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.

The move towards compulsory employer pensions provision (which began in 2012) is nearing its end, while taxation changes, legislation targeting higher earners and new ways of saving are all making the reward space an exciting place to be.

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 GBV Staff 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

As global business travel continues to increase at a rapid pace, International SOS and Control Risks in April 2018 published insight into the importance of travel security support to the business traveler. In the past two years alone, demand for security advice has grown by almost 30%, and has had an 800% increase since 2008¹. On average, over 100 business travelers and international assignees a day have been supported

MOVE Guides and Polaris Global Mobility in April 2018 announced that they have come together under a new name and identity–Topia. Over the past six years, MOVE Guide’s Global Mobility Management (GMM) software suite has grown to include all parts of global mobility in a single solution. In the end, relocation comprised only one part of their offering and the name MOVE Guides no longer made sense to many

Global employee engagement levels, after slipping in 2016 for the first time since 2012, jumped back to an all-time high in 2017 according to a new report published in March 2018 by Aon. The analysis of more than five million (!) employees at more than 1,000 organizations around the world found that global employee engagement levels rebounded back to 65 percent in 2017, up from 63 percent in 2016.

Global insurance brokerage Hub International in April 2018 announced the acquisition of ES3 Advisory from Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 1999 by Darrell Ert, ES3 Advisory is an employee benefits and pension consulting firm. Faizal Mitha, Vice President of Employee Strategies, will join Hub TOS reporting to Dave Terry, President of Hub TOS. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

U.S. human capital data analytics company PredictiveHR (PHR), in March 2018 announced an alliance with TrenData, a developer of A.I.-driven people analytics software. This alliance includes a technology license agreement, an infusion of operating capital and a collaborative go-to-market strategy, and comes on the heels of a number of key client wins by PHR in 2017 extending into 2018. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, PredictiveHR provides Human Resources and C-Level

Cigna in March 2018 announced it will acquire pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts in a $67 billion cash and stock deal.  According to Cigna CEO David Cordani, the merger “will drive health care costs down while improving the quality of care.” The proposed merger would allow Cigna to lower its costs by in-sourcing pharmacy benefit management (PBM) services, and to absorb Express Scripts’ profits. How can Cigna lower its

Ascensus, a U.S. third-party administrator (TPA) of savings products, in March 2018 entered into an agreement to acquire Chard Snyder, which will serve as the anchor business for Ascensus’ newly formed Health division. Chard Snyder is a TPA that services consumer-directed health (CDH) plans including health savings accounts, health reimbursement arrangements, and flexible spending accounts. It also offers benefit continuation services like COBRA and FMLA leave administration along with