Assicurazioni Generali in July 2018 sold an 89.9% stake in Generali Leben life insurance to a partnership which includes Viridium Gruppe and Hannover Re.  Viridium is owned by London-based private equity firm Cinven (80%) and global German reinsurer Hannover Re (20%). Generali Leben is valued at up to € 1 billion, including €125 million as earn-out in case of changes in the rules regulating the allocation to ZZR1 technical

In the July-August 2018 issue Collaborative Benefits Jean-Baptiste de La Mettrie, Fatih Eser Interview: J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr. and Leslie Lemenager Gut microbes are tiny sensors of your general health Claire Steves Eliminate the middlemen: The Bezos-Buffett-Dimon U.S. health care venture J.B. Silvers, Mark Vortuba How does your body ‘burn’ fat? David Prologo In praise of doing nothing Simon Gottschalk 2018 IBIS Conference Report New Product: MAXIS Global Wellness

Fueled by large life deals, the U.K. insurance sector saw more mergers and acquisitions activity in the first half of 2018 than in either the full year of 2017 and 2016, according to consultant Ernst & Young (EY). U.S. Tax Reform One of Many Drivers Telecommunications, automotive and healthcare top the list of sectors for deals with the highest value, with strong levels of UK/U.S. M&A expected to continue,

Allianz Global Benefits, Allianz’s global employee benefits network, in July 2018 announced a new network partner in Canada, SSQ Insurance. SSQ Insurance’s Canadian prospects and existing clients will have access to a worldwide benefits network offering optimization tools, including Multinational Pooling, Captive Fronting and Global Underwriting. Based in Quebec, SSQ Insurance, a mutual insurance carrier, offers health and dental care, EAP, disability and life insurance. Key figures : gross

AIA Group in July 2018 completed the acquisition of Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s life insurance businesses in Australia and New Zealand. According to AIA Group regional chief executive Bill Lisle, the acquisition will significantly transform and expand the company’s presence in New Zealand. The combined business, according to Lisle, will transform AIA’s scale and reach to become the market leader in New Zealand’s life insurance market. In September 2017,

Manulife Hong Kong in July 2018 announced the promotions of Raymond Ng to Vice President and Head of Employee Benefits of Manulife (International), and Ellen Leung to Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Manulife Provident Funds Trust Company.. Raymond Ng heads the strategic development and operation of both the pensions (MPF and ORSO) and group benefits (Life & Health) business of Manulife Hong Kong. He is responsible for

Global broker Gallagher in July 2018 announced the acquisitions of three firms: Chicago-based Reassurance Holdings, including its subsidiaries Coverdell and Carefree Marketing. Founded in 1963, Coverdell is a licensed insurance broker, discount medical plan organization and third-party administrator, providing direct marketing of insurance and membership programs to many of the largest financial services institutions in the U.S. and Canada. Vince Di Benedetto and his associates will continue to work

Next Insurance in July 2018 raised $83 million in new financing, money it said will fuel its continued U.S. expansion as a full-service digital insurance carrier focused on the small business market. A California-based startup, Next Insurance debuted in 2016 as a digital insurance agency for small to midsize businesses. The new financing will allow Next to add more lines of insurance. The firm changed its agency status in

The OECD in July 2018 released its Annual Survey of Investment Regulations of Pension Funds 2018, which describes the main quantitative investment regulations that pension funds are subject to in OECD and a selection of IOPS member countries. It covers all types of pension plans, and concerns all forms of quantitative portfolio restrictions applied to pension funds at different legal levels. The 356-page survey’s findings conclude, in part, that:

Preliminary data, released in July 2018 by the OECD, shows an increase in life and/or non-life gross premiums of domestic insurance companies for 2017, with 40 out of 43 countries reporting. Gross premiums of domestic insurance companies rose in real terms in 15 countries in both the life and non-life sectors, and in 10 other countries in the life sector only, while another 15 reported rises in the non-life

AXA in July 2018 announced its business insurance operations would trade under the new AXA XL brand once the acquisition of XL Group is completed. The master brand AXA remains untouched. AXA XL will combine existing P&C commercial lines and specialty risks into a new entity. It will include four main business units: XL Insurance, XL Reinsurance, XL Art & Lifestyle, and XL Risk Consulting. The new entity will

Digital insurance company ONE in July 2018 entered into a new joint venture with Swiss geolocation experts Axon Vibe, and Munich Re. The joint venture, called “ONE Coach,” is poised to use encryption technology, a novel approach, within the insurance domain. ONE is based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, and operates in the German market. After launching in February 2018, ONE has become the fastest-growing digital insurance company in Europe. Using

Poor quality health services are holding back progress on improving health in countries at all income levels, according to Delivering Quality Health Services – a Global Imperative for Universal Health Coverage, a joint report published in July 2018 by the OECD, World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank. Factors that hinder progress include inaccurate diagnoses, medication errors, inappropriate or unnecessary treatments, inadequate or unsafe clinical facilities or practices,

A new OECD Health Statistics 2018 report, released in June 2018, shows that health spending in 2016 grew by its fastest rate in seven years, with further growth expected in 2017. OECD countries spending on health care increased by 3.4% on average in 2016, its highest rate since 2009. That percentage is still below pre-global financial crisis levels, when average health expenditures rose by around 4-6% per year (in

Realogy Holdings, a full-service residential real estate services company in the United States, in June 2018 appointed Katrina L. Helmkamp as CEO of its relocation services subsidiary, Cartus Corporation. She reports to Realogy CEO and President Ryan Schneider. Helmkamp has more than 27 years of leadership experience in business strategy, operations, product development, technology and innovation across multiple sectors. Most recently, she has been CEO of Lenox Corporation, a

Privately held broker Lockton in July 2018 announced posted record revenue of $1.57 billion in its recently completed fiscal 2018, a 9.9 percent increase above fiscal 2017. This is the 52nd consecutive year of revenue growth for Lockton. The company posted organic growth in the U.S. of $84 million, or 7.7%, with the employee benefits business leading the way with 14.1% year-over-year revenue growth. Lockton’s international operations grew 10.9

From automated check-outs in grocery stores to autonomous vehicles, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay, prompting fears of robots replacing humans. The latest McKinsey Global Institute briefing note, which was published in June 2018 for the Tech4Good summit organized by the French government, addresses “both the promise and the challenge” of automation and AI in the workplace and provides a list of ten things we need

MassMutual’s international insurance holding company MassMutual International and Nippon Life, Japan’s leading life insurer, have announced the completion of the sale of 85.1 percent of MassMutual Japan, its Japanese life insurance and wealth management subsidiary, to Nippon Life. The transaction was first announced in March 2018. MassMutual International will retain 15 percent of the company and receive approximately JPY 104.2 billion (about USD 955 million) in cash. MassMutual Japan

Global broker Aon in June 2018 announced that Andy Marcell has been appointed as CEO of its new Reinsurance Solutions division. Aon recently announced a rebranding of its reinsurance broking unit Aon Benfield to just Aon and has split its operations into new Solutions divisions, one of which is the Reinsurance Solutions arm. Along with the change, Eric Andersen who was CEO of Aon Benfield was made co-President of Aon,

International Benefits Network – IBN in June 2018 added Dutch broker Van Lanschot Chabot / Mandema and Partners to its network as member for Netherlands. Van Lanschot Chabot / Mandema and Partners is the largest Dutch broker in risk and benefits management. They have access to national and international insurance markets with 250 employees (including lawyers, economists, engineers, risk analysts, actuarial advisors and trainers). Mandema and Partners work with clients

Gallagher in June 2018 named Todd Woodward as its head of global communications, where he will be responsible for developing, implementing, executing, and enhancing the global communications strategy for the entire Gallagher organization, both internally and externally. Woodward was most recently vice-president, corporate and brand marketing communications at Amway Global. He was also an associate vice-president, marketing communications for the University of Notre Dame from 2006 to 2011. Prior

Health insurance start-up Oscar Health in June 2018 announced it would sell Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) health insurance policies in six new markets as of 2019, adding three U.S. states – Florida, Arizona, and Michigan as well as three large metropolitan areas in Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas. Oscar offers individual products as well as a small group health plan targeted at small businesses of up to 100 employees, “Oscar

AIA in June 2018 announced the appointment of Daisuke Iwase as Group Chief Digital Officer (CDO) and a member of the AIA Group Executive Committee. Mr. Iwase currently serves as President of Lifenet, a listed digital direct life insurance company in Japan, which he co-founded in 2006 and took public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2012. Lifenet provided over US$18.8 billion of insured capital and has more than

American International Group (AIG) and Munich Re in June 2018 announced that AIG Life Ltd. (AIGLL), a UK subsidiary of AIG Life & Retirement, has agreed to acquire Ellipse, a specialist provider of group life risk protection in the UK, from Munich Re. Ellipse’s group protection products, which include life, critical illness and income protection, along with its technology-enabled business model with high levels of straight through processing (STP),

AIG Life & Retirement, a division of AIG, in June 2018 announced the appointment of Adam Winslow as CEO, International. Winslow is now CEO of AIG Life Limited (U.K.), where he has led the business since its acquisition by AIG in 2015. In his new role, Winslow will lead AIG Life and Laya Healthcare in Ireland. He will also support potential further international expansion opportunities. Adam will continue to

Global broker Gallagher in June 2018 announced that Simon Matson will assume the role of CEO, UK brokerage and underwriting, leading a 4,500 strong team. Matson’s predecessor Grahame “Chily” Chilton will be stepping down later this year. Simon Matson is now head of Gallagher’s London Market and the founder of Alesco. He began his career in 1989 in the oil and gas division of a global insurance broker, eventually

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