Humanis, a large French employee benefits carrier that operates mainly as a paritarian institution and also is a major provider of health, life and retirement coverage for expatriates, in June 2016 hosted the ninth edition of its “Rencontres de la Mobilité Internationale” – or Global Mobility Conference. Compliance matters! A recurring theme heard over and over again at the conference, both from speakers and from attending practitioners, is the

Released in April 2016, a study entitled Association Between Carbohydrate Nutrition and Successful Aging Over 10 Years of more than 1,600 adults aged 50 years and older revealed that a diet rich in fiber from breads/cereals and fruits could be part of a successful strategy for aging successfully. A group of researchers from Australia’s Westmead Institute for Medical Research led by Associate Professor Bamini Gopinath, PhD, examined the relationship

Generali Group’s new CEO Philippe Donnet does not lose any time in making changes to the structure of the global insurance leader from Trieste, Italy. Generali in May 2016 announced the formation of a new “Global Business Lines & International” business unit, which will consolidate the individual units of Generali Global Business Lines (GBL), i.e. Generali Global Corporate & Commercial, Generali Employee Benefits (GEB), and Generali Global Health and

When the Lumina Foundation studied the Cigna Corporation’s Employee Reimbursement Program, they discovered that reimbursing employees for tuition spent on higher education is a valuable business investment that “translates into quantifiable cost avoidance for Cigna.” The Lumina Foundation, a national foundation focused on increasing post-secondary attainment, partnered with Cigna to design the study, which was conducted by Accenture. Lumina’s analysis of Cigna’s Educational Reimbursement Program (ERP) revealed that encouraging

Worldwide Broker Network (WBN) in May 2016 announced today the appointment of LeAnne Stefl as Director of Employee Benefits, reporting to Francie Starnes, WBN’s President and Chief Operating Officer. Founded in 1989, WBN today includes more than 100 firms on six continents. WBN members’ combined annual property & casualty and employee benefits premiums exceed $50 billion. LeAnne joins WBN from WBN member and broker HUB International, where she was

Patsy Langridge in May 2016 was appointed Chief Marketing Officer of MAXIS Global Benefits Network, an AXA and MetLife partnership. Based in MAXIS’ new headquarters in London, Patsy reports to Thierry Mestach, head of markets and strategy, working closely with the company’s CEO, Mauro Dugulin, as well as the other members of MAXIS’ leadership team, including Andrew Stocker, Head of Business Development, Philippe Ly Van Luong, Head of Technical

New regulations dealing with the protection of personal data for the citizens of the European Union went into effect on 25 May, 2016. E.U. General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR) will fully replace Directive 95/35/EC in 2018, after a two-year transitional period. The new regulations, drawn up in 2012 for the purpose of ensuring a consistent and high level of protection of an individual’s personal data and rights, have

After hearing pension specialists all over the world moaning about the adverse effects of increased longevity, and seeing insurers and reinsurers alike offloading longevity risk onto (unsuspecting?) financial markets as if their lives (or at least their bonuses) depended on it, GBV found it both intriguing and refreshing that a respected and composed organization such as The Economist had the intestinal fortitude to organize a two-day conference in November

Expat assignments create or destroy value and leave positive or negative legacies depending on the success of the expat’s ability to integrate into the host culture(s). Cultural integration requires global skills on the one hand and acceptance from the host country office (even when taking on a global role while sitting at the host country office) on the other hand.

Why do so many well-being programs fail to deliver the outcomes that companies hope for? Their marketing makes well-being programs look highly appealing, and they feel right. But when organizations perform a dispassionate retrospective analysis of what has changed, looking for indications that benefit costs are being reduced due to improved health, there is invariably little reliable evidence.

The 2016 Lockton Global Forum took place over two days in May 2016 in Lockton’s offices in the City of London. It was attended by more than 100 delegates from 13 countries. The 2016 Forum featured a great number of in-depth presentations about generic challenges and possible responses, making it a good opportunity for global HR practitioners to sit back and reflect on their practices at a strategic level.

Administering global healthcare benefits has become a daunting task for multinational employers. Local compliance and medical cost containments have become our biggest challenges, and insurance carriers, third party administrators, consultants, and brokers are busier than ever looking for relevant information that will make the difference in their value propositions. One of the major elements of the cost containment equation, however, continues to be overlooked.

The National Center for Health Statistics (NHCS) in May 2016 reported that the percentage of Americans without health insurance has dropped below 10%, mostly due to provisions in the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) that give federal premium subsidies to low-income individuals to help them underwrite the cost of health insurance. In many cases, the insured pay little or no money to be included under health plans available in

The women’s market for insurance worldwide is growing rapidly, and is projected to attract $1.45 to $1.7 trillion through 2030, well up from the $800 million the insurance industry realized in 2013. Most significantly, over half of those trillions will come from emerging economies in Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Thailand, and Turkey. Recognizing the potential of these untapped markets, AXA, IFC, and Accenture collaborated to

For its 47th edition, the 2017 edition of the IBIS Academy will be held in Cannes, France, from May 1 to May 5, 2017 and include a three-day Global Mobility track, co-developed and co-hosted with AIRINC, as well as the IBIS Institute, a “boot camp” for practitioners; and the IBIS Conference, a series of cutting-edge presentations and panels for more experienced colleagues. Some sessions are shared between tracks and

AEIP, NCCMP and MEBCO on June 16 and 17 2016 jointly organize the 8th edition of the Transatlantic Conference, which will be held in Rome, Italy. The European Association of Paritarian Institutions (AEIP), the U.S. National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans (NCCMP) and the Multi-employer Benefit Plan Council of Canada (MEBCO) signed a protocol in 2008 with the purpose of better coordinating their lobbying activities where common interests are

IGP hosts its annual international employee benefits seminar in Boston, Massachusetts on May 9-11, 2017. The seminar includes a choice of up to 12 country panel presentations about local social security programs and customary private employee benefits practice, including legislative updates and recent trends and new products. Several keynote presentations address key issues of interest to global employee benefits professionals. Optional training sessions on multinational pooling, IGP’s “International Experience

Just when U.S. employers were getting the hang of program rules under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and HIPAA, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in May 2016 has added new regulations on to workplace wellness programs. These regulations, issued under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), are additional to the requirements already necessary for compliance with ACA/HIPAA wellness programs. These rules

Frédéric de Courtois, 49 and current CEO of AXA Italy, will head Generali’s new Global Business Lines & International business unit starting in September 2016. He will report to Group CEO Philippe Donnet. De Courtois currently leads the integration of AXA Assicurazioni and AXA MPS into AXA One Italy. He previously served in leadership roles in AXA Japan, AXA Asia P&C, and AXA RE, as well as positions in

Medical error may be the third cause of death in the United States, just behind cancer and heart disease, but we can’t be sure thanks to a flaw in the reporting system that tracks such things. Martin Makary and Michael Daniel of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine hope to change all that, as they explain in their analysis of the system used by the U.S. Centers for Disease

Researchers warn against a particular strain of E-coli bacteria found in Chinese farms and patients that is proving to be resistant to a particular group of veterinary antibiotics called polymyxins. This group of antibiotics is considered to be the last line of defense against food-borne bacteria such as E-coli and salmonella, and its overuse has created a polymyxin-resistant bacteria strain according to a report released in November 2015 in

Insurance broker and risk advisor Marsh in May 2016 announced that Nick Durant will lead Marsh’s Global Captive Solutions Practice, taking over from Chris Lay, who has been named President and CEO of Marsh Canada. Mr. Durant will be based in New York and report to John Drzik, President of Marsh’s Global Risk and Specialties division. Mr. Durant most recently served as Marsh’s global analytics sales leader. Prior to joining

Lockton Benefits in May 2016 announced that Arturo Fisher has been appointed as Vice President and Senior Global Total Rewards Consultant in Lockton’s Chicago employee benefits operation, reporting to Ken Wexler, Senior Vice President and Employee Benefits Practice Leader in Chicago, with a further functional reporting line to Pam Enright, Senior Vice President and Director of Lockton Global Benefits. With more than 27 years of experience in global HR

Source: Statistics Canada – Median household net worth over the life cycle

A recent Willis Towers Watson study, published in April 2016 in cooperation with the CII-Suresh Neotea Centre for Excellence for Leadership, queried 100 CEOs, CHROs, and other senior executives in India to determine the top human capital risks (HCR) and provide recommendations for C-Suite and Boards going forward. The study, entitled The State of Human Capital Risk in India, based its queries on two determining factors: the potential impact

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After 17 years with major global employee benefits consulting firms, LeAnne Stefl in April 2016 founded her own consultancy, Solvere Global Solutions, based in San Diego, California.