Our April 2017 edition looked at some of the high-level concepts behind multinational pooling, including the history and background, and an overview of the common models and benefits for corporations, advisers, and insurers. This article will look at some practical examples to illustrate the models and the advantages and disadvantages of some of the alternatives.

Global Benefits Vision: Let us begin with some of highlights of your career, with an emphasis on employee benefits or related fields.

The slow-motion consideration by Congress and the president to change the Affordable Care Act is likely to produce surprising results. The insurance market does not go into suspended animation while Washington debates.

FWD Group in May 2017 announced it had completed the acquisition of American International Group (AIG)’s Japanese subsidiary AIG Fuji Life Insurance Company. The acquired business intends to trade as FWD Fuji Life Insurance Company. It is to be led by current AIG Fuji Life CEO Norio Tomono, reporting to Huynh Thanh Phong, FWD Group’s CEO. AIG Fuji Life Insurance Company is the AIG Global Benefits Network partner in

Interview Antoine Parisi, CEO Europ Assistance Good Leadership is a Matter of Culture Katrin Koll Prakoonwit Pooling 201 – Assuming and Controlling Risk Paul Avis How Obamacare May Morph into Medicaid JB Silvers

As existing P/C captives expand to include employee benefits risks, often under the guidance of risk managers, understanding their concerns and challenges may prove useful for client relationship managers more accustomed to dealing with human resources departments. Risk managers face a growing confusion of challenges and new demands according to a Lockton survey of risk management professionals. The survey, presented officially at Lockton’s Complex Risk Symposium in mid-June 2017,

Alight, the former outsourcing business that Aon in February 2017 sold to private equity firm Blackstone, in June 2017 re-emerges as a standalone firm. Chris Michalak, CEO of Alight Solutions: “We are using this opportunity to ignite an entrepreneurial spirit and a culture focused on innovation to help companies and their people meet their rapidly changing benefits, HR and financial needs. […] we believe that businesses are powered by

Arthur J. Gallagher in June 2017 announced the acquisition of Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Armstrong/Robitaille/Riegle and Ann Arbor Business Advisors. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Brokerage Armstrong/Robitaille/Riegle offers employee benefits, retirement planning, life insurance and human resource consulting, as well as commercial and personal property/casualty coverages, to clients primarily in Michigan and in California. Ann Arbor Business Advisors provides retirement plan services for institutional clients. Laurie E. Riegle,

According to a global survey of insurance executives released in June 2017 by Earnix, a provider of analytics solutions for the financial services industry, there is wide adoption of Machine Learning by insurers across the globe, and expectation that machine learning will bring “significant” change to the industry over the next three to five years. According to Wikipedia, machine learning gives “computers the ability to learn without being explicitly

Interview Antoine Parisi, CEO Europ Assistance Good Leadership is a Matter of Culture Katrin Koll Prakoonwit Pooling 201 – Assuming and Controlling Risk Paul Avis How Obamacare May Morph into Medicaid JB Silvers

Arthur J. Gallagher in May 2017 announced the acquisition of Zuber Insurance Agency in Houston, Texas. Zuber Insurance, a full-service insurance agency offering employee benefits, commercial and personal property/casualty insurance, and life insurance in Texas, was founded in 1934 by J.L. Zuber. Alan Zuber and his associates will continue to operate from Houston. As far as employee benefits are concerned, they will report to Robby White, head of Gallagher’s South

Global insurance brokerage Hub International in June 2017 announced that it has acquired Brady Insurance Planning, an East Norwich, New York-based employee benefits advisor. Matthew Brady, the principal, will join Hub Northeast. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Headquartered in Chicago, IL and with offices throughout North America, Hub International provides P&C, life and health, employee benefits, investment and risk management products and services. Only one day earlier,

Zurich Eurolife in June 2017 announced the acquisition of an existing book of international pension plans from AG2R La Mondiale’s (AG2R) Luxembourg-based subsidiary La Mondiale Europartner. The transaction is expected to close during the second half of 2017, after regulatory approval. The new agreement with La Mondiale Europartner will see their existing customers transfer to Zurich’s international pension plans. AG2R and Zurich have enjoyed close relationships for many years,

Shelly James in May 2017 joined Altair Global Relocation as Director Global Operations, based in Plano, Texas. Her previous positions include Member of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Council for Global Immigration; Global Mobility Program Manager, Americas Region for Hewlett-Packard; Senior Global Migration Advisor for Barry Appleman & Leiden; Manager of US Immigration Services for KPMG; HR Manager for DP Solutions; and Human Resource Assistant for American

International insurance brokerage and risk management services firm Arthur J. Gallagher in June 2017 announced the acquisition of Total Reward Group in Kent, England. Founded in 2005, Total Reward Group is a U.K. consultancy offering remuneration support, executive search, interim placement and corporate training for reward professionals throughout the world. Based in Kent, its consultants work with global brands, mid-size firms, public and third sector organizations across a range

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in May 2017 announced having discovered a way to structurally modify an antibiotic called vancomycin to make it even more potent — an advance that could mitigate the threat of antibiotic-resistant infections. The World Health Organization and other public-health experts have been warning that antibiotic resistance is a serious global threat. Previous studies had shown that it is possible to add two modifications

The Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) in late May 2017 released its Travel Health Insurance Products Position Paper detailing final recommendations to the issues it identified in travel health insurance, to enhance consumer protection and confidence, including: Development of common standardized definitions and terminology Improvements to the application, screening and claims process Simplifying and improving disclosure documents Ensuring adequate controls and oversight mechanisms are in place throughout the

Jean-Laurent Granier in June 2017 joined Generali Group as Country manager for France and Chairman & CEO (Président Directeur Général) of Generali France. In his capacity, he also is a member of the Group Management Committee of Assicurazioni Generali. Generali France is one of the key providers of group insurance coverage in the French domestic market, as well as of French expatriates products. The group insurance division is led

Sirius International Insurance Group, a global (re)insurance company based in Bermuda with a leading position in Accident & Health insurance, in May 2017 announced its acquisition of Indianapolis, U.S.A., -based International Medical Group (IMG). IMG is a provider of global medical insurance products and assistance services and the second addition of an accident & health business to Sirius’s specialty insurance platform in as many months. Allan Waters, Sirius Group Chairman,

Now in its 48th edition, the 2018 IBIS Academy will be held in Berlin, Germany, from May 7 to May 11, 2018. It will include a three-day Global Mobility track, co-developed and co-hosted with ECA International, as well as the IBIS Institute, a “boot camp” for practitioners; and the IBIS Conference, a series of cutting-edge presentations and panels for more experienced colleagues. Some sessions are shared between tracks and

In a letter addressed to leaders in the United States’ House of Representatives and shared with all House and Senate members, the American Academy of Actuaries’ Individual and Small Group Markets Committee and Medicaid Subcommittee in April 2017 provided an actuarial perspective on the American Health Care Act (AHCA). The analysis examines the effects on enrollment and on the risk pool of the AHCA’s replacement of the individual mandate

Losing sleep over money? You’re not alone. A recent poll, conducted in April 2017 by Princeton Survey Research Associates International and released by CreditCards.com, reports that 65% of Americans are losing sleep because of money. The most common money-related worry, expressed by 38% of Americans, is healthcare or insurance bills, putting this concern at the top of the list for the first time since the Great Recession. Another 37%

Aetna International, a subsidiary of Aetna, in May 2017 announced the redesign of Health Hub, its health care benefits secure member portal, after an extensive review of the service. The redesign allows users to search for information about a subscriber’s health, and allows subscribers to have secure access to their insurance and healthcare needs from any location. Members can view their plan details, access claim records, and search for

Susan Bird in May 2017 was elected as the Chair of the World Pension Alliance (WPA) for the coming term. She succeeds Bruno Gabellieri from the European Association of Paritarian Institutions (AEIP). Ms. Bird is a Board member of the Multi-Employer Benefit Plan Council of Canada (MEBCO), the President of the McAteer Group of Companies from Markham, Ontario and has very significant experience in the pension and benefits area.

With growing global uncertainties, there is an increased demand for a way to reach traveling employees anywhere, at any time, and this was the driving force behind a new Active Monitoring service, offered by HX Global as an add-on to Concur’s Integrated Traveller Risk Management Solution, that is designed to help companies manage employee safety. The integrated Traveller Risk Management Solution, unveiled by Concur in March 2017 at Concur

The Insurance chapter of HEC Paris Graduate School of Business Alumni organizes a conference on “International mobility, expatriates and employers’ duty of care” on Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 19:00. Employers today are subject to a far-reaching duty of care when it comes to the safety of their employees abroad. At the same time, internationally mobile employees expect to enjoy not only adequate health and life insurance coverages but

Humanis, a large French employee benefits carrier that operates mainly as a paritarian institution and also is a major provider of health, life and retirement coverage for expatriates, on 6 June 2017 hosts the tenth edition of its “Rencontres de la Mobilité Internationale” – or Global Mobility Conference. The one-day conference, which is held at the Pré Catelan conference center in Paris, starts at 09:00 and ends at 18:30.