Posts Tagged
Belgium
CBBA-Europe Conference 13-14 Nov 2019, Brussels – Save The Date
Brussels-based lobby CBBA-Europe in October 2019 announced its Annual Conference, to be held on November 13 and 14, 2019, in Brussels, Belgium. This year’s conference theme is “The New Social and Employee Benefits’ Environment between Challenges & Innovation”. November 13 is about Pensions and Investments (9am – 5pm) November 14 will deal with Healthcare, mental health and other benefits (9am – 12 noon). Participants include E.U. Institutions, EIOPA, OECD,
Generali Belgium Rebranded Athora Belgium After Sale
Generali Belgium in June 2019 became Athora Belgium. The name change is the final stage in the January 2019 acquisition of Generali Belgium by Athora Holding. Since the acquisition, the company is led by CEO Dorsan van Hecke. The Athora brand came into existence at the beginning of 2018 following the spin-off from former parent company Athene Holding. Athora now is an insurance and reinsurance group that focuses on
Belgium – Baloise acquires Fidea
Swiss insurer Baloise in April 2019 said it is acquiring the Belgian insurer Fidea for 480 million euros ($543 million) from China’s state-controlled Anbang Insurance Group to boost its position in the Belgian non-life and life insurance market. The acquisition of Antwerp-based Fidea means that Baloise will employ around 1,600 employees in Belgium. Baloise said the deal will increase its share of the non-life business in Belgium by 1.7
World Pension Forum, Brussels, 23-24 May 2019
The agenda of the 8th World Pensions Forum, held at The Brussels Grand–Place, 23-24 May 2019, and organized in association with the European Association of Paritarian Institutions (AEIP) now is finalized. The forum will focus on pension and retirement governance, pension law and regulation, long-term investment and risk management in the “Post-Brexit Era”. Plenary panels include: a discussion of the latest advances in the field of ESG and Impact
World Pensions Forum, Brussels, Belgium, 23-24 May 2019
The 8th edition of the World Pensions Forum will be held in Brussels on 23 and 24 May 2019. The forum will focus on pension investments, financial regulation, and risk management in the post-Brexit era. It also will address the evolving fiduciary role of pension executives and trustees – notably corporate governance, green growth, and women’s economic empowerment. Furthermore, UK, US, Canadian and European Union policy makers, financial regulators
Athora Completes Generali Belgium Acquisition
Bermuda-based Athora Holdings in January 2019 completed the acquisition of Generali Belgium, first announced in April 2018. The final consideration paid is approximately €540 million. Generali Belgium has 530,000 customers and sells a range of life and non-life insurance policies through around 1,000 independent brokers. In 2017, total premium income amounted to €640 million and assets to €6.5 billion. The company will be rebranded to Athora Belgium in the
Appointments at Lloyd’s Brussels
Lloyd’s Brussels in December 2018 announced the appointment of Delphine Marchessaux as chief underwriting officer. Delphine previously was head of underwriting, Cargo at Axa Corporate Solutions (now AXA XL) in France. Earlier, she was head of Marine claims (cargo and hull), having started her career as a Marine claims executive and team leader at AXA Corporate Solutions. She holds a Master of Science degree in Law from IFURTA (Institut
Sonja Rottiers CEO Lloyd’s Brussels Office
Lloyd’s in December 2018 appointed Sonja Rottiers as CEO of Lloyd’s Brussels and regional director for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). She reports to Lloyd’s CEO John Neal. Lloyd’s Brussels was launched in November 2018 to ensure that Lloyd’s syndicates can continue to write policies in the E.U. after Brexit. Before joining Lloyd’s, Rottiers was a non-executive board member for ING Belgium; Belgian cinema chain Kinepolis; and Leasinvest
HR Path Acquires Ataraxis
Consulting firm HR Path in May 2018 acquired Ataraxis, headquartered in Belgium and operating in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Spain and France. Ataraxis is a Workday specialist (Workday is a provider of enterprise cloud software for finance and human resources). Ataraxis will become the dedicated Workday practice of HR Path. The senior management team, Tom Hillen, Wouter Van den Avont and Jan Snyers will become HR Path partners. Ataraxis
Generali Sells Belgian Operations – GEB Not Affected
Generali in April 2018 sold Generali Belgium to Athora Holding for EUR 540 million. Generali Belgium is primarily focused on the life segment but also offers P/C products. After the sale, Generali will remain present in Belgium through its Global Business Lines and especially Generali’s multinational pooling network GEB as well as through Europ Assistance. Athora is likely to rename the company after completion of the deal; it will
Monument Re Acquires Run-Off Life Insurance Portfolio
Monument Re acquired a run-off portfolio of flexible premium retail life insurance contracts from Ethias in Belgium and will transfer it to its subsidiary Laguna Life DAC, domiciled in Ireland. The transfer will result in the loss of the savings (invested capital) guarantee in Belgium up to a maximum of EUR 100,000; Ireland has no equivalent system. Regarding returns, and according to Ethias CEO Philippe Lallemand, “The payment of
General Electric’s pan-European pension fund move to Belgium approved
General Electric (GE) in September 2016 has had its European pension fund approved by FSMA, Belgium’s financial supervisory authority and the regulatory body for pension funds. GE is encouraging its existing European-based pension plans to join the fund, which takes the legal form of an Organisme de Financement de Pensions (OFP), Belgium’s IORP-compliant vehicle for pensions provisions. At this early stage, a management committee has been appointed. An IORP
News from Belgium – An Update on Pensions and Blue Collar vs White Collar
Demographic factors and the current socio-economic context present major challenges to the statutory (i.e., state) pensions system. Lowering the statutory pension age is not an option, nor is increasing contributions. These two factors together inevitably lead to a tightening of the conditions for access to statutory pensions and to early retirement, as recent government measures in this area confirm.