E.U. regulator EIOPA (the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) in July 2018 announced the new composition of the Insurance and Reinsurance Stakeholder Group (IRSG) and the Occupational Pensions Stakeholder Group (OPSG). The two stakeholder groups are renewed every 30 months. The new rosters show a more balanced approach in regard to gender and national diversity as well to a diversity for different types of stakeholders. In total, 16

Broker APRIL UK in July 2018 announced that it is closing its private medical insurance (PMI) plans to new business and will be withdrawing from the UK PMI market. The announcement has been made following the decision by its insurance partner to stop bearing risks of its private medical insurance portfolio. As far as we know, the insurance partner in question is Malta-based Axeria Insurance, another member of the

British insurtech firm Bought By Many in July 2018 raised £15 million (approximately USD 20 million) when insurance broker Marsh announced it was investing in the peer-to-peer insurtech startup firm. Bought by Many’s concept is bringing together groups of insurance buyers via its online platform and getting better terms and/or perks from insurance carriers for these blocks of clients. To date, the website offers standardized coverage for individuals, sole

Collaborative Benefits Interview: J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr. and Leslie Lemenager Gut microbes are tiny sensors of your general health Eliminate the middlemen: The Bezos-Buffett-Dimon U.S. health care venture How does your body ‘burn’ fat? In praise of doing nothing 2018 IBIS Conference Report New Product: MAXIS Global Wellness – A Q&A with Dr. Leena Johns Luxembourg Pensions for Post-Brexit Workers

Employee retention and recruiting are hot topics in Germany today. But exactly which long-term benefits should be offered by employers to attract new employees in times of acute shortages of skilled workers? The August 7, 2018, “Zurich Employee Benefits Dialog” seminar will focus on these issues. Topics include the Income Protection Gap Study together with Oxford University, Brexit and the impact on HR, current trends in occupational pension provision

Zurich in July 2018 acquired Blue Insurance, a travel insurance intermediary in the U.K. and Irish markets. The acquisition was made through Zurich’s Cover-More subsidiary, which provides travel insurance and medical assistance services, for an estimated €70 million. Blue Insurance offers direct-to-consumer travel insurance distribution capabilities through online brands in the U.K. and Ireland. Blue Insurance will be part of Cover More’s Europe and UK business, led by Judith

Risk Strategies, a privately held U.S. brokerage and risk management firm, in July 2018 acquired Oxford Risk Management Group, a Sparks, Maryland-based provider of alternative risk and captive insurance and consulting. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Established in 2010, Oxford Risk Management Group specializes in conducting captive feasibility analysis, coordination and management of turn-key captive insurance company arrangements, both domestically and internationally. The company is led by

E.U. regulator European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) in July 2018 announced the new composition of its stakeholder groups and in particular, the Occupational Pensions Stakeholder Group (OPSG). The OPSG now includes as many as three representatives from the European Association of Paritarian Institutions (AEIP) and from AEIP’s member organizations: AEIP Secretary General Bruno Gabellieri; Philip Neyt, Chairman of PensioPlus – Belgian Association of Pension Institutions; and Sibylle

Chubb Europe announced in July 2018 that it has chosen the Societas Europaea (SE) legal entity form for its future Continental European operations. Societas Europaea is Latin for “European company.” Brexit prompted Chubb to move its European businesses from London to France in September 2017. The firm chose to become an SE legal entity rather than a “société anonyme”, or joint stock company, with its headquarters in France. This gives

Generali in July 2018 sold Generali Worldwide Insurance Company and Generali Link to Life Company Consolidation Group (LCCG). LCCG is based in London and owns Utmost Wealth Solutions and Reliance Life. Utmost, a provider of international savings, protection and investment solutions into the UK, Continental Europe and Asia, operates from Ireland and the Isle of Man. It manages over £22bn of assets. Reliance Life is a London-based run-off manager

Assicurazioni Generali in July 2018 sold an 89.9% stake in Generali Leben life insurance to a partnership which includes Viridium Gruppe and Hannover Re.  Viridium is owned by London-based private equity firm Cinven (80%) and global German reinsurer Hannover Re (20%). Generali Leben is valued at up to € 1 billion, including €125 million as earn-out in case of changes in the rules regulating the allocation to ZZR1 technical

In the July-August 2018 issue Collaborative Benefits Jean-Baptiste de La Mettrie, Fatih Eser Interview: J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr. and Leslie Lemenager Gut microbes are tiny sensors of your general health Claire Steves Eliminate the middlemen: The Bezos-Buffett-Dimon U.S. health care venture J.B. Silvers, Mark Vortuba How does your body ‘burn’ fat? David Prologo In praise of doing nothing Simon Gottschalk 2018 IBIS Conference Report New Product: MAXIS Global Wellness

Fueled by large life deals, the U.K. insurance sector saw more mergers and acquisitions activity in the first half of 2018 than in either the full year of 2017 and 2016, according to consultant Ernst & Young (EY). U.S. Tax Reform One of Many Drivers Telecommunications, automotive and healthcare top the list of sectors for deals with the highest value, with strong levels of UK/U.S. M&A expected to continue,

Allianz Global Benefits, Allianz’s global employee benefits network, in July 2018 announced a new network partner in Canada, SSQ Insurance. SSQ Insurance’s Canadian prospects and existing clients will have access to a worldwide benefits network offering optimization tools, including Multinational Pooling, Captive Fronting and Global Underwriting. Based in Quebec, SSQ Insurance, a mutual insurance carrier, offers health and dental care, EAP, disability and life insurance. Key figures : gross

AIA Group in July 2018 completed the acquisition of Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s life insurance businesses in Australia and New Zealand. According to AIA Group regional chief executive Bill Lisle, the acquisition will significantly transform and expand the company’s presence in New Zealand. The combined business, according to Lisle, will transform AIA’s scale and reach to become the market leader in New Zealand’s life insurance market. In September 2017,

Manulife Hong Kong in July 2018 announced the promotions of Raymond Ng to Vice President and Head of Employee Benefits of Manulife (International), and Ellen Leung to Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Manulife Provident Funds Trust Company.. Raymond Ng heads the strategic development and operation of both the pensions (MPF and ORSO) and group benefits (Life & Health) business of Manulife Hong Kong. He is responsible for

Global broker Gallagher in July 2018 announced the acquisitions of three firms: Chicago-based Reassurance Holdings, including its subsidiaries Coverdell and Carefree Marketing. Founded in 1963, Coverdell is a licensed insurance broker, discount medical plan organization and third-party administrator, providing direct marketing of insurance and membership programs to many of the largest financial services institutions in the U.S. and Canada. Vince Di Benedetto and his associates will continue to work

Next Insurance in July 2018 raised $83 million in new financing, money it said will fuel its continued U.S. expansion as a full-service digital insurance carrier focused on the small business market. A California-based startup, Next Insurance debuted in 2016 as a digital insurance agency for small to midsize businesses. The new financing will allow Next to add more lines of insurance. The firm changed its agency status in

The OECD in July 2018 released its Annual Survey of Investment Regulations of Pension Funds 2018, which describes the main quantitative investment regulations that pension funds are subject to in OECD and a selection of IOPS member countries. It covers all types of pension plans, and concerns all forms of quantitative portfolio restrictions applied to pension funds at different legal levels. The 356-page survey’s findings conclude, in part, that:

Preliminary data, released in July 2018 by the OECD, shows an increase in life and/or non-life gross premiums of domestic insurance companies for 2017, with 40 out of 43 countries reporting. Gross premiums of domestic insurance companies rose in real terms in 15 countries in both the life and non-life sectors, and in 10 other countries in the life sector only, while another 15 reported rises in the non-life

The number of studies that have found a link between a disease and a specific gut microbiome composition seems to be ever increasing. Until recently, though, almost all these studies have looked at single diseases in isolation. But most people tend to have more than one health complaint at a time – “comorbidities”, in medical parlance.

Gallagher President, Chairman, and CEO J. Patrick “Pat” Gallagher, Jr., and Vice President – International, Gallagher Benefits & HR Consulting, Leslie Lemenager, sat down with GBV during the 2018 IBIS Academy. They discussed Gallagher’s history and values as well as client needs and market trends in global employee benefits and global mobility. Gallagher’s long history and family connections result in unique, long-term, and people-oriented perspectives. Read on.

Collaborative Perks is the most recent brainchild of co-founder Jean-Baptiste de la Mettrie, who believes in encouraging the practice of collaborative consumption as a way for global employers to attract and retain talent. In an article, “Mandated and discretionary benefits: understanding the types of compensation available for your employees” and published on Linked In, de la Mettrie breaks compensation schemes into “two major subcategories: mandated and discretionary benefits.” Both types, he explains, help employees enjoy a “more comfortable lifestyle,” but some benefits are standardized and compulsory. Discretionary benefits, he says, “offer a wide range of advantages that compliment mandated forms of compensation, and even go the extra length to ensure employee gratification”. (Emphasis mine.)

The 48th IBIS Academy Conference was held from 7 – 11 May 2018, in conjunction with the IBIS Institute, a “boot camp” for practitioners, and the IBIS Mobility and Partner Program. It included a three-day series of cutting-edge presentations and panels for more experienced colleagues. The overarching theme was “Your Future, Your Workforce” and focused on what it takes to be an employer of choice for the future.

Global Benefits Vision: Why has MAXIS GBN decided to launch its new wellness solution now? What were the key drivers behind the launch? Dr. Leena Johns MD: Over the past few years we have worked with clients to identify the cost drivers of their health claims data across disparate geographies, through our sophisticated data reporting tools. While some markets offer solutions to mitigate these drivers, often, in reality, there is an absence of data-based recommendations and a lack of cohesive, centralised solutions that can be rolled out globally.

In the 1950s, scholars worried that, thanks to technological innovations, Americans wouldn’t know what to do with all of their leisure time. Yet today, as sociologist Juliet Schor notes, Americans are overworked, putting in more hours than at any time since the Depression and more than in any other in Western society.

Many of us may be considering “burning some fat” so we feel better in our bathing suits out on the beach or at the pool. What does that actually mean, though?