Workforce Sustainability & the Death of HR – Paul Pittman Why Are We So Sleep Deprived? – Michael S. Jaffee Six Misconceptions About Meditation – Dusana Dorjee AIG GBN Conference Report

Aon in May 2018 announced that Eric Andersen, CEO of Aon Benfield, and Michael O’Connor, CEO of Aon Risk Solutions, have been appointed Co-Presidents of the firm; they will continue to report to CEO Greg Case. Aon also announced it will create an integrated global Operating Committee, co-led by Andersen and O’Connor. More Changes Further changes at Aon include the introduction of a single P&L structure “to increase colleague

Aon in May 2018 announced it will retire business unit brands Aon Risk Solutions and Aon Benfield, after the retirement of the Aon Hewitt brand in 2017. It will appear simply as Aon. In addition to the creation of an integrated global Operating Committee, the move is designed to make it easier for Aon team members to work together. The company previously announced a single P&L structure, “part of

Workforce Sustainability & the Death of HR Paul Pittman Why Are We So Sleep Deprived? Michael S. Jaffee Six Misconceptions About Meditation Dusana Dorjee AIG GBN Conference Report  

AIA Singapore and Medix in May 2018 announced an exclusive partnership to offer Personal Medical Case Management Services (PMCM) to AIA customers. The service is said to be the first of its kind in Singapore and will help customers facing serious medical conditions by making sure they get the right diagnosis as fast as possible, have access to optimal treatment, and are supported through their treatment journey until recovery.

Allianz in May 2018 finalized the sale of part of its Taiwan business’s traditional life insurance portfolio to China Life Insurance. The deal had been announced in January 2018. The portfolio includes around $1.4 billion of reserves in guaranteed interest contracts (GIC) that carry a 4 percent or higher guarantee. Under the Solvency II (S2) regime, GICs are particularly expensive in terms of capital requirement, especially when market rates

Willis Re in May 2018 appointed Franck Pinette as managing director of its Europe, Middle East and Africa life and health practice He joins WTW from Guy Carpenter (MMC) where he was the CEO of the European Life Business. Previously, Pinette worked for PartnerRe as MD of the Life Reinsurance Business Unit and began his career as Life reinsurance manager for Mutuelles du Mans Reassurance. He is a qualified

The AIG Global Benefits Network Annual Partners meeting was held on 14 September 2017, in Paris, France. The meeting focused on AIG’s global strategy, with extensive discussion on the effects of the global economy on the insurance industry.

ECA Italy in June and July 2018 organizes three training sessions for HR professionals, covering tax, benefits, employment law and immigration. The destinations addressed are Asia, the U.S., and the Balkans. The Asia session (China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam) is scheduled on 6 June 2018 from 09:30 to 17:00 U.S.A. session: June 20, 2018 from 09:30 to 13:30 Balkans session (Romania, Serbia, Bosnia, and Montenegro) – 4 July 2018

Meditation has been hailed as a way to boost mental health, help chronic pain, reduce stress and build a new appreciation for the world around us. But even with all this interest, misconceptions about what this ancient practice can do for human health and well-being are still circulating.

Many of us dread the loss of the hour’s sleep we incur by moving our clocks forward when daylight saving times comes back in Spring. For millions, the loss will be an added insult to the inadequate sleep they experience on a daily basis.

Anyone who follows trends in cinema will have noticed films for, and about, “baby boomers” that play to themes of memory. With HR profession at a crossroads, just like in one of those movies, I seem to remember having been here before!

U.S. surgeon general Jerome Adams in April 2018 urged employers to help in fighting the opioid epidemic. He was speaking at a conference sponsored by the National Business Group on Health (NBGH), an association of large employers. Adams estimates that 2.1 million people in the U.S. are struggling with an opioid-use condition. While these drugs can be helpful for a short time, they pose serious addiction risks. Common opioids include

MAXIS GBN in May 2018 published research revealing that three quarters (75%) of employee benefits professionals believe the enhanced use of data and the application of innovative technologies to improve the employee experience are the primary growth opportunities for the employee benefits sector globally over the next two years. The findings, from the inaugural MAXIS Global Perspectives report, reveal the majority of sector professionals are bullish about the opportunities

The Worldwide Broker Network (WBN) in April 2018 announced the election of three Board members, Susan Murphy from Canada, Matteo Scagliarini from Italy, and Markham McKnight from the U.S.A. Susan Murphy is President & CEO of Totten Insurance Group of Canada (a Hub International owned company), a national managing general agent focusing on niche and specialty products. She is a member of the WBN US and Canada Steering Committee.

WBN in April 2018 announced that global mobility specialist Globiana will join the network as its 11th Associate Member. Globiana helps multinational organizations train, guide and support their globally mobile employees and their families.  The company has a global footprint that spans over 140 countries, with offices in San Francisco, California and Stuttgart, Germany. The role of WBN’s Associate Members is to provide WBN Partner Companies with specialized support

Worldwide Broker Network (WBN) in April 2018 added three new members to its 112-strong network. All three firms focus on employee benefits; their addition is consistent with WBN’s strategy of enhancing its capabilities beyond its traditional P/C business. EBCG is based in Illinois and has four field offices across the U.S. It focuses on employee benefits. GBS Benefits is based in Utah, with seven other U.S. offices. It offers

Global Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) flows decreased by 18% to USD 1 411 billion in 2017 compared to 2016. This represents 1.8% of global GDP, compared to 2.3% in 2016 and 2.5% in in 2015. The drop in FDI reflects a drop in financial and corporate restructuring, possibly as a result of U.S. tax reform, which decreased incentive to engage in those types of transactions in 2017. The US

Consulting firm HR Path in May 2018 acquired Ataraxis, headquartered in Belgium and operating in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Spain and France. Ataraxis is a Workday specialist (Workday is a provider of enterprise cloud software for finance and human resources). Ataraxis will become the dedicated Workday practice of HR Path. The senior management team, Tom Hillen, Wouter Van den Avont and Jan Snyers will become HR Path partners. Ataraxis

Generali in April 2018 sold Generali Belgium to Athora Holding for EUR 540 million. Generali Belgium is primarily focused on the life segment but also offers P/C products. After the sale, Generali will remain present in Belgium through its Global Business Lines and especially Generali’s multinational pooling network GEB as well as through Europ Assistance. Athora is likely to rename the company after completion of the deal; it will

The Blockchain Insurance Industry Initiative (B3i) in March 2018 incorporated B3i Services AG in Zürich, Switzerland. B3i has been a collaborative initiative of 15 global insurers and reinsurers who came together in late 2016 to explore and test the potential of using Distributed Ledger Technologies within the re/insurance industry. B3i Services will provide insurance solutions on a blockchain platform, striving for improved speed, transparency, quality, security, and cost. It

In the wake of Brexit and of the introduction of Solvency II, global actuarial firm Milliman in April 2018 opened an office in Luxembourg. Led by consulting actuary Olivier Mahieux, Milliman Luxembourg is one of the three components of Milliman Benelux. Their offices in Amsterdam, Brussels and Luxembourg cooperate together and consist of around 50 actuarial, quantitative risk and health consultant. As a PSA (Professionnel du Secteur de l’Assurance),

McKinsey’s research division McKinsey Global Institute, in April 2018 published a discussion paper on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI). Applications and relevance of AI are broken down by industry and by corporate function, for an in-depth and nuanced analysis. “Notes From the AI Frontier: Insights From Hundreds of Use Cases” in particular focuses on the relevance of so-called “deep learning” techniques. Deep learning refers to techniques known as

Vistra in April 2018 acquired Radius, a U.S.-based provider of international expansion services. Vistra is a provider of international incorporations, trust, fiduciary, private office and fund administration services, and will be acquiring Radius from the private equity firm Hg. Radius provides managed services, advisory services and OverseasConnect, its integrated cloud-based software platform, to more than 500 clients operating in 80 countries. The firm is headquartered in Boston with offices

Randstad US in April 2018 released results from its quarterly Randstad Workmonitor survey (Q1 2018) that suggest that although 82 percent of U.S. workers surveyed say the ability to work from anywhere at any time allows them to maintain a healthy work-life balance, more than half (62%) still prefer to work in the office — and this number is even higher among young workers. Sixty-five percent of those aged

Most organizations significantly lag behind their employees’ expectations for total rewards offerings, according to Bersin’s High-Impact Rewards (HIR) research, a new study area that focuses on employee total rewards. The study released in April 2018 suggests that, with the right strategies in place, organizations that fall short of employee expectations can build a rewards brand that attracts, retains and motivates the most talented workers. As employees and candidates become

Monument Re acquired a run-off portfolio of flexible premium retail life insurance contracts from Ethias in Belgium and will transfer it to its subsidiary Laguna Life DAC, domiciled in Ireland. The transfer will result in the loss of the savings (invested capital) guarantee in Belgium up to a maximum of EUR 100,000; Ireland has no equivalent system. Regarding returns, and according to Ethias CEO Philippe Lallemand, “The payment of