In September 2026, The Guardian reported that Starbucks workers responding to a Starbucks Workers United survey faced sharp increases in their health-insurance contributions for cover beginning on 1 October. More than 130 workers from union and non-union stores took part. The newspaper described individual employees who expected to drop coverage or considered taking another job because of the cost. The evidence is serious as testimony, but the survey is

In September 2026, Trafalgar House released findings from its 2026 Trust & Confidence Survey showing that 24.4% of respondents agreed their pension would enable them to live comfortably in retirement, down from 26.3% in 2025. Another 17.1% selected “don’t know,” up from 15.8%. The research covered more than 2,000 UK adults and was completed at the beginning of 2026, according to the provider. Publication in September should not be

In September 2026, the European Commission published an account of its 10 September workshop on supplementary pensions and auto-enrolment, organised with the Irish Presidency of the Council. The Commission says automatic enrolment has helped increase participation and reduce pension gaps, particularly where occupational coverage is low. Its 25 September note encourages national initiatives while explicitly rejecting a simple copy-and-paste model across Member States. That distinction matters to employers. The

In September 2026, AM Best published an analysis warning that the involvement of unrated and unauthorised reinsurers is adding credit risk to US property casualty fronting arrangements. The report was announced on 30 September and examines a market that expanded during 2025. For captive boards, the relevance lies in the obligations that remain when risk is transferred between entities. A fronting structure needs scrutiny of recoverability and operational continuity

Moody’s in September 2026 announced it had maintained a stable outlook for Nordic property and casualty insurers but cautioned that slowing price increases will shift premium growth toward volume, raising new underwriting discipline challenges. The sector enters this phase from a position of strength. Moody’s reported an average combined ratio of 84.8% for 2025, down from 89.5% in 2024, with pre-tax profits rising approximately 24% across covered insurers. That

Bloomberg Intelligence in September 2026 estimated that Europe will spend about EUR 500 billion on climate resilience through 2035. The figure covers reconstruction after extreme weather and investment intended to reduce future damage. It also reflects a change in the economic character of climate losses. Repairs once treated as exceptional are becoming part of a sustained cycle of public and private expenditure. Adaptation is becoming a recurring capital programme

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

Default guided retirement solutions for defined contribution pension holders could expose millions of retirees to financial losses, according to new research from the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT). The study, commissioned by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, evaluated four retirement income models against behavioral evidence on pension decision-making: drawdown, immediate annuities, flex and fix, and retirement collective defined contribution (CDC). Under the Pension Schemes Act 2026, DC trustees must

In September 2026, reporting on Marsh’s survey of 1,800 US employers indicated that average health-benefit cost per employee is expected to rise by 8.2% in 2027, the largest annual increase since 2003. The forecast already assumes that employers will make plan changes to reduce spending. Without those measures, the increase could reach about 11%. Fifty-nine percent of surveyed employers plan new cost-saving actions for 2027, including changes to deductibles

In September 2026, Reuters reported that an International Monetary Fund (IMF) paper presented to European finance ministers estimated that artificial intelligence could raise European productivity by about 1% over five years. The estimate is meaningful but modest enough to challenge unrealistic expectations. In a speech accompanying the analysis, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva argued that productivity gains depend on organisations redesigning products, processes and workflows rather than simply adding

In September 2026, Insurance Business reported findings from The Phia Group’s 2026 broker survey showing that the rapid move toward self-funded health plans is outpacing many US employers’ fiduciary processes. The survey covered 124 benefits brokers and advisers. Seventy-six percent said their book of business had shifted toward self-funding during the previous 12 months, but only 12% were very confident that clients had adequate fiduciary processes. The gap matters

A new Geneva Association report shows how geopolitical frictions can constrain reinsurance, capital and liquidity. The implications extend to multinational benefits programmes and captives.

G20 GDP growth slowed slightly to 0.7% in the second quarter of 2026 (Q2 2026), down from 0.8% in the prior quarter (Q1 2026), according to provisional OECD estimates published in September 2026, with most member economies posting weaker results. Saudi Arabia’s contraction deepened sharply, with GDP falling -4.8% in Q2 after a 1.4% decline in Q1, driven largely by a steep drop in oil activity. South Africa’s economy

The U.K.’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in September 2026 published coordinated consultation papers proposing a bespoke regulatory regime for captive insurers, aiming to build a domestic market that currently does not exist. U.K. groups typically establish captives in Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Ireland, Luxembourg or Bermuda; the consultation closes October 14, 2026, with implementation targeted for mid-2027. The initial phase covers single-parent captives

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

Ceded U.S. health insurance premium to the reinsurance market has soared to $203 billion in 2025, up from $59 billion in 2016—a jump of more than 300% over the decade, according to a new AM Best report published in September 2026. The report, Best’s Market Segment Report: Global Reinsurance – Health, attributes the growth to elevated high-cost claims, rising utilization, and persistent medical cost trends that are pushing U.S.

OECD-wide annual inflation held steady at 4.1% in July 2026, following a decline in June, as increases in 13 member countries were largely offset by declines in 14 others, with 11 more remaining stable. Energy inflation stayed above 10% for a fourth consecutive month, reaching 11.6%, while core inflation (excluding food and energy) remained flat at 3.6%. Food inflation eased to 3.2% from 3.4% in June, with 23 OECD

Small and medium enterprises (SME) continue to face challenging financing conditions with borrowing costs well above pre-COVID levels and new lending volumes remaining 20% lower than 2019 in real terms, according to a new OECD report published in August 2026. The financing squeeze is intensifying as lenders demand greater security from SME borrowers. The share of small businesses required to provide collateral jumped 5 percentage points to reach 53%

European Economic Area (EEA) unit-linked personal pension products generated average returns of 9.6% in 2024, according to new analysis from the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), published in Apriol 2026. The authority’s Costs and Past Performance Report examined 1,677 pension products across the EEA, revealing significant performance variations by product type and geography. Over the five-year period from 2020-2024, unit-linked personal pension products delivered annualized net returns

According to the latest estimates published in April 2026 in the OECD Main Science and Technology Indicators, research and development investment across OECD countries in 2024 maintained steady 2.6% growth (inflation-adjusted), even as government R&D budgets tightened and shifted toward defense priorities. The United States led major economies with 3.4% R&D growth, while the European Union managed just 0.4% expansion. Germany, Europe’s economic powerhouse, saw R&D spending decline by

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in April 2026 downgraded global economic projections to 2.9% growth in 2026 and 3.0% in 2027, citing energy supply disruptions from Middle East conflict as the primary drag on previously robust expansion. While the global economy entered 2026 with solid momentum from technology production and reduced US trade tariffs, energy price shocks are now creating significant headwinds. The organization warns that

US life and health insurance impairments fell by half in 2024, with only five companies experiencing financial distress compared to 10 in 2023, according to AM Best research published in March 2026. The sharp decline marks a significant improvement for industry stability, though recent impairments continue to stem from troubled affiliate relationships. Three of 2024’s five impairments involved a Connecticut life insurer and its two captive reinsurance subsidiaries, all

Private market exits more than doubled in value to $484 billion in 2025, signaling a dramatic but selective recovery driven by mega-deals and breakthrough sectors, according to Deloitte’s latest quarterly report published in March 2026. The growth concentrated heavily in large transactions, particularly among venture capital unicorns where median exit values jumped over 200%. Artificial intelligence led sectoral performance with exit values soaring 225% year-over-year, while the number of

Strategic maturity remains the strongest predictor of success for internal communication teams, with well-socialized strategies helping organizations reduce risk and exceed performance targets, according to Gallagher’s 2026 Employee Communications Report, published in March 2026. The study of over 1,300 communications and HR professionals across 40 countries reveals a widening “Readiness Gap” between organizational needs and current capabilities. Organizations with high communication volumes experience a 30% jump in leadership trust

The OECD and UN Statistics Division in March 2026 released comprehensive new data revealing that the world’s 500 largest multinational enterprises are increasingly concentrated in the Americas and Europe, which together account for 74% of MNE headquarters and revenue compared to just 24% in Asia. The enhanced Multinational Enterprise Information Platform (MEIP) now includes employee, revenue, net profit and R&D data for the first time, using AI tools to

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

In Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, unemployment remained stable at 5.0% in January 2026, maintaining levels at or below this threshold since April 2022, according to data published in March 2026. Of the 33 OECD countries with available data, 18 saw unemployment rates unchanged from December 2025, while 11 experienced decreases and four countries—Colombia, Denmark, Norway, and Turkey—posted increases. Notable developments include Spain’s unemployment rate dropping