In September 2026, WTW announced a partnership with Sapien Software to support mid-market divestitures, mergers and acquisitions. The arrangement brings HR systems, payroll, international benefits administration and managed services into WTW’s Human Capital Divestitures in a Box offering. It is intended to improve readiness at completion and reduce dependence on transition service agreements. The announcement describes an offering and expected advantages, rather than independently measured client results. Benefits are

In September 2026, Aon reported GBP 10.2 billion of UK bulk annuity transactions completed during the first half of the year, bringing smaller pension schemes into focus in an active risk transfer market. The figures concern January to June transactions, rather than deals completed when the analysis was published. For multinational employers with legacy UK defined benefit obligations, the practical question is whether their scheme can execute a suitable

Mobility no longer follows a simple assignment model The 2026 ECA Mobility Hub and a subsequent analysis by Blick Rothenberg, both published in September 2026, highlighted how cross-border remote work, short-term moves and frequent business travel have changed the operating model for global mobility. Employers can no longer rely on a small population of formally assigned expatriates. People cross borders for overlapping professional and personal reasons, while immigration, tax,

Gallagher’s 2026 Benefits Benchmarks Report published in September 2026 gives employers a clear warning about the current renewal cycle. Thirty-six percent of surveyed organisations reported health plan premium increases of at least 10% at their latest renewal, compared with 27% in 2025. Only half said they were managing healthcare costs effectively. Specialty drugs were identified as a leading cost challenge by 49%, while 22% currently cover GLP-1 medicines for

Canada Life Re in September 2026 said tailored capital solutions have been an important contributor to its growth. The company reported net earnings of CAD 353 million in the first quarter of 2026 and base earnings of CAD 310 million in the second quarter. These are company-reported accounting measures and are not directly comparable with every competitor’s figures, but they indicate that the business entered the year with substantial

On 21 September 2026, the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published preliminary laboratory payment data for 2027 and estimated that aligning Medicare rates more closely with private payer prices could save taxpayers approximately $1 billion a year. This is a proposal with a comment period, rather than an enacted schedule. Its significance for employer benefits lies in the relationship between public tariffs, commercial contracts and access

Marsh has launched Broker WorkBench, an AI-powered placement platform for London specialty business. The platform is designed to standardise data and workflows across matching market requests, negotiation and binding. It supports lead capacity, digital follow capacity and follow-form capacity. Marsh says a process that can take two to four weeks may in some cases be reduced to days or hours. That is an ambition for the platform, not an

A busy market, with more smaller transactions The UK pension risk transfer market remained active in the first half of 2026. Hymans Robertson counted more than 135 transactions, with an aggregate value of about £10.2 billion, compared with £9.8 billion in the same period a year earlier. A notable feature was the number of transactions below £100 million. The figures are evidence of activity, not a forecast for the

In September 2026, Howden Re announced a new International Alternative Solutions practice led by Alexander Roth to develop risk and capital structures for clients across Europe, Asia and other international markets. The practice combines structured reinsurance, climate science, data analytics, product design, portfolio structuring, pricing, capital-markets access and placement. Peter Steiner and Kanika Anand have moved from Howden’s Climate Risk and Resilience practice to establish a dedicated parametric capability

In March 2026, Vitality, a member of Discovery Limited of South Africa, announced that its US acquisition of Ramp Health would combine an AI-enabled health platform with onsite clinical, coaching and workplace-safety services for employers. The transaction brings together two forms of intervention that are often purchased separately. Vitality contributes behavioural science, incentives, data analytics and personalised health-risk insights. Ramp Health adds clinicians, coaches and safety professionals who can

In September 2026, Reuters reported that CVS Health’s Aetna in the USA would introduce a single medical prior-authorisation process for cancer treatment, replacing separate approvals for components such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, imaging and some immunotherapies. The change began on 1 September for Medicaid members in eight US states and is scheduled to reach Aetna’s private and Medicare Advantage plans during the first half of 2027. Aetna says that providers

In September 2026, WTW published an analysis by Julie Nye arguing that employee benefits captives can help close coverage gaps created by war and terrorism exclusions. The subject is becoming more pressing for multinational employers. Group life, accident, disability and medical arrangements are normally built through local insured contracts, each shaped by local law, market practice and carrier appetite. War and terrorism provisions can therefore differ materially between countries,

Insurers and reinsurers are increasingly seeking partnerships with the captive insurance market as owners retain more risk and adopt more sophisticated reinsurance structures, according to new analysis shared in September 2026 by Marsh Captive Solutions. US captive domicile premium is estimated to have grown from $94.3 billion at the end of 2021 to $118.5 billion by the end of 2025, per Captive Review analysis, while global premium is projected

Demand Is Moving Beyond Price In September 2026, Artemis reported that 28% of respondents to Moody’s Ratings’ annual survey of reinsurance buyers expect to increase their use of alternative capital in 2027. The remaining respondents expect their usage to remain unchanged, indicating that insurance-linked securities have become a durable component of reinsurance purchasing rather than a temporary response to scarce traditional capacity. Buyers cite diversification, multiyear protection and capital

Rising medical costs and mounting duty-of-care obligations are pushing multinational employers to treat internationally mobile employee benefits as a governance priority rather than an administrative afterthought, according to WTW’s latest Internationally Mobile Employee Benefits Design Survey, published in September 2026. From Benefit Provision to Active Governance Though internationally mobile employees represent a small share of most workforces, their exposures can be outsized: a single medical event, evacuation or death

The rapid expansion of data centers could open a significant new growth avenue for the captive insurance market, according to Fitch Ratings. Speaking in September 2026 at the Rendez-Vous de Septembre reinsurance conference in Monte Carlo, Fitch’s head of EMEA reinsurance ratings, Manuel Arrivé, said data centers represent a major opportunity for the broader re/insurance sector. But he cautioned that the scale and complexity of these exposures mean capacity

Arboreum in September 2026 launched a multi-employer, whole-of-life collective defined contribution (CDC) pension plan in the U.K. designed to give members a target-based income for life. The firm, owned by Collective Pensions and majority backed by the Vestey and Timpson family businesses, developed the scheme with Hymans Robertson and CMS. The launch follows The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) decision to begin accepting applications for multi-employer CDC schemes on 31 July

MAXIS GBN in September 2026 released a whitepaper urging multinational employers to adopt a nuanced, data-led strategy for covering GLP-1 medications, warning that poor planning could drive up pharmacy costs without delivering lasting health gains. Building on a dataset that covers 52 insurance partners in 36 countries, more than 7.9 million insured lives, over 1.5 million unique claimants and approximately 50 million claim records, MAXIS GBN found that 38%

While workplace mental health awareness has dramatically increased since COVID-19, most employers remain “still in a transition stage” and haven’t fully integrated mental health into their leadership practices or business strategy, according to HR expert Pamela McGee, who spoke at the SHRM26 Conference in June 2026. Many organizations acknowledge mental health challenges but fail to move beyond basic offerings like employee assistance programs (EAPs). McGee notes that EAPs often

A new study by Gallagher, published in March 2026, of over 1,300 communications and HR professionals reveals a widening “Readiness Gap” between where organizations are and where they need to be to maximize performance in today’s volatile business environment. Gallagher’s 2026 Employee Communications Report, based on their 18th annual State of the Sector survey, identifies four critical priorities for communications teams: clarity and direction, workforce readiness, operational enablement, and

The adoption of AI in captive operations is a rapidly evolving topic, with AI tools advancing at a rapid pace: a major development every six months, while adoption rates vary greatly not only from one industry to another, but also between competitors within the same industry. It is therefore useful to take stock of the adoption of AI by captives and their managers in the first quarter of 2026.

Employee benefits captives have transformed from simple financing mechanisms into strategic platforms that deliver long-term financial value and support broader corporate objectives, according to International SOS Chief Risk Officer Franck Baron. Baron’s company has used its employee benefits (EB) captive to retain underwriting results, smooth volatility, and improve predictability across cycles while expanding into health risk management initiatives. The captive now addresses medical inflation, absenteeism, and long-term disability while

Group critical illness insurance is gaining traction as employers seek comprehensive benefits that demonstrate genuine commitment to employee well-being while supporting retention and productivity goals. The coverage provides lump-sum payments upon diagnosis of serious conditions including cancer, heart attack, stroke, and major organ transplants. Unlike traditional group life insurance, this benefit offers immediate value to employees without dependents, addressing a key gap in standard benefits packages. Financial security represents

In the U.S., MetLife expects group benefits and retirement and income solutions to remain key drivers of growth, supported by favorable economic and demographic trends, a senior executive said in March 2026. Speaking at the Raymond James 47th Annual Institutional Investors Conference, Ramy Tadros, regional president of MetLife’s U.S. business, said the company sees strong fundamentals in the employer benefits market, including high returns on equity and a rational

MAXIS Global Benefits Network has partnered with LearnLux to strengthen its global financial wellbeing offering, expanding access to structured financial guidance for multinational workforces worldwide.

MAXIS Global Benefits Network (MAXIS GBN) in September 2025 launched MAXIS+, an enhanced suite of health data insights and wellness services for its multinational clients. The MAXIS+ services have been designed to help multinationals drill deeper into their claims and truly understand their employee health. The new range of services includes a sophisticated new medical claims dashboard that has the most up-to-date data, allowing multinationals to generate bespoke reports and create

Generali Employee Benefits (GEB) network in June 2025 announced a new strategic partnership with AI-benefits innovator Euphoric. Euphoric has developed an AI-powered, all-in-one benefits management platform providing cutting-edge global benefits analytics for Global HR leaders and their employees. It is designed to help employees and employers navigate the complexities of corporate benefit plans. For employers, Euphoric has developed a Global Analytics Platform (GAP), providing one centralized view of the