China Life in July 2016 joined the AIG Global Benefits Network (AIG GBN) pooling network. AIG GBN landed a big fish in China Life Insurance Company Ltd., headquartered in Beijing and the largest life insurance company in China. China Life has a well-known brand name, as well as of the most extensive distribution networks nationwide, with 979,000 exclusive agents, 45,000 direct sales representatives and 131,000 account managers in combination

Jayesh Patel since January 2016 has assumed the role of Head of International Risk Management Programs. In his new position he is responsible for the Captive, Pooling and Consolidated Underwriting programs of Allianz Global Benefits while also leading the global tender and implementation team and reports to François Jacquemin, Head of Products & Solutions. Jayesh Patel has been with the Allianz Group in various roles before joining Allianz Global

When it comes to shining a spotlight on the difference between male and female pay, many companies are sceptical, hesitant, and even fearful. The discourse often focuses on risk—the threat of being named and shamed.

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Every year in April and July, the two most important surveys for UK Group Risk Insurers come out. Swiss Re’s Group Watch shows how the Group Risk market is doing, while ORC International’s Group Risk Survey shows how the industry is performing from an adviser and customer perspective.

Today’s interconnected world and global economy means that increasing numbers of employees are required to travel extensively abroad, often for longer periods, to multiple destinations and often in very unfamiliar environments.

Engineers at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) , a member of the A*STAR’s group of biomedical sciences institutes in Singapore have developed a new material that claims to kill E. coli bacteria quickly and without the adverse health effects of triclosan, a common antibacterial agent that has been restricted in the European Union. IBN Group Leader Yugen Zhang, PhD, and his team, synthesized a chemical compound made

As we mentioned in our previous article¹ on how to mitigate corruption risks, in order for businesses to grow, companies and individuals need relationships with key influencers both within and outside the company. However, building relationships with influential individuals is very tricky.

Chris Mayo – Head of Global Services & Solutions, Non-North America,Willis Towers Watson Global Benefits Vision: Tell us about your career in Global Employee Benefits. Christopher Mayo: I have been involved with international employee benefits since 1990, when I was one of four people who set up the international practice at R. Watson & Sons. In 1995 I had the opportunity to work in Milan.

Thomas Piketty, in his book Capital in the Twenty-First Century, partly attributes the rise in inequality during the latter part of the 20th and early part of the 21st centuries to “the rise of the super-manager”.

CareAllies, a new subsidiary of Cigna, was established in June 2016 to help health service providers transition away from fee-for-service business models to those that encourage greater risk-sharing by establishing their own care organizations or even their own health plans. These goals – value-based reimbursement schemes – are similar to those of UnitedHealth Care’s subsidiary Optum. CareAllies will work with private and public providers to provide the technology and

A non-invasive treatment for diabetes monitoring and drug delivery has been developed by South Korean researchers at The Institute for Basic Science (IBS) Center for Nanoparticle Research located in Seoul, South Korea. The device, a graphene-based patch, uses a hybrid of gold-doped graphene and a serpentine gold mesh to measure pH (blood acidity level) and temperature by measuring the amount of glucose in sweat. If abnormally high levels of

10 Actions to Promote Gender Equality — Inspiration from Australia Rob Paton and Elin Bredenberg U.K. Group Risk – a market update Paul Avis An interview of Willis Towers Watson’s Chris Mayo Multinational Employers Expand their View, and Reach, in Global Employee Benefits Lance Henderson Travel Risk Management Best Practices — to Help Keep Your Global Workforce Safe Tim Crockett Being W.O.R.L.D. Wise – Relationships (3) Natalie Richter Inequality

Expatriates and Emiratis in the United Arab Emirates have seen changes to their health insurance programs as of July 1, 2016. These changes will affect only those under the Abu Dhabi Basic Plan who seek treatment at a private hospital under the Thiqa plan for Emiratis, expatriates, and their families. Procedures at government hospitals are unaffected. Thiqa, the Arabic word for “trust,” is a UAE national insurance initiative delivered

The MAXIS Global Benefits Network on September 15, 2016 organizes a webcast, “MAXIS Global Risk Solution: Moving Beyond Traditional”. While traditional multinational pooling arrangements continue to generate value for multinationals, the employee benefits environment is also continuing to evolve. Among key drivers of change, ever more complicated regulations, especially when cross-border considerations are included; and corporate pressure to better budget and forecast benefit spending are driving employers to explore

Corporate pension plan buyouts reached $1.084 billion in the first quarter of 2016 according to a LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute sales survey. This is interpreted as a clear sign that companies are eager to limit the amount of risk in their pension plans. The US Group Annuity Risk Transfer Survey, released in May of this year, notes that this is the first time sales have topped $1 billion in

Forget the United States; Taiwan, Malta and Ecuador head the list of countries where expats most want to live this year, a new survey reports. More than 14,000 expats ranked their preferred countries in the InterNations Expat Insider 2016 survey, released in August. In addition to the best overall rating, Taiwan also won first place for personal finance and quality of life, and second place for its working conditions. More than

MAXIS Global Benefits Network in August 2016 launched the MAXIS Global Risk Solution, a global program management solution offering centralized multinational companies with large global footprints a single-employer, non-profit-sharing arrangement. Key advantages include better terms and conditions; economies of scale; greater predictability of premiums; a global financial view; and a single point of contact for underwriting. Eligible coverages include group death; survivor income; group disability benefits; as well as

In September 2016, Zurich appointed Jack Howell as regional chief executive officer for Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong and reporting directly to Mario Greco, group chief executive officer. In April 2015, Generali, then still led by Greco, had appointed Howell as regional chief executive officer for Asia. Jack Howell, 46, a U.S. citizen, holds a B.S. in Quantitative Economics from Tufts University and an MBA from the University

AXA in July 2016 announced the appointment of Matthieu André as CEO of AXA Global Life & Savings, reporting to Paul Evans who is in charge of AXA’s life, savings, protection and health activities on a global basis. Matthieu André joined AXA in 1995 as a financial controller after a spell as an auditor and consultant with Ernst & Young. His career path included positions as VP, Corporate Finance

The emergence of new, more expensive, cancer drug therapies that help the immune system attack tumors is expected to increase cancer drug spending to over $150 billion by 2020 according to a global oncology report released by IMS Health Holdings. This represents an annual global growth rate for oncology drug spending of 7.5% to 10.5% through 2020, up from last year’s IMS forecast of 6% to 8% growth. The

PPG Industries, the Pittsburgh-based coatings, specialty materials, and glass products manufacturer, in April 2016 announced that they will begin buying group annuity contracts in order to provide pension benefits to 13,000+ retirees and survivors in the U.S.A. PPG joins such large corporations as Kimberly-Clark Corp., Verizon, and General Motors, who have adopted this de-risking process in order to reduce premium payments to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp (PBGC). PBGC

UK employers tend to fall short when it comes to having a defined health strategy plan for their employees, especially when the numbers are measured against mainland Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Aon’s EMEA Health Survey Report, published in early 2016, revealed that only 30 percent of UK employers have a defined health strategy compared with 40 percent of EMEA employers, and that only 37% of UK employers

Europ Assistance USA, a subsidiary of Generali Group and global provider of assistance services in the fields of travel, home and family, health, and automotive, has re-branded itself as Generali Global Assistance North America (GGA), effective 12 June, 2016. The multi-phase re-branding operation will begin with the company’s Identity Protection Services division. All products and solutions carrying the Europ Assistance USA name will be transitioned to fall under GGA

Despite the obvious benefits of exercise, cancer patients are avoiding exercise. According to MacMillan Cancer Support (MCS), which launched a study conducted by YouGov Research, many patients avoid exercise for varying reasons, the top three of which are: worrying about being able to find a toilet (36%), feeling uncomfortable getting active in public (31%) and feeling uncomfortable in active wear or bathing suit (24%). Group exercise therapy delivers benefits

MetLife in August 2016 published its first global whitepaper, Employee Benefits Generating Business Impact, identifying key benefits trends and solutions from around the world. Based on data from 12 markets, the research found that total rewards packages are key to employee engagement, productivity and retention. In fact, nearly 100% of employers in Mexico, Brazil, Australia and the US said that benefits are important for attracting and retaining talent. Key

Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG) in January 2016 published a whitepaper, Look Before You Leap: Managing Global Mobility. Researched by Kristin Sampson, Area Vice President of Global HR Services within the Benefits and Human Resources Consulting division of AJG, the whitepaper not only addresses the rising concerns associated with the assignment of employees overseas, but steps employers can take to enter the global workplace smoothly and efficiently. In her introduction,