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

Generali in April 2018 completed the sale of its operations in Panama and Colombia. The Panamean subsidiary was sold to local insurer ASSA and Colombia to German insurer Talanx. Generali Employee Benefits (GEB), Generali’s multinational pooling network, remains unaffected. In addition to GEB, Generali will still be present in both countries through Generali Global Corporate & Commercial and Generali Global Health as well as through Europ Assistance.

Almost one third of U.K. business leaders (30%) are cautious about the operating environment – three times more than at any point in the past year, with 80% characterizing it as ‘moderate to high’ risk. This is according to the latest edition of CNA Hardy’s Risk and Confidence Survey, conducted in Spring 2018. While the report indicates that business leaders from Continental Europe are more confident in their ability

Global mobility management company Topia (formerly MOVE Guides and Polaris Global Mobility) in April 2018 announced it has hired Adam Sold as Senior Vice President of Field Operations. Sold will report directly to Topia founder and CEO Brynne Kennedy. He joins Topia from FinancialForce, where he led worldwide field operations and has over 25 years of experience in the field, having held senior positions in operations management, sales, customer

Sompo International in April 2018 won regulatory approval in Luxembourg for its E.U. subsidiary, SI Insurance – Europe. The legal entity was set up in January 2018. In the context of Brexit, Sompo intends to write commercial property/ casualty lines in the European Union from Luxembourg, as announced in a November 2017 post.

International Pension Plans & Guernsey Regulations, Carl Hansen An Efficient Administrative Model for The Cross-Border Environment, Dejan Malesic Exercise Can Slow the Ageing Process, Janet M. Lord HR: Prepare for GDPR In Five Steps Brexit, Borders, and Group Insurance – Paul Avis Introduction to Employee Benefits in the UK – WBN Country Profile Series, Saira Chambers Expat Pensions 2018-2023: Is Big Data the Answer? Patrick Donders

In the wake of Brexit, AIG in April 2018 announced it has established and received authorization for new insurance companies in the U.K. (American International Group UK Limited) and Luxembourg (AIG Europe S.A.). AIG Europe S.A. will have branches across the European Economic Area and Switzerland. The existing carrier, AIG Europe Limited, will transfer all of its existing insurance business to the new entities well ahead of the U.K.

Marsh in April 2018 appointed Sarah Robson as president and CEO of Marsh Canada, succeeding Chris Lay who is crossing the pond to lead Marsh in the U.K. and Ireland. Ms. Robson will be based in Toronto, Canada, and report to Martin South, president of Marsh U.S. and Canada. Currently a Managing Director at Marsh USA, her earlier positions include Managing Director, National Specialty Practice Leader at Marsh Canada;

The Conference Board’s economic indicators for the U.K., published in April 2018, indicate a possible downturn is ahead for the British economy. The Conference Board’s leading indicator, the Leading Economic Index (LEI), turned negative at -0,4% in February 2018 ; whereas the current indicator, the Coincident Economic Index, still is in positive territory at +0,2%. The U.K. is one of several large economies with a negative outlook as determined

European digital health insurance company Alan in April 2018 announced it has raised €23 million in Series A funding. Alan has two characteristics that sets it apart from most other insurtechs. First and foremost, it is a real, licensed insurance carrier that actually writes risks and mutualizes them. It is not acting as a broker or a services integrator or a business process outsourcer, like most insurtechs do. Second,

Marsh in April 2018 appointed Christos Adamantiadis as CEO of its new Middle East and Africa region, based in Dubai and reporting to Flavio Piccolomini, president of Marsh International. He was most recently CEO of Oman Insurance in Dubai, having previously worked for AIG as EMEA Lead for AIG’s global organizational realignment initiative; Managing Director, CEE (Central, Eastern Europe) and Turkey; Managing Director, Middle East & North Africa; General

Global broker Lockton in April 2018 named Said Taiym executive vice president-chief digital officer. He will focus on digital innovation and new technologies and report to Ron Lockton, president and CEO. Most recently, Taiym was the senior vice president and chief information officer for the AF Group, a leading worker’s compensation insurance organization. Before AF Group, he was with XL Group and Zurich North America. Taiym holds bachelor’s degrees

So far cross-border pensions have been discussed extensively, however, have not been put into practice with as much effort. We can all agree how challenging it can be operating in the cross-border environment, in particular complying with the many (and often complex) requirements at each single local level.

International pension plans (IPPs) have been around for many years. A wide variety of employers have already established IPPs covering employees in well over 100 countries. Plan sizes range from only a few members to a handful of plans with more than 5,000 members. There are currently well over a thousand IPPs in existence; and, our experience tells us that this number continues to grow as more employers discover their many benefits, and how they can be used effectively to provide pensions and long term savings for certain employees.

Marsh in April 2018 announced it has named Chris Lay CEO, U.K. and Ireland, succeeding Mark Weil, who is leaving Marsh, and reporting to Flavio Piccolomini, president of Marsh International. Lay will be based in London and is expected to take up his role this summer. He spent all of his career at Marsh where he held the positions of President & CEO of Marsh Canada; President, Global Captive

Much has been made of borders in the speculation around Brexit. While focus has been on the Irish border, there is a generalised desire to limit the imposition of so-called “hard” borders after the UK leaves the European Union. These discussions focus on trade barriers, and what remains very much in the air is how people movement will be affected. While limiting free movement is in essence a political problem, it does have very practical repercussions.

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will come into force on May 25, 2018, is European in scope but with global implications. In an effort to protect personal data against unauthorized access and tampering, it strengthens the rights of individuals (such as the right of access, right of rectification, and right to be forgotten) and sets up new obligations for businesses (such as setting up a register of personal data processing, responding to requests from individuals, and data security and confidentiality measures).

The tradition of sending a telegram to every British citizen on their 100th birthday was started just over 100 years ago by George V, who sent out just nine letters. Last year, the Queen had to sign over 16,000 birthday letters. The UK has an ageing society, with falling birth rates and increasing life expectancy. Improvements in public health and medicine have helped to achieve this amazing effect on lifespan.

There was a time when expats were given special status and rewarded accordingly. But after the past 10 years of cost reduction and globalization, expats today have been largely replaced with local talent. Those that remain often have local contracts with local benefits.