Posts Tagged

2017

Global consulting and actuarial firm Milliman in October 2017 announced that they have joined with the MicroInsurance Centre (MIC), a consulting firm and micro-insurance thought leader dedicated to generating access to micro-insurance products to 3 billion low-income people across the globe. The transaction accelerates MIC’s progress toward its goals while significantly expanding Milliman’s capabilities in micro-insurance. The joint venture operates under the “MicroInsurance Centre at Milliman” brand and allows

AIA in October 2017 concluded a new bancassurance partnership with Bangkok Bank in Thailand. Bangkok Bank will distribute AIA Thailand’s retail and group protection and long-term savings products on an exclusive basis. The 15-year agreement will become effective in the first half of 2018. Bangkok Bank is the largest bank in Thailand by total assets; it has more than 16 million customer accounts and around 1,200 branches nationwide. Typical

Allianz Worldwide Care in November 2017 announced it would rebrand itself as Allianz Partners as part of a global strategy which will be implemented across all business lines over 2018 and 2019. International health and life insurance products and services will come under the “Allianz Care” brand. Allianz Partners provides health insurance and services to the staff of multinational organizations as well as private individuals and their families living

Global insurance company XL Catlin issued their Q3 2017 October report, Emerging risks we’re watching and why, which highlights key factors in emerging risks presented by new state medical marijuana laws in the U.S. and the ongoing North American opioid epidemic. Of particular note is the marked reduction of the North American workforce as a result of the opioid epidemic. The Federal Reserve has cited the epidemic as one

Global insurance brokerage Hub International in October 2017 announced it had acquired the assets of employee benefits specialist Graffam Insurance Group. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Based in the state of Maine, USA, Graffam services businesses in Maine and New Hampshire.

Gen Z consumers (i.e., people aged 18-21) are surprisingly more likely than any other age group, including Baby Boomers, to visit a bank branch at least weekly, according to a study from Accenture released in October 2017 – reflecting the heavy cash dependence within their age cohort. The study also found that Gen Z consumers are the most active and engaged group using mobile banking, with all other consumers

Global broker, Marsh in October 2017 appointed Siegmund Fahrig as chief executive officer of its Continental Europe region, succeeding Flavio Piccolomini, who was recently appointed CEO of Marsh’s international division. Based in Düsseldorf, Germany, Fahrig will continue as CEO of Marsh Germany, reporting to Piccolomini. Fahrig previously served as CEO of Marsh’s operations in Germany, Central & Eastern Europe, and CIS. He began his career as an apprentice at

Principal Financial in October 2017 bought MetLife’s pension fund management business in Mexico, MetLife Afore, adding a larger distribution network to Principal Afore’s current business in the country and the fifth largest player in the Mexican mandatory pension, voluntary long-term savings, and mutual funds competitive space. The transaction is expected to complete in early 2018.

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) in October 2017 named Gianmarco Tosti new country leader of Italy, based in Milan. He will also take up the role of Head of Corporate Risk and Broking for Italy. Guido de Spirt, the current Head of Italy, will take on the role of Chairman of Italy. Willis Towers Watson Italy has more than 450 employees in eight offices. At WTW, Tosti has held a

MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, owners of Japanese insurer Aioi Nissay Dowa, in November 2017 announced they would move their London-based subsidiary Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Company of Europe (ADE) to Luxembourg. The move is expected to be implemented in early 2018. ADE today operates an insurance business in Europe centered on automobile insurance. In light of Brexit, Aioi Nissay Dowa has decided to restructure its European business organization. The

Sleep expert Dr. Els van der Helm in October 2017 launched her new website, shleepbetter: www.shleepbetter.com Shleep serves global clients (both businesses and leaders) and helps them improve their performance through better sleep management. Shleep’s mission is to help organizations and people sleep better. To reach this goal, they offer workshops, assessments, coaching, and a unique and scalable sleep coaching app to help you, your workforce and/or coworkers sleep better –

The 9th edition of the annual AEIP Venice Conference will focus on innovative approaches in delivering pensions and healthcare and will bring together representatives of the main actors driving forward the evolution of pensions and healthcare systems in Europe. The conference program focuses on new technologies and more efficient investments in pensions, and on developments in workplace health. AEIP, the European Association of Paritarian Institutions, was founded in 1996

A study released in Octover 2017 by the U.S.-based Center for Talent Innovation (CTI) reports that 30 percent of college-educated employees working full time in white-collar professions in the U.S. have some sort of disability. The report, Disabilities and Inclusion, uses the new (as of 2016), broader U.S. federal definition of disabilities, which includes mental health and chronic conditions, and concludes that employers far too often overlook the enormous

CVS Health, an American drug store chain that also operates walk-in health clinics and a pharmacy benefit business, in October 2017 was reported to be in talks to purchase Aetna Insurance in a deal that could be worth more than $60 billion based on Aetna’s current market value. This would make the purchase one of the largest in the history of the health industry. CVS, with the addition of

Swiss Life in October 2017 entered into a long-term partnership with Swiss business software provider for small businesses, bexio. Swiss Life becomes one of the largest shareholders of bexio and Swiss Life Switzerland CEO Markus Leibundgut joins the Board of Directors. The start-up already has over 10 000 customers and employs a staff of 50 in Switzerland. Bexio focuses on small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and offers web-based services – including

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