company. In his previous position, Wichmann oversaw UnitedHealthcare’s domestic and international businesses; he also served as group chief financial officer. Earlier, he held positions as president of UnitedHealthcare; president and chief executive officer of Specialized Care Services (now OptumHealth); and senior vice president, corporate development.

Global Benefits Vision is proud to announce the release of the new Global Employee Benefits and Global Mobility Directory! Our vision is for the directory to be the core record of Employee Benefits and Global Mobility providers in the industry, and a one-stop shop for company data and contact details at your fingertips. We will be revising it periodically to ensure the data remain current and to add new

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) in August 2017 sold its Hong Kong-based subsidiary, MassMutual Asia, to Yunfeng Financial Group and other Asia-based investors for approximately $1.7 billion, including a 24.8% stake in Yunfeng Financial Group. MassMutual Asia owns a P/C insurer and MassMutual Trustees, which focuses on the Mandatory Provident Fund business, a compulsory pension plan for the retirement of residents in Hong Kong. According to the joint

After acquiring Norwegian insurer Gjensidige’s marine and energy portfolio in February 2016, U.K.-based Compre in August 2017 acquired its U.S. asbestos, pollution and health hazard risks, marking Compre’s fifth acquisition in 2017 and the 25th overall. At this time and according to its 2016 SFCR (Solvency and Financial Condition Report), Compre appears to be active in P/C risks only, including general liability, casualty, and marine, aviation and transport. Gjensidige

A woman from British Columbia, Canada, was issued a lifetime ban at the U.S. border after U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) officials found an email conversation with her doctor on her smartphone that indicated she had survived a fentanyl overdose. Fentanyl is a powerful opioid pain medication that sometimes is illicitly manufactured and used as a recreational drug, causing many overdose deaths. The 28-year-old woman did not have

– “Are you prepared for the future of work?” This is the question addressed in the July 2017 issue of the Deloitte University Press Review, studying trends that are shaping the future of work – from new talent models, cognitive tools and augmented reality, to the gig economy and more – and how companies and employees alike can take action to define what’s next. “Future of Work” refers to

Total global fintech investment more than doubled quarter over quarter in Q2’17 to US $8.4 billion, up from US$3.6 billion in Q1’17, according to the KPMG Pulse of Fintech report. The fintech market rebound was helped by global M&A investment, with US$5.9 billion in deal value for M&A for the quarter. Comparatively, global VC funding to fintech companies declined slightly, with just over US$2.5 billion in VC funding raised

U.S.-based Wamberg Genomic Advisors and Global Healthcare Resources in July 2017 announced a new partnership designed to bring genomic testing to insurance professionals and employer groups. This partnership proposes to educate insurance professionals about the potential of genetic testing and integrating these tests into employee benefit packages, thereby creating a healthier workforce that is engaged in, and informed of, their health. Advanced cancer genomic profiling uses techniques such as