Zenefits Insurance Services and co-founder and former CEO Parker Conrad will pay a combined $980,000 in fines after a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the latter said in October 2017. The SEC alleged Zenefits had misled investors when raising capital through private offerings, by making false statements about their compliance with state insurance laws, specifically whether its business and employees were licensed to sell insurance. The

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) in October 2017 announced that Paul Devitt has joined its Global Services and Solutions consultancy team as a director, based in London, U.K. According to Mark Cook, a director with the WTW Global Services team and a frequent speaker on the global E.B. conferences circuit, E.B. captives consulting “is an area that is growing fast as more and more companies look to leverage their scale

Zenefits in October 2017 announced a major change in its strategy. It now intends to become the technology backbone for the employee benefits industry by linking carriers, brokers, companies, and employees with its Zenefits Certified Broker Partner Program and Zenefits Ben Connect. This will allow Zenefits to cooperate with brokers rather than compete against them. The Zenefits Broker Partner Program was launched with the announcement of a partnership with

U.S. life insurance company Northwestern Mutual (NM) has released its 2017 Planning & Progress Study, which pinpoints healthcare costs as the biggest obstacle to attaining financial security in retirement for Americans. In fact, there has been a significant increase in the number of Americans citing healthcare costs as their chief concerns (from 45% in 2016 to 58% in 2017). Lack of savings (44%) and uncertainty over Social Security (31%)

The Pensions & Investments (P&I) Research Center in October 2017 announced that it has just added data about pension risk transfers (PRTs) to a new database that contains details on more than 200 transactions over the past five years. The vast majority of the transactions in the database occurred in the U.S. and in the U.K.. These transactions represent more than $200 billion in liabilities that have been moved

Global mobility services provider SIRVA in October 2017 released its annual mobility report, which focuses on the challenges and opportunities associated with the increasing need and prevalence to align organizational growth and talent strategy with mobility. The evolution of talent mobility as a key enabler of organizational growth initiatives has created a demand for mobility programs that help organizations through policy support and service delivery. The report, Talent Mobility

Sun Life Financial and Pareto Captive Services in October 2017 announced a new stop-loss group captive solution, Legend Re, which will be available in the U.S. for policies effective January 1, 2018. The initiative is designed to reduce claims volatility for small and medium self-funded employers or fully-insured employers transitioning to self-funding in order to realize cost savings. Employers in a group captive typically have under 500 employees, are

The French government presented their highly-anticipated finance bill for 2018 on 27 September 2017, indicating a number of employment-related measures that will affect both individuals and companies. The tax package complements recent changes in employment law that are designed to make France a more attractive place for creating jobs, a key part of President Macron’s policy. The bill is being debated by both houses of parliament before being adopted

MSH International, citing favorable U.S. state regulations allowing self insurance for groups with as few as ten plan members, along with the growth of the medical stop-loss business, in October 2017 announced a new stop-loss product for self-insured expatriate and third-country national (TCN) customers that includes medical benefits as well as life and disability options. President and CEO Philippe de Dreuzy said “Based on my 25 years’ experience I

It is becoming more challenging for human resources (HR) departments to retain talent, according to the July 2017 edition of McKinsey Quarterly titled The CEO’s guide to competing through HR. The report outlines the state of HR in the fight to stem high turnover and recruit more talent, and suggests steps that an innovative HR department might take in order to become competitive in today’s talent market. The report

Generali Group in October 2017 announced the global launch of the Human Safety Net, an initiative to help the world’s most vulnerable communities. The Human Safety Net is based on the idea of communities of “people helping people” creating sustainable change and that these changes will create a positive ripple effect. The three programs selected and detailed below target key social issues affecting the communities where we live and

The United States and the European Union in September 2017 signed an agreement that will help U.S. insurers and reinsurers operate in the E.U. by ending Solvency II (S2) regulatory barriers. The American Insurance Association said the agreement provides mutual acknowledgement of prudential supervision in both the E.U. and the United States, and will eliminate barriers that U.S. insurers have faced since S2 was implemented. For reinsurance, the agreement

Arthur J. Gallagher in October 2017 acquired DiBrina Group, a Sudbury, Ontario, Canada HR insurance firm. The terms of the sale were not disclosed. Founded by Michael DiBrina in 1989 and incorporated in 1997, DiBrina Group provides human resources, employee benefits, wealth management, and life insurance consulting and brokerage services. The team, which includes Mr. DiBrina, as well as Tim Lychy, Diego Favero, Aurel Malo, Ehren Baldauf, Jeff St.

International medical and travel insurance company, International Medical Group (IMG), in September 2017 announced the appointment of Steve Paraboschi as the company’s executive vice president. Paraboschi will be responsible for P&L across the company and support of IMG’s international insurance distribution and operations. IMG was founded in 1990 and offers a full line of international medical insurance products, as well as travel insurance plans, medical management services and 24/7

Stephan Hillert, Head of Distribution and Customer Relationship Management Europe for Zurich International Corporate Solutions, looks at the income protection gap in the German market and how a new approach to group life and disability cover could help to close it – with benefits all round.

As the old saying goes, the only things certain in life are death and taxes. While death is inevitable, the quality of life you experience until death is often within an individual’s control. This is what our team at the Goldenson Center for Actuarial Research chose to focus on by developing a rigorous measure of quality of life. How many healthy years of life do you have ahead before you become unhealthy?

Global Benefits Vision: Could you start by giving us an overview of your career? Paige Schaffer: I have been with the Europ Assistance group since 2007. I was brought in as Vice President of Operations and Chief Service Officer, responsible for the operation of our identity protection group and our emergent travel assistance group, two separate call centers.

MSH International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paris-based broker SIACI SAINT HONORE Group and supplier of expatriate insurance services worldwide, in September 2017 announced the acquisition of Imagine Financial and its travel medical assistance group, Intrepid 24/7. Both Imagine Financial and Intrepid 24/7 are housed under the umbrella of Ingle International, a provider of plug and play solutions that drive revenue and enhance customer engagement for the insurance, healthcare, special

Australia’s health system is unique – much like its fauna. It has been shaped by the nation’s colonial history – the first hospitals were provided by the colonial administrations – and, of course, politics. It’s a curious blend of public and private funding and delivery of health care, with the Commonwealth (national) and the state governments both having significant roles in what has been described as an example of “marble cake federalism”.

Interview – Paige Schaffer on Identity Protection Perspectives on Five Health Systems – Efficient and Sustainable? Australia, New Zealand, France, United Kingdom, Canada Better Together – Life Is Simpler in A Group by Stephan Hillert R&D: A Calculator to Guess How Many Healthy Years of Life You Have Left by Jeyaraj Vadiveloo

Interview – Paige Schaffer on Identity Protection Perspectives on Five Health Systems – Efficient and Sustainable? Australia, New Zealand, France, United Kingdom, Canada Better Together – Life Is Simpler in A Group Stephan Hillert R&D: A Calculator to Guess How Many Healthy Years of Life You Have Left Jeyaraj Vadiveloo

OECD Sees Synchronized Momentum for Global Economy, But Urges Further Policy Action To Ensure Sustainable And Inclusive Medium-Term Growth The world economy has picked up momentum as expanding investment, employment, and trade support has synchronized growth across most countries, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Outlook. The pace of expansion is projected to be faster in 2017 than in 2016, with a further uptick expected in 2018, but

AIA Group has reached an agreement with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) to acquire CommInsure Life and Sovereign, CBA’s life insurance business in Australia and life and health insurance businesses in New Zealand. In addition, AIA will enter into 20-year strategic bancassurance partnerships with CBA in Australia and ASB Bank in New Zealand. The gross consideration to be paid with respect to the transaction is AUD3,800 million (which

The Nationwide Retirement Institute Consumer Social Security PR Study, released in August 2017 and conducted by Harris Poll, reveals a discouraging outlook for many Americans when it comes to retirement and Social Security benefits. According to the survey, only 21 percent of future retirees say life in retirement will be better, and 28 percent of recent retirees say life is worse in retirement. Retirees who say life is worse

The U.S. uninsured population is expected to decrease to 26.9 million individuals in 2021, according to a report recently released by Freedonia Focus Reports and titled Healthcare Insurance: United States. Factors contributing to the decline include continued improvements in the labor market, which helps individuals gain private coverage; uninsured persons reaching the age of 65 and qualifying for Medicare; continued gains in Medicaid enrollment; and some gains in the

According to the 2017 “Getting Paid In America” survey conducted by the American Payroll Association, 82 percent of employees across America have access to a self-service portal where they have the ability to view their pay and benefits information at their convenience. Most employers are also happy to use these portals, whereby the employee experience becomes more personalized with access to scheduling, time tracking, pay and other information at

The OECD in October 2017 published its annual Entrepreneurship at a Glance report. The 2017 edition includes a new trends chapter, which also introduces recent developments related to the emergence of the “gig economy” and the use of digital tools by micro-enterprises. Summary In most OECD countries where data are available, numbers of new firm creations continue to recover, and in many countries are above pre‑crisis highs, suggesting that