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Multinational pooling network IGP in May 2021 announced a new partner in Cambodia, Sovannaphum Life Assurance. Sovannaphum Life Assurance (SVL) is a joint venture between Canadia Investment Holding, the owner of Canadia Bank, and Muang Thai Life Assurance, IGP’s partner in Thailand. The company was granted full license as a life insurance Company by Ministry of Economy and Finance of Cambodia in December 2015 and started operations in 2016.

A group of nine European associations in June 2021 announced the launch of European Retirement Week, which will take place during the week of 29 November 2021. The goal of this initiative is to provide a platform for a wide range of stakeholders to debate the future of pensions in Europe and to raise citizens’ awareness of the need to save for retirement. Achieving pension adequacy is indeed crucial

In our previous article in this series (see Part I here) we examined a case in the Netherlands that demonstrates how the head office of an organization can help subsidiaries with an international approach. We will now analyse another example in which an international solution added value to local employee benefits (EB) provision. Maintaining the example of the German Group, we are assessing a subsidiary located in the United

Swiss Re in June 2021 published a new edition of its SONAR research report under the title “New Emerging Risks Insights”. The report addresses the threats that will shape the future post-COVID-19 risk landscape. They range from the unintended consequences of government interventions through to the dangers of restarting under-maintained industrial facilities. The key issues addressed include: COVID-19 to worsen income inequality; growth in the global middle class slowed

In the previous articles of this series (Article I & Article II), we discussed the importance of knowing the insurable employee benefits (EB) specific to your organisation, so as to understand the total costs associated with providing benefits to employees. With this knowledge gathered centrally in the head office of your organisation, your central Finance and Benefits managers will be able to seek possibilities of optimisation at a local

Life-insurance startup Ethos in May 2021 raised USD 200 million in a funding round valuing the business at more than 2 billion. The San Francisco, California-based company previously had raised a total of USD 100 million. Ethos is a producer and a third-party administrator (TPA) for life insurance carriers. Its platform allows customers to purchase life insurance policies online. Currently, the company works with a list of carriers that

Zurich North America in April 2021 announced the appointment of David Fike as the new head of its Life, Accident & Health business unit. Fike accumulates over 30 years of experience in insurance and pensions, with a special focus on Asia. He has been with Zurich for close to 7 years, lastly as the CEO of General Insurance and Takaful in Malaysia. He previously had worked for CIGNA in Turkey;

Zürich, Switzerland-based broker ASN, Advisory Services Network, in April 2021 appointed Kieran Brown as their General Manager in the UK. Brown’s appointment occurs as ASN enters the post-Brexit UK international insurance market. Brown, who was General Manager of Now Health International Europe (NHI) from 2018 to 2021, comes to ASN with over 25 years of experience in international insurance, having worked for Bupa, AXA PPP Healthcare, Cigna and NHI.

t is well known that companies with operations in multiple countries are in the best position when their employee benefits (EB) plans are controlled centrally. The largest companies have implemented a central function within their HQ that is responsible for EB management. However, in medium-size companies with international operations (i.e., 1’000 – 5’000 employees), this level of control and management is still often non-existent. The key to gaining control

Cells are the basic building blocks of all living things. So, in order to treat or cure almost any disease or condition – including cancer – you first need to have a fundamental understanding of cell biology.. While researchers have a pretty good understanding of what each component of a cell does, there are still things we don’t know about them – including the role that some RNAs molecules play in a cell. Finding the answer to this may be key in developing further cancer treatments, which is what our research has sought to uncover.

Not to burst anyone’s water bottle, but healthy people can actually die from drinking too much water. I am an exercise physiologist, and my research focuses on overhydration and how drinking too much water affects the body. Since water – and sodium – balance is essential to life, it is extremely rare for people to die from drinking too much – or too little – fluid. In most cases, your body’s finely tuned molecular processes are unconsciously taking care of you.

There are many reasons why mental wellbeing is important. Not only is it protective against physical illnesses and linked to greater productivity, but the mental wellbeing of a population is essential for a country’s sustainability, long-term growth and development. But despite the clear benefits, governments tend to focus public spending on treating and preventing disease, and providing care for those who are ill. While this is important and should continue to be prioritised, such strategies alone won’t increase levels of mental wellbeing overall.

Nowadays, any discussion around healthcare for your employees will inevitably center around Covid. At a time when the pandemic and its challenges are still making headlines as outbreaks, infection rates and vaccines flood every news bulletin, it’s easy to overlook the impact on other areas of healthcare. Many of these involve complex or life-threatening illnesses, such as cancer. Global Benefits Vision recently spoke to Further Group CEO Frank Ahedo about the impact that Covid is having on the treatment of serious medical conditions, and how this changing landscape will affect the way employees have access to treatment.

. ithin the head offices of many organisations, employee benefits (EB) come as a concern to a variety of C-level decision makers. The responsibility of ensuring suitable employee benefits for an organisation’s workforce is linked closely to a manager’s capacity to meet specific targets. However, to meet those targets, companies require the ideal employee benefits scenario – the ‘dream.’ As a result of operational limitations, the ‘dream’ EB scenario

The European Association of Paritarian Institutions (AEIP) in April 2021 announced the 2021 edition of the World Pension Alliance & Transatlantic Conference. The event will be held online on 2 and 3 June 2021. It brings together leading experts in pension and healthcare benefits, as well as trustees and employee benefits plan professionals from around the world to share their knowledge and experience on the most prevalent issues. The

There’s no shortage of weight loss programmes out there to choose from, each of which claim to have the key to shedding pounds. One of the latest popular weight loss programmes out there is Noom, which claims that behavioural psychology is the key to helping people lose weight for good – including those who haven’t had success in the past.

Staying in touch with loved ones without seeing them in person has become even more important during the pandemic. But for some people, making or receiving calls is a stressful experience. Phone anxiety – or telephobia – is the fear and avoidance of phone conversations and it’s common among those with social anxiety disorder.

COVID-19 has hijacked people’s lives, families and work. And, it has hijacked their bodies and minds in ways that they may not even be aware of. As we see it, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is a sort of zombie virus, turning people not into the undead but rather into the unsick. By interfering with our bodies’ normal immune response and blocking pain, the virus keeps the infected on their feet, spreading the virus.

As we pass the one-year anniversary of COVID-19 being declared a global pandemic, its impact on the mental health and well-being of children is undeniable. Indeed, news headlines on whether “the kids are alright” have frequently surfaced, bringing to light the immense challenges for kids, and their families, as they cope with ongoing changes during COVID-19, including online schooling and social distancing from friends..

Generali Employee Benefits recently onboarded network partner for the Belgian market, Vivium. Global Benefits Vision interviews Hans Callebaut, Commercial Director at Vivium and Thierry Mestach, Chief Network Officer at GEB, to learn more about the added value this pairing will bring to the Employee Benefits market and more specifically to the multinational corporate customer segment.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in April 2021 published its latest set of Composite Leading Indicators (CLIs). Designed to anticipate turning points in economic activity relative to long-term trends, CLIs continue to strengthen in most major economies. In the US, the CLI increases steadily, thanks to a greater consumer confidence. In Japan, Canada, and the euro-area (especially Germany and Italy), the CLIs point towards a steady

Kornelia Köhler in February 2021 joined Zurich’s multinational pooling network, Zurich Global Employee Benefits Services (ZGEBS) as Costumer Relationship Manager, based in Zurich. She had been working at AIG Global Benefits Network (AIG GBN) for six years, first as an account manager and later as a regional manager. She holds a Master of Applied Economic Sciences from the University of Antwerp, Belgium.

Olga Collins in April 2021 became the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Worldwide Broker Network (WBN), based in San Francisco, California. She succeeds Francie Starnes, who became CEO five years ago and will assume the role of CEO Emeritus through 2021. Collins had been leading WBN member firm Beecher Carlson’s multinational practice for 7 years, as well as WBN’s Young Professionals Academy. Beecher Carlson is the large

U.K. risk and insurance management association Airmic in April 2021 appointed Julia Graham as its new CEO. She takes over from John Ludlow and will work with the association’s chairwoman Tracey Skinner. Previously, Graham served as director of risk management and insurance at global law firm DLA Piper; head of strategic risk, insurance, and compliance for RSA; and was Airmic’s deputy CEO and technical director since 2015. A past

AXA in March 2021 announced a series of senior leadership changes in the context of the implementation of its new strategic plan, Driving Progress 2023, presented in December 2020. According to CEO Thomas Buberl, “[…] a renewed leadership team and a simpler organisation [will] accelerate the execution of our strategic priorities […]”. Simplification of AXA’s Corporate Center AXA’s Corporate Center will be led by two Deputy CEOs: Frédéric de

Zurich Insurance in March 2021 launched a new global risk management business unit called Zurich Resilience Solutions (ZRS). It will be led by Hanno Mijer, reporting to Sierra Signorelli, CEO, commercial insurance at Zurich. Initially focusing on property/casualty (P/C) risks, ZRS includes more than 750 risk engineers to deliver risk prevention and mitigation services, complementing traditional insurance products such as employers’ liability, construction, motor fleet, general liability, and property.

In February 2021, MAXIS Global Benefits Network (MAXIS GBN) announced the advancement of Paul Lewis to the position of Regional Director for the Americas. He is joined in this new team by Paul Mielkhe as Director, Christinea Chase as Senior Client Relationship Manager, and Diana Daszewski as Senior Account Manager. Lewis joined MAXIS GBN in 2016 and had been leading their US East Region’s Business Development team. Henceforth, he