Swiss Re in June 2021 published a new edition of its SONAR research report under the title “New Emerging Risks Insights”. The report addresses the threats that will shape the future post-COVID-19 risk landscape. They range from the unintended consequences of government interventions through to the dangers of restarting under-maintained industrial facilities. The key issues addressed include: COVID-19 to worsen income inequality; growth in the global middle class slowed

In the previous articles of this series (Article I & Article II), we discussed the importance of knowing the insurable employee benefits (EB) specific to your organisation, so as to understand the total costs associated with providing benefits to employees. With this knowledge gathered centrally in the head office of your organisation, your central Finance and Benefits managers will be able to seek possibilities of optimisation at a local

Life-insurance startup Ethos in May 2021 raised USD 200 million in a funding round valuing the business at more than 2 billion. The San Francisco, California-based company previously had raised a total of USD 100 million. Ethos is a producer and a third-party administrator (TPA) for life insurance carriers. Its platform allows customers to purchase life insurance policies online. Currently, the company works with a list of carriers that

Zurich North America in April 2021 announced the appointment of David Fike as the new head of its Life, Accident & Health business unit. Fike accumulates over 30 years of experience in insurance and pensions, with a special focus on Asia. He has been with Zurich for close to 7 years, lastly as the CEO of General Insurance and Takaful in Malaysia. He previously had worked for CIGNA in Turkey;

Zürich, Switzerland-based broker ASN, Advisory Services Network, in April 2021 appointed Kieran Brown as their General Manager in the UK. Brown’s appointment occurs as ASN enters the post-Brexit UK international insurance market. Brown, who was General Manager of Now Health International Europe (NHI) from 2018 to 2021, comes to ASN with over 25 years of experience in international insurance, having worked for Bupa, AXA PPP Healthcare, Cigna and NHI.

t is well known that companies with operations in multiple countries are in the best position when their employee benefits (EB) plans are controlled centrally. The largest companies have implemented a central function within their HQ that is responsible for EB management. However, in medium-size companies with international operations (i.e., 1’000 – 5’000 employees), this level of control and management is still often non-existent. The key to gaining control

In the May 2021 issue: Employee Health Matters: The Impact Of Coronavirus On Cancer Treatment – Frank Ahedo R&D: Mental Wellbeing Can Lead To Lower Healthcare Costs – Ziggi Ivan Santini, David McDaid, Sarah Stewart-Brown, Vibeke Jenny Koushede R&D: Eight Glasses Of Water A Day? Your Kidneys Say ‘No’ – Tamara Hew-Butler R&D: Cancer, How One Type of RNA Could Be The Future of Treatment – Francesco Crea, Azuma Kalu

. ithin the head offices of many organisations, employee benefits (EB) come as a concern to a variety of C-level decision makers. The responsibility of ensuring suitable employee benefits for an organisation’s workforce is linked closely to a manager’s capacity to meet specific targets. However, to meet those targets, companies require the ideal employee benefits scenario – the ‘dream.’ As a result of operational limitations, the ‘dream’ EB scenario

The European Association of Paritarian Institutions (AEIP) in April 2021 announced the 2021 edition of the World Pension Alliance & Transatlantic Conference. The event will be held online on 2 and 3 June 2021. It brings together leading experts in pension and healthcare benefits, as well as trustees and employee benefits plan professionals from around the world to share their knowledge and experience on the most prevalent issues. The

In the April 2021 issue: The Vital Importance of Strong Network Partners in Pooling – Hans Callebaut, Thierry Mestach R&D: COVID-19 Stress Toll, A Family Affair? – Nicole Racine, Erin Hetherington, Sheri Madigan, Suzanne Tough R&D: The Coronavirus Messes with Our Minds Too – Athena Aktipis, Joe Alcock R&D: Phone Call Anxiety – Ilham Sebah R&D: Behavioral Psychology and Weight Loss – Claire Madigan

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in April 2021 published its latest set of Composite Leading Indicators (CLIs). Designed to anticipate turning points in economic activity relative to long-term trends, CLIs continue to strengthen in most major economies. In the US, the CLI increases steadily, thanks to a greater consumer confidence. In Japan, Canada, and the euro-area (especially Germany and Italy), the CLIs point towards a steady

Kornelia Köhler in February 2021 joined Zurich’s multinational pooling network, Zurich Global Employee Benefits Services (ZGEBS) as Costumer Relationship Manager, based in Zurich. She had been working at AIG Global Benefits Network (AIG GBN) for six years, first as an account manager and later as a regional manager. She holds a Master of Applied Economic Sciences from the University of Antwerp, Belgium.

Olga Collins in April 2021 became the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Worldwide Broker Network (WBN), based in San Francisco, California. She succeeds Francie Starnes, who became CEO five years ago and will assume the role of CEO Emeritus through 2021. Collins had been leading WBN member firm Beecher Carlson’s multinational practice for 7 years, as well as WBN’s Young Professionals Academy. Beecher Carlson is the large

U.K. risk and insurance management association Airmic in April 2021 appointed Julia Graham as its new CEO. She takes over from John Ludlow and will work with the association’s chairwoman Tracey Skinner. Previously, Graham served as director of risk management and insurance at global law firm DLA Piper; head of strategic risk, insurance, and compliance for RSA; and was Airmic’s deputy CEO and technical director since 2015. A past

AXA in March 2021 announced a series of senior leadership changes in the context of the implementation of its new strategic plan, Driving Progress 2023, presented in December 2020. According to CEO Thomas Buberl, “[…] a renewed leadership team and a simpler organisation [will] accelerate the execution of our strategic priorities […]”. Simplification of AXA’s Corporate Center AXA’s Corporate Center will be led by two Deputy CEOs: Frédéric de

Zurich Insurance in March 2021 launched a new global risk management business unit called Zurich Resilience Solutions (ZRS). It will be led by Hanno Mijer, reporting to Sierra Signorelli, CEO, commercial insurance at Zurich. Initially focusing on property/casualty (P/C) risks, ZRS includes more than 750 risk engineers to deliver risk prevention and mitigation services, complementing traditional insurance products such as employers’ liability, construction, motor fleet, general liability, and property.

In the March 2021 issue: Work Smart Now! – Richard Polak Vaccines Alone Are Not Enough – Caitjan Gainty, Agnes Arnold-Forster Predicting Severe COVID – Rishi Gupta, Mahdad Noursadeghi Zoom Work Relationships Are Hard to Build – Nancy R. Buchan, Wendi L. Adair, Xiao-Ping Chen Global Mobility Teams Prepare for Remobilization – Generali Employee Benefits

In February 2021, MAXIS Global Benefits Network (MAXIS GBN) announced the advancement of Paul Lewis to the position of Regional Director for the Americas. He is joined in this new team by Paul Mielkhe as Director, Christinea Chase as Senior Client Relationship Manager, and Diana Daszewski as Senior Account Manager. Lewis joined MAXIS GBN in 2016 and had been leading their US East Region’s Business Development team. Henceforth, he

Gallagher in February 2021 announced that Dieter Gistelinck had joined as Managing Consultant, in the Multinational Benefits & HR Consulting practice in Gallagher’s Benefits and HR Consulting Division. Gistelinck will be based in Brussels, Belgium. In his new role at Gallagher, Gistelinck will be responsible for developing the Gallagher Global Workforce Strategy consulting portfolio in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. This is achieved through understanding clients’

The World Economic Forum (WEF) in January 2021 published the 16th edition of its annual Global Risks Report. Prepared with input from global broker Marsh McLennan, South Korean conglomerate SK Group, and insurance carrier Zurich, the 2021 edition of the report focuses on risks arising from societal fractures, with implications for human health, unemployment, widening digital divides, youth disillusionment, and geopolitical fragmentation. According to the WEF, large cohorts of

In the January 2021 issue: Featured: Interview of Mattieu Rouot, CEO, MAXIS Global Benefits Network Severe COVID May Be Caused by Autoantibodies – Rebecca Aicheler Long COVID – Who Is at Risk? – Frances Williams Outsmarting COVID-19 Fears – Laurel Mellin

International employee benefits network IGP in December 2020 announced the launch of its “Virtual Training Series” to be held in the first half of 2021. The series of six webinars will be repeated in different time zones and will be available in English, German and/or French. January 21, 2021: Trends & Development of the International Employee Benefits Market February 18, 2021: Introduction to IGP Pooling March 18, 2021: Introduction

International employee benefits network MAXIS Global Benefits Network (MAXIS GBN) in January 2021 announced it had selected ICAS World, a London, UK-based employee assistance programme (EAP) platform, as a global provider of counselling support and assistance. As part of the MAXIS Global Wellness solution, multinational clients will be able to choose to work with ICAS World, giving their employees access to counselling and work-life services including legal and financial

Save-the-Date Gallagher in June 2020 announced that the 2021 edition of the IBIS Academy would be held from May 24 to 28, 2021 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. For more information, a contact form is provided at https://www.ajg.com/us/events/ibis-academy/contact-us  

Due to global travel restrictions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the organizers of the 2020 Transatlantic Conference in April 2020 announced its postponement to 2021. The conference was originally planned to take place in Brussels on 27 – 29 May 2020 and is now postponed to 2, 3, and 4 June 2021 in Brussels. The venue is the Crowne Plaza Hotel – Le Palace Brussels, Rue Gineste