The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in January 2019 published a new report revealing that public social spending in OECD countries was just above 20% of GDP on average in 2018. Public spending on areas such as pensions, healthcare, and unemployment benefits was highest in France (31.2%), Belgium (28.9%) and Denmark (28.7%) and lowest in Mexico (7.5%), Chile (10.9%) and Korea (11.1%). Pensions spending is the biggest

APRIL International Care, the international private medical insurance (iPMI) division of APRIL Group, in January 2019 launched the MyHealth France product, an iPMI policy designed to meet the needs of expatriates living in France in both the pre and post Brexit era. France is now home to 1.3 million expatriates of all nationalities, with that figure expected to rise to 1.5 million within the next two years. UK nationals

Grab, a Singapore-based competitor to Uber present also in the Philippines and in Malaysia, in January 2019 announced it would sell insurance through its smartphone app. Grab will open up its ride-hailing app as a platform for direct distribution of insurance policies. The new capability is provided by Chinese partner ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance. The first insurance carrier to join the program is Chubb, with a loss of income

Adam Winslow in January 2019 was elected Chairman of the Board of the AIG Global Benefits Network (AIG GBN) pooling network, succeeding Frank Schmid who remains a member of the Board while assuming new responsibilities within AIG. Adam in June 2018 became CEO, International Life and Retirement at AIG, a position he retains. Earlier, Adam held positions at AIG in France, South Africa, and the UK, both in life

French social protection group (SPG) Malakoff Médéric Humanis (MMH) in January 2019 arose from the merger of the two former Malakoff-Médéric and Humanis SPGs. As the new French market leader in group life and health insurance (market share 17%), MMH has 426,000 corporate clients with 10 million people insured. Furthermore, it is the recommended employee benefits provider for 93 professional sectors, a significant competitive advantage. In pensions, MMH has

In mid-January 2019 the UK Parliament rejected the proposed European Union (EU)-UK agreement that provided for a more or less orderly Brexit. Two months ahead of the deadline, the British government is expected to further push for an approval of the agreement, but a disorderly separation may now be the most likely scenario. Accordingly, EU nations are getting ready to minimize expected disruptions. The European Commission, in December 2019, published

Global Benefits Vision: What is your role in your company and what is your background? Chris Burns: I am a Partner at EBCG LLC. We are a national and global employee benefits consulting firm. For over 25 years, our team of consultants has helped companies unlock hidden value in their programs. With 5 offices across the U.S., we work with both large and mid-sized companies. We are also a member of the Worldwide Broker Network (WBN), which allows us to assist our clients in over 100 countries around the world.

More than fifteen years ago, the first IORP Directive (Directive 2003/41/EC of the European parliament and of the Council of 3 June 2003 on the activities and supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision) created a legal framework to support retirement services across Europe and protect members and beneficiaries. Since then, the financial crisis and other economical, demographical and social factors completely changed the conditions in Europe for retirement plans. The IORP II Directive (Directive (EU) 2016/2341 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2016 on the activities and supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision) is freshly conceived to respond to current conditions and better serve members.

Global Benefits Vision: Now that Brexit seems to be upon us, let’s talk about how you see it impacting Lockton and the insurance world in general. Ian Cooper: It has been quite fascinating. Insurance providers, as we know, within the single market, can passport regulatory permissions and trade across Europe.

It is important for German companies to position themselves as attractive employer brands, especially when competing for young talent in the job market. In today’s tight job market, factors that once promised reliable success in attracting new employees – remuneration, the number of leave days, pensions, company cars – are no longer the only things younger generations are looking for. Instead, non-monetary issues such as work-life balance, working atmosphere, and identification are of prime concern. These are the issues that companies should be projecting in their branding and benefits strategies.

Global Benefits Vision: Thanks for joining us today, Marco – it’s good to have you back. What is your definition of insurtech? Marco Giacomelli: Insurtech is a specialized evolution or byproduct of fintech, which is a combination of the words “finance” and “technology.” As a practical definition, we can say that insurtech is sets of strategic initiatives, specific tools, and processes designed to achieve savings and efficiencies in all insurance processes.

Lockton’s yearly Forum distinctive format includes three regional editions in North America, Asia, and in Europe. Most of the contents is common across all editions with some variations in respect of regional issues.

A measles vaccine protects against measles infection. By introducing a bit of weakened virus, the immune system learns how to deal with it, so when a real measles virus comes along, it can eliminate it. But does the immune system learn more from the vaccine? Recent research suggests, rather intriguingly, that it does.

Sulaxmi Prasad in January 2019 joined Herbalife as Director of compensation & benefits (C&B) and human resources information systems (HRIS) for the APAC & China region at Herbalife. She is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Previously, she worked for Digi Telecommunications in Malaysia as Head of Performance, Rewards and Analytics, then as Head of Talent and Rewards. Earlier, she was a Practice Leader with Willis Towers Watson in Kuala

Here is the list of the 30 French insurance carriers by assets under management (AUM) as of 31 December 2017, the most recent data available. Numbers include individual and group life; health, life, and pension products; and unit-linked as well as guaranteed savings products. Companies with the “B” marker are bancassurance players, owned by a banking group and mainly distributed through bank agencies. #   Name AUM (in m€)

The European Association of Paritarian Institutions (AEIP); pension funds PFZW and PGGM from the Netherlands; the Finnish Pension Alliance TELA from Finland; and social protection group Humanis from France on January 24, 2019 organize a conference on the topic of “Retire Vitally” in the European Union. To kick off forthcoming discussions on “vital retirement”, i.e. retirement in a state of good health, the conference will analyze the current situation; discuss

French insurance group Apicil in January 2019 announced it has completed the acquisition of Luxembourg life insurance company OneLife. Luxembourg regulator CAA has granted its approval. OneLife has more than €5.2 billion in assets under management and employs more than 150 staff across Europe. It focuses on wealth management and asset management services to ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW), high-net-worth (HNW) and highly affluent clients. Apicil, the fourth largest social protection group

Bermuda-based Athora Holdings in January 2019 completed the acquisition of Generali Belgium, first announced in April 2018. The final consideration paid is approximately €540 million. Generali Belgium has 530,000 customers and sells a range of life and non-life insurance policies through around 1,000 independent brokers. In 2017, total premium income amounted to €640 million and assets to €6.5 billion. The company will be rebranded to Athora Belgium in the

Hong Kong-based property and infrastructure group New World Development (NWD) in January 2019 acquired FTLife Insurance, Hong Kong, from JD Group. NWD, through its subsidiary NWS Holdings, paid HK$21.5 billion (US$2.75 billion) for FTLife. The deal is one of the top five insurance M&As ever in Hong Kong. Beijing-based Chinese financial firm JD Group in November 2018 had put FTLife up for sale. It was reported to be looking for

Replicating an earlier deal in 2017 between the European Union (E.U.) and the United States (U.S.), the latter in January 2019 signed a “covered agreement” with the United Kingdom (UK) that protects their respective international insurers and reinsurers when doing business with each other. The new covered agreement basically provides for a limited but very useful form of mutual recognition of reinsurance companies and of (re)insurance regulators. The existing

American International Group (AIG) in December 2018 announced that it has completed the acquisition of Ellipse, a specialist group life, critical illness and income protection carrier in the UK, from Munich Re. Ellipse CEO Lee Lovett reports to Adam Winslow, CEO, International at AIG Life & Retirement. AIG expects Ellipse’s expertise in group protection and its technology to significantly enhance existing AIG Life operations. AIG Life will now distribute

AIG Life Limited (UK) in December 2018 announced the appointment of Philip Willcock as CEO, effective March 1, 2019. He will be based in London and report to Adam Winslow, CEO, International, Life & Retirement. Willcock spent over 20 years with Aviva holding various senior positions in the UK life & health businesses. Most recently, he was CEO and President of Aviva’s joint venture in Indonesia and CEO of

Date Article Title Author Tags Link 12/2019 History of Pooling at Allianz Michael Scheu Pooling Issue 044 12/2019 History of Pooling at Allianz François Jacquemin Pooling Issue 044 12/2019 Vaping and e-cigarettes Allison Kurti Health Issue 044 12/2019 Hospital Price Transparency in the U.S. at Last? Neeraj Sood Healthcare Issue 044 12/2019 To Lose Weight, Eat Less or Exercise More? Juan Ignacio Pérez Iglesias Health, Exercise Issue 044 12/2019

Lloyd’s Brussels in December 2018 announced the appointment of Delphine Marchessaux as chief underwriting officer. Delphine previously was head of underwriting, Cargo at Axa Corporate Solutions (now AXA XL) in France. Earlier, she was head of Marine claims (cargo and hull), having started her career as a Marine claims executive and team leader at AXA Corporate Solutions. She holds a Master of Science degree in Law from IFURTA (Institut

Lloyd’s in December 2018 appointed Sonja Rottiers as CEO of Lloyd’s Brussels and regional director for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). She reports to Lloyd’s CEO John Neal. Lloyd’s Brussels was launched in November 2018 to ensure that Lloyd’s syndicates can continue to write policies in the E.U. after Brexit. Before joining Lloyd’s, Rottiers was a non-executive board member for ING Belgium; Belgian cinema chain Kinepolis; and Leasinvest

Published in December 2018, the OECD Pensions Outlook 2018 report examines how national pension systems are adapting to improve retirement outcomes. This has direct implications for the design and implementation of occupational pension plans. The report focuses on funded pensions and discusses how different pension tools can be combined to meet certain goals. It also considers how countries can improve financial, i.e. tax, incentives. This edition draws lessons from

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) in December 2018 announced the appointment of Pam Enright as Senior Director and leader of its Expat Benefits Solutions business. She will report to Francis Coleman, managing director, Global Services and Solutions, and be based in Chicago. Pam has been in the employee benefit industry for over 25 years. Prior to joining WTW, she was a senior vice president and director of global benefits at