An overview of pooling and its relevance to life and health insurance for companies. It covers the major pooling trends in the UK and globally as well as innovations and outlook for the area.

This interview is also available as a downloadable PDF file by clicking here. Frederic de Courtois Global Benefits Vision: Frédéric, can you give us some highlights of your career, with emphasis on iPMI, global employee benefits, or related fields? Frédéric de Courtois: I trained as an engineer and an actuary, and spent 23 years with AXA; I started in finance there and later moved on to business side. I

If you work in an open-plan, hot-desking environment, you have probably at some point found yourself trudging through the office, clutching your belongings, in search of a free desk. This feeling of homelessness is an increasing issue in society more broadly – and in the workplace, employees’ well-being is traded in for the company’s bottom line.

Global Bankers Insurance Group, the insurance and reinsurance division of Eli Global, in April 2017 acquired Luxembourg insurance company NN Life Luxembourg, a subsidiary of NN Group of The Netherlands. According to George Luecke, Vice Chairman and Co‐Chief Executive Officer of Global Bankers, the deal is part of their strategic expansion in Europe and follows on the acquisition of a portfolio of in‐force life and annuity insurance policies from

MAXIS Global Benefits Network (MAXIS GBN), a global joint venture between MetLife and AXA, in April 2017 announced the launch of its new website, client portal, and member portal as part of the firm’s extensive investment in its digital infrastructure. The new site has revised content about MAXIS GBN’s network, solutions, and thought leadership. The latter includes the new, monthly, Viewpoint series, webinars, and health and wellness white-papers. The

Swiss Life in March 2017 announced the appointment of Jörg Arnold as the new CEO Germany and member of the Corporate Executive Board. He will replace Markus Leibundgut, CEO of Swiss Life Switzerland since April 2017. Jörg Arnold joins Swiss Life from AXA Group, where he was Global Head of Savings, Retirement & Distribution within the Life & Savings Global Business Line. He is 52 years old and has a

Cartus, a provider of global relocation services, has published its 2016 Global Mobility Policy and Practices Survey that identifies four-year trends in where companies are sending their employees. As more companies establish presence in areas where labor and market conditions favor business growth, Cartus identifies trends by culling data from its worldwide client base, which includes more than 50 percent of Fortune 50 companies and approximately 163,000 corporate and

Chubb in April 2017 named Soledad Muné as Chief Underwriting Officer, Personal Insurance, for Chubb Overseas General Insurance, succeeding John Thompson, who will take on his new role as Division President, International Accident & Health. Ms. Muné will be responsible for the international auto and residential insurance portfolios and will report to Darryl Page, Vice President, Chubb Group and Division President, Personal Insurance, Overseas General Insurance. She was previously

One thousand college-educated U.S. employees recently responded to questions about their bosses’ ability to handle stress, their contributions to the workplace, and their own work experiences, in a March 2017 study conducted by workforce consulting firm Life Meets Work. According to the survey site, “Managers provide direction, assessment, and motivation for the teams they support. If managers don’t have the skills to handle stress, then everyone working for that

Chubb in March 2017 has announced the appointment of John Thompson as Division President, International Accident & Health (A&H), where he will be responsible for Chubb’s international personal accident, supplemental health and travel insurance business in 51 countries. Previously Chief Underwriting Officer, Personal Insurance, for Chubb Overseas General, Thompson will report to Juan C. Andrade, Executive VP for Chubb Group and President of Overseas General Insurance, and Ed Clancy,

Manulife Financial Corporation in March 2017 announced that it has appointed Roy Gori as President, reporting to CEO Donald Guloien.  Gori was previously Executive Vice President and General Manager of Manulife’s Asia Division. Gori has been with Manulife since March 2015, when he took on responsibility for Manulife’s operations in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. The Asian division accounts

Ms Chua Wan Ching in March 2017 joined the IGP Singapore team as IGP Regional Director – Asia. Wan Ching, a Singapore national, brings with her a 17-year career in health and benefits, mainly gained within the advisor community, most recently with Willis Towers Watson and Aon, where she has been responsible for maintaining key relationships with global, regional and domestic clients. Her responsibilities in IGP include overseeing regional

As of April 2017, Michael Spincemaille, IGP Regional Director, will coordinate IGP’s LATAM regional activities via the offices of Network Partner in Mexico, Seguros Monterrey New York Life. Back in 2012, Michael began performing that same role via the Bogotá head office of Colombian IGP Network Partner, MAFPRE. The regional offices’ key objectives remain unchanged, i.e. servicing clients’ regional headquarters and subsidiaries in respect of their employee benefits arrangements;

IGP’s “Workshop on International Employee Benefits, Multinational Pooling & Captives” provides an opportunity for the European advisor community to learn more about multinational pooling and captives. The workshop is mainly aimed at newcomers to the international benefits field or people needing a refresher course on international pooling & captive matters and the services IGP can offer. The program runs on June 22, 2017 from 10:00 to 16:15 and includes

IGP’s “Workshop on International Employee Benefits, Multinational Pooling & Captives” provides an opportunity for representatives of global companies to learn more about multinational pooling, captives and employee benefits from an international perspective. The program runs from June 19 at 14:00 to June 20 at 14:30 and includes dinner and a light lunch. Registration is subject to a contribution of EUR 125 to defray costs (payable by credit card) and

Robyn Cameron in March 2017 joined Korn Ferry as Senior Client Partner, Global Solution Architect in the Korn Ferry Hay Group Rewards and Benefits Solution practice. She is based in New York and is a member of the Rewards and Benefits Solution practice global leadership team, reporting to Bob Wesselkamper, Senior Client Partner and Global Head, Rewards and Benefits Solutions. Prior to joining Korn Ferry, Robyn was the head

In their Global Interim Economic Outlook for March 2017, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) notes that global economic growth should pick up modestly next year, thanks to continuing and expected combined fiscal and structural initiatives in the major economies – most notably China, Canada, and the United States. However, this growth is vulnerable to the multiple risks of rising protectionism, financial vulnerabilities, potential volatility from divergent

The plan to repeal and replace “Obamacare,” more formally known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which was put in place by President Barack Obama, experienced a rough week in late March 2017, as more Republican leaders sided with Democrats who are feeling reticent about passing the controversial American Health Care Act (AHCA). The defections come after Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports that the bill would result in higher

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in February 2017 published its monthly Composite Leading Indicator (CLI) with data from December 2016. Growth is anticipated to pick-up in the United States, Canada, Japan as well as Germany and France. In the United Kingdom, there are tentative signs of growth gaining momentum, although the CLI remains below trend and uncertainty persists about the nature of the agreement the UK

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in March 2017 released its Worldwide cost of living 2017 survey. Using a cost-of-living approach, it compares the price of over 150 items in 133 cities around the world. It found that Singapore is the world’s most expensive city for the fourth year running and 20% more expensive than New York and 5% pricier than Hong Kong, which lies in second place. Asia now

AIA Group in March 2017 announced that its CEO and President, Mark Tucker, will retire from his executive positions with the company and its subsidiaries. Tucker will become non-executive Group Chairman of HSBC Holdings, and Ng Keng Hooi will take over for Tucker at AIA as of 1 September, 2017. Hooi, 62, who joined AIA in 2010 and is currently their regional executive, was previously CEO of Great Eastern

As part of its continuing expansion across the Asia Pacific region, Cigna has announced the appointment of Raymond Ng as the new Regional Head of Distribution – Global Health Benefits, for Cigna’s Asia Pacific Leadership Team, which is led by Patrick Graham, Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific, Cigna International Markets. Ng, a graduate of Curtin University in Bentley, Western Australia, will be responsible for cross-market growth and development of

How many organizations send employees on international assignment, calculate the ROI, and believe it was a worthwhile investment? How many expats go on assignment and return to a job that engages them and leverages what they learned?

Let’s say you’re interviewing a new applicant for a job and you feel something is off. You can’t quite put your finger on it, but you’re a bit uncomfortable with this person. She says all the right things, her resume is great, she’d be a perfect hire for this job – except your gut tells you otherwise.

2016 was a symbolic year for pension systems in Japan. In November 2016, the Japanese Diet enacted new legislation that shortens the eligibility period for public pensions from 25 years to 10 years. This was followed the next month by a revision to the automatic balancing system.

Surveys of employers and their employees consistency show wellness at work is a key consideration. The treatment of chronic conditions that impair energy levels, require short or long-term absences, and make serious use of healthcare insurance have become a top priority around the world.

Global Benefits Vision: Good morning, Peter. Perhaps you’d like to start off with the highlights of your career. Peter de Vries: I joined IGP in 1988, when I was just a “slip of a lad”, to head up the European region, which, at the time and still today is the largest region for IGP in terms of premium. While most of our clients, about 55 percent, are North American multinationals, most of the premium is paid in the European region.