Sweden has made a number of changes to their Anti-Discrimination Act as of January 1, 2017. These include extending the scope of an act requiring all employers to take active measures to bring about equal rights and opportunities in the workplace regardless of gender, ethnicity and religion to include transgender identity or expression, disability, sexual orientation, and age. Other developments include a requirement for comprehensive documentation of all employers’

The government of the United Kingdom in December 2016 published a revised version of the gender pay gap regulations that come into force in April, 2017. These regulations require private sector employers within the U.K. with at least 250 employees to publish certain information about the differences in pay between men and women. It is anticipated that 34 percent of the total U.K. workforce (7,960 employers and around 11

Egon Zehnder in March 2017 released the findings of its Leaders & Daughters Global Survey, which tracks working women’s motivations, ambitions, and their own definition of professional success. Findings highlighted seven countries – Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, India, the United States, and the United Kingdom – and shows global similarities between women at different stages of their careers. The findings indicate that while the majority of women in the

Aetna International is expanding into the Canadian market to provide tailored coverage for expatriate clients. With the main office in Toronto, Aetna expects to open additional offices throughout 2017 and is actively hiring staff to fill key roles. Carrie Chapman in September 2016 was appointed country manager for Canada, reporting to Richard di Benedetto, president and CEO of Aetna International. The plans offered by Aetna will cover everyone whether

The annual Benefits and Trends Survey, released in February 2017 by Aon Employee Benefits, the U.K. health and benefits business of Aon plc, reveals that 90% of the 200 employers surveyed want increased employee engagement and understanding of benefits packages. However, what was telling was that only 36% have a specific communications strategy in place. The survey also shed light on employer actions and intentions. Aon commented that the

While publication of solvency ratios for the insurance industry is not a requirement, many companies do publish this information as part of their risk appetite and financial targets. The E.U. solvency regime, called Solvency II, also allows countries operating outside the E.U., ‘third country insurers’, to operate and comply with E.U. rules. The chart, compiled by Guy Carpenter, a Marsh & McLennan company, and published in February 2017, shows

Results of the Deloitte Global Chief Procurement Officer Survey 2017 point to reducing costs in the face of global uncertainty as the biggest priority Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) face. Eighty-four percent of the CPOs surveyed in North America said that managing risks is the second highest priority, indicating that they are taking a cautious approach at a time when risks include weakness and volatility in emerging markets and rising

Aetna International in February 2017 announced the appointment of Andy O’Cain as New Business Sales Director, in charge of the development and growth of the self insured corporate sector (ASO) in the large group market. Based in the U.K., Andy joins Aetna International from Cigna Insurance Services where he was Head of Sales and Business Development, having previously been Head of Travel Development. Prior to Cigna, Andy was Head

Remarks by President Trump in Listening Session with Health Insurance Company CEOs Source: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary February 27, 2017 THE PRESIDENT:  You are the big ones.  You are the biggest of the big, right?  (Laughter.)  That’s very impressive.  Thank you for being here.  We just had a great meeting with the governors on the horrible effects that Obamacare is having.  We’re going to change

Just days after hiring Jay Fulcher as CEO to replace David Sacks, the interim CEO who took over after former CEO Parker Conrad was ousted over a fraud investigation, Zenefits in February 2017 announced a third and largest round of layoffs in a year that saw the embattled company fined $7 million as part of a settlement with the state of California. The layoffs are part of a plan

Zenefits, designers of all-in-one HR solutions for small businesses, has appointed Jay Fulcher as executive officer and chairman of the board effective in February, 2017. Fulcher, who formerly served as president and CEO of Ooyala, as well as executive vice president of Peoplesoft, brings more than 20 years of senior management experience to Zenefits at a key time in its evolution. The announcement comes days after the company’s second

Aon in February 2017 sold its human resources business process outsourcing (BPO) platform and operations to private equity firm and alternative asset manager Blackstone for $4.3 billion plus an additional $500 million earn-out based on future performance. Closing is expected by the end of the second quarter of 2017. The sale, according to Aon’s website, is a “natural extension of the strategy the firm has pursued over the last

Cigna’s global expatriate segment, Cigna Global Health Benefits Europe (Cigna GHB), in February 2017 announced the promotion of Raymond Linnartz to the senior management position of European Sales Director. Linnartz, who has almost 17 years’ experience in sales and business development, has been with Cigna for 11 years. He was previously with Aon and Mercer in multiple roles as an adviser on employee benefits solutions to Fortune 500 companies.

Cigna’s global expatriate segment, Cigna Global Health Benefits Europe (Cigna GHB), in February 2017 announced the promotion of Frank Indestege to Market Development Director, Europe. His new duties at Cigna GBH will include responsibility for business development projects and strategic partnerships across Europe. His remit will include identifying product and partnership needs for strategic markets, notably France, Germany, and the Nordic territories. Indestege, who holds a Master’s degree in

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in February 2017 published the 2016 edition of its yearly global insurance market trends report. Since the early 1980s, the OECD has collected and analyzed data on insurance in OECD countries. Since 2008, the Global Insurance Statistics project has extended the global reach of the database and expanded the data collected which now includes not only the number of insurance companies

The U.S. district court for the District of Columbia in February 2017 has blocked health insurer Anthem’s proposed merger with Cigna, citing antitrust concerns in respect of large national employers. Anthem announced it will appeal the decision, whilst Cigna “evaluates its options”. U.S. district judge Amy Berman Jackson found that “the merger is likely to result in higher prices”. Earlier in 2017, the same U.S. district court had found

Cigna Global Health Benefits in June 2016 announced the appointment of Neil Irwin as Head of Global Distribution. In this role, Neil will be responsible for cross-market growth and development of Cigna’s globally mobile group health business across multiple client and customer segments around the globe. Before joining Cigna, Neil was Managing Director at Marsh and was responsible for developing client relationships and driving growth, strategic insurer relationships, marketing

Cigna Global Health Benefits in September 2016 announced an expanded partnership with African-based insurer, Hollard Insurance Group. Hollard and Cigna have created a fully compliant health insurance product in sub-Saharan Africa, Hollard Cigna Health, that meets the legal requirements of globally mobile staff as well as regional expats and key local nationals from corporations with operations in the region. A pan-African product, it is able to cater to national

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in January 2017 found that Aetna’s proposed merger with Humana fell afoul of antitrust laws and ordered it to stop. According to Judge John Bates, the efficiencies generated by the merger will not be sufficient to mitigate the anti-competitive effects for consumers, specifically in respect of individual Medicare Advantage plans and of individual commercial insurance on the public exchanges in

Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC (MMA) has acquired J. Smith Lanier (JSL), a group of middle market insurance agencies. JSL will operate as MMA’s Southeast Region hub with D. Gaines Lanier, JSL’s chief executive, and Gary Ivey of MMA at the helm. MMA will absorb all of JSL’s over 600 employees. JSL, founded in 1868 and which has annual revenues of approximately $130 million, is a provider of insurance,

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the U.S. has reported the death of a Reno, Nevada, woman in her 70s from septic shock, after contracting an infection that was resistant to all antibiotics. This comes on the heel of warnings about carbapenem-resistant Enterbacteriaceae (CRE) bacteria that is resistant to all currently available antibiotics. The strain of bacteria that caused the Reno woman’s death is known as Klebsiella pneumoniae.

The MAXIS GBN pooling network on February 7, 2017, officially opened its new headquarters in London, U.K., located at 11 Monument Street in the City. Since its launch in 1998, MAXIS, an AXA-MetLife partnership, had been managed from Paris and New York City. According to CEO Mauro Dugulin, in the present context of diminishing returns on multinational pooling; increasing interest in the use of captives; a greater thirst for

Global broker Arthur J. Gallagher in January 2017 announced its acquisition of Chicago’s Gruppo Marcucci. Gruppo Marcucci specializes in human resource and benefits technology solutions for benefit brokers and consultants, employers, insurance carriers, and service providers as well as the investment community. The acquisition compliments Gallagher’s growing employee benefits and consulting operations. Partners Rhonda Marcucci and Ed Barry, leaders of Gruppo Marcucci, will continue to operate from their Chicago

In response to the urgent call for new vaccines to treat emerging infectious diseases, the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, established a global coalition in January 2017 that is committed to developing safe and effective vaccines against known infectious disease threats. Buoyed by an initial investment of US$460m from the governments of Germany, Japan, and Norway, plus investments from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome

Humanis, a large French group insurance carrier, since 2013 has published a yearly survey of French expatriates. Here are some key takeaways from the January 2017 edition: French expats like living abroad, and 95% of them would recommend that their friends give expatriation a try. 64% of French expats do not expect to return home in the next five years.   39% of French expats would like to create

Optum, a health services company and part of UnitedHealth Group is merging with Surgical Care Affiliates (SCA). The primary and urgent care delivery services business works with over 80 health plans, and will acquire SCA, enabling the company to create expanded capabilities in outpatient surgical procedures. Surgical Care Affiliates is an ambulatory surgery center and surgical hospital provider. The combination of OptumCare and SCI will create a comprehensive ambulatory

The March 31, 2017 imposition of Article 50 has nervous Britons rushing to transfer their final salary pensions into overseas schemes. According to deVere Group, a large independent financial advisory organization, the percentage of inquiries about transferring pensions has risen 21% since the beginning of December. While there has been interest since the Brexit vote in June 2016, the surge to transfer pensions overseas intensified during December and promises