Global Benefits Group (GBG), a specialty insurance organization administering international health, life, disability, and travel insurance today announced the launch of its new brand and newly designed website, gbg.com.

The redesigned site brings together their regions and divisions all under one holistic site.

The new website provides visitors and partners with a simpler way to learn about GBG’s capabilities on a cutting-edge platform. 

Chris DiSipio, Chief Executive Officer, Global Benefits Group, comments, "We are proud to introduce the new GBG brand as it aligns with our continued dedication to serve customers around the world."

GBG has nearly 40 years of experience providing support and guidance around the world.  The new brand demonstrates the passionate team of experts that handles the intricacies of international insurance so clients can live their life no matter where their lives take them…Go, we’ll be there!

Learn more by watching our latest corporate video, then come explore the new GBG at gbg.com.

ABOUT GBG: Global Benefits Group (GBG) is a global insurance group that administers and underwrites international health, life, disability, and travel insurance. With a client base that spans multinational corporations, expatriates, international students, high net-worth individuals, international schools, and non-profit organizations, GBG is committed to delivering outstanding customer service to the globally mobile population.

Global Benefits Group (GBG) is the marketing name for GBGI Limited and its subsidiary and affiliated companies. 

• Bancassurance groups accounted for over 8% of the value of the global insurance market in 2019;
• 2 France-based groups (Crédit Agricole and BNP Paribas) lead the way by business underwritten;
• Although some banking groups have been divesting their insurance interests, others are expanding in this field.

According to Insuramore’s global rankings, and with a combined total of USD 518 billion (up from USD 493 billion in 2018), the top 100 insurers owned by banking or postal service groups accounted for 8.1% of gross direct premiums written and related inflows worldwide across all types of insurance (i.e. life / annuity, health and P&C / non-life) in 2019. In descending order, the leading five groups by this measure were Crédit Agricole, BNP Paribas, Japan Post, Intesa Sanpaolo and Poste Italiane. Overall, three of the top 100 such groups were headquartered in Africa or the Middle East, 34 in the Asia-Pacific region, two in Australasia, 43 in Europe, ten in Latin America and six in North America.

In spite the vast size of the domestic US insurance market, only two US-based groups featured in the top 100, namely Citigroup (ranked 55th, thanks to its Citibanamex Seguros operation in Mexico) and Ally Financial (ranked 85th). Likewise, only two groups headquartered in the UK made the top 100: these were HSBC (in 13th position) and Lloyds Banking Group (ranked 12th).

Note that insurers owned by banking or postal service groups are defined by Insuramore as ones in which those groups own 50.1% or more of the insurer’s equity. Because of this definition, the premiums of banking or postal service groups that own stakes of less than 50.1% in insurers do not feature in this analysis unless the combined share of multiple shareholder banks or postal service groups comes to more than this percentage. Hence, IndiaFirst Life (as an example) is included as Bank of Baroda and Union Bank of India collectively own more than 50.1% of its share capital while Santander and UniCredit (as further examples) are excluded as the stakes of these banking groups in insurers are below this threshold and are likely instead to be consolidated in the accounts of their insurer joint venture partners.

Since the global financial crisis of more than a decade ago, there has been a general trend for banking groups to divest entirely or sell off stakes in their insurance underwriting operations, especially where considered subscale, and often in order to shore up their balance sheets. To an extent, this trend is likely to continue with several groups in the top 100 known to be exploring such options at the time of this press release. Furthermore, in the case of three of Turkey’s state-owned banking groups (Halkbank, VakifBank and Ziraatbank), their insurance subsidiaries were bought out by the country’s wealth fund (TWF) in 2020 in order to consolidate them into Turkiye Sigorta, a new state-owned insurance group.

However, the bancassurance model continues to thrive in many countries and some banking and postal service groups have been bolstering their insurance activities through selected acquisitions. For example, during 2020, South Korea’s Hana Financial acquired control of The-K Non-Life Insurance while Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo did likewise with health insurer RBS Salute. Moreover, Brazil’s Caixa Econômica Federal was in the process of re-organizing its bancassurance interests through increasing the equity stakes held in its joint ventures with CNP, Icatu and Tokio Marine, while La Banque Postale became the majority shareholder in CNP Assurances, an event that will propel it into the top five of the global ranking for 2020.

About Insuramore

Insuramore is a provider of marketing services and related consultancy with a primary focus on the insurance sector. Its positioning stems not only from the broad range of services that it offers and its worldwide coverage but also from its deep understanding of all types of insurance spanning life, health and P&C (non-life) insurance, whether bought by individual consumers, commercial enterprises, the public sector or not-for-profit entities, plus related services such as assistance and warranties. Insuramore’s insurance provider rankings provide original and unrivalled insights into carrier (underwriter) groups around the world. The full list of insurance types about which Insuramore can provide data, research and consulting services at an international level can be seen here.

Learn more at: www.insuramore.com

AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “aa” of Allianz SE (Allianz) (Germany) and its rated subsidiaries (see below for the list of the companies). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect Allianz’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorises as strongest, as well as its strong operating performance, very favourable business profile and very strong enterprise risk management.

Allianz is one of the world’s largest insurance groups, with superior diversification by geography and business line, and leading positions in many developed and emerging markets, offering a complete range of life and non-life insurance products, as well as asset management services. Its competitive position is supported by its scale, strong management capabilities, dynamic strategy and strong brand.

AM Best expects Allianz’s consolidated risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), to be maintained at the strongest level, underpinned by a prudent capital management approach. Financial leverage and coverage ratios are supportive of the balance sheet strength assessment and financial flexibility is considered excellent due to the group’s good access to capital markets.

Allianz has a track record of strong and stable operating performance, supported by its diversified earnings profile. The group has produced a five-year weighted average return on equity of 10.9% (2015-2019), as calculated by AM Best. The group’s property/casualty segment has demonstrated consistently strong performance, reporting a five-year average combined ratio of 94.7%, supported by strong group-wide pricing capabilities. The operating profit in Allianz’s life/health segment has demonstrated a five-year compound annual growth of 7%, reaching EUR 4.8 billion in 2019 despite a challenging low interest rate environment. The group’s profitable and scalable asset management business continues to provide a good additional source of income (23% of the group’s operating profit in 2019).

The FSR of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term ICR of “aa” have been affirmed with stable outlooks for the following subsidiaries of Allianz SE:

• Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty Resseguros Brasil S.A.
• Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE
• Allianz S.p.A
• Allianz Risk Transfer AG
• Allianz Risk Transfer (Bermuda) Limited
• AWP P&C S.A.
• Jefferson Insurance Company
• AWP Health & Life S.A.
• Allianz Global Risks US Insurance Company
• Allianz Underwriters Insurance Company
• AGCS Marine Insurance Company
• American Automobile Insurance Company
• Euler Hermes North America Insurance Company
• National Surety Corporation
• The American Insurance Company
• Associated Indemnity Corporation
• Chicago Insurance Company
• Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company
• Fireman’s Fund Indemnity Corporation
• Interstate Fire & Casualty Company
• Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America
• Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York
• Allianz México, S.A., Compañía de Seguros (NSR of “aaa” has been affirmed with a stable outlook)

The following Long-Term IRs have been affirmed with stable outlooks:

Allianz Finance II B.V. (debt issues are guaranteed by Allianz SE)—
-- “aa-” on EUR 2 billion 5.75% subordinated bonds, due 2041
-- “a+” on EUR 800 million 5.375% perpetual subordinated bonds
-- “aa” on EUR 750 million 3% senior unsecured bonds, due 2028
-- “aa” on GBP 750 million 4.5% senior unsecured bonds, due 2043
-- “aa” on EUR 1.5 billion 3.5% senior unsecured bonds, due 2022

Allianz SE—
-- “a+” on EUR 1.5 billion 4.75% perpetual subordinated bonds
-- “a+” on USD 1 billion 5.5% perpetual subordinated bonds
-- “aa-” on EUR 1.5 billion 5.625% subordinated bonds, due 2042
-- “a+” on EUR 1.5 billion 3.375% perpetual junior subordinated bonds

Traveller Assist Ltd. has announced today the sale of its assets and intellectual property for an undisclosed amount.

Included in the sale is international payment and insurtech platform, Payr, that was launched by Traveller Assist in 2018 to facilitate local currency transactions to network providers in complex regions around the world, and to-date has paid over £7 million in claims payments on behalf of insurers, employers and educational institutions.

In a separate agreement signed in May, Traveller Assist agreed to sell its MENA contracts and assets, including its ‘Defense Base Act’ operations, to a separate privately owned company.

Traveller Assist has been a leading medical and security assistance provider with a niche focus on complex environments, employing 37 staff and retaining a further 30 ground agents around the world, with annual combined revenues of £13.7 million.

Shareholders, Danny Kaine and Jonathan Bancroft have exited the company.

“We are humbled to have received several offers of interest to acquire Traveller Assist over the past 12-months, and I am extremely pleased to have agreed a buyout by an insurer who recognises and understands the key for travel insurers to survive and thrive in a volatile market is to control their own assistance and claims capabilities; increasing both profits and customer satisfaction.” said, Danny Kaine. “I want to extend my sincere gratitude to all employees. Your efforts, hard work and loyalty over the years helped to position the company as a market leader, build trust with clients and expand our capabilities and market share. We are very grateful for your commitment to excellence and wish you all of the success in the future as you embark on a new career with an excellent employer.”

Jonathan Bancroft commented, “I am proud of all that we have achieved over the past five years and grateful for the unwavering trust our clients have placed in us on some truly exceptional and challenging requests in remote and hostile environments around the world. Our team have never once failed to provide a suitable outcome to any assistance request and in over fifty thousand case activations, all but three were successfully answered within fifteen minutes of receiving them. I am confident that our processes, methods, systems and staff will continue to produce excellent results and give the purchasing company the edge in a competitive market.

Contracts have been exchanged and completed in relation to these acquisitions.

This deal is one of several the purchasing company are making as part of their growth strategy and due to the commercial sensitivity of these acquisitions, they will be making their own announcements in due course.

AXA – Global Healthcare, has announced the appointment of Gordon Delaney as Regional Head of Europe, effective immediately.

With 15 years’ experience in the financial services market, Delaney will oversee AXA – Global Healthcare’s newest distribution hub, based in Dublin. He will be responsible for driving distribution throughout Europe, retaining and growing business in the region, as well as continuing to develop relationships with key partners.

Having spent a large part of his career with Allianz Care, most recently as Head of Sales and Distribution for Northern, Central and Eastern Europe, Delaney brings excellent knowledge and vast experience of working in international insurance markets to the role.

Commenting on his new role, Delaney said: “I joined AXA – Global Healthcare because of its unique position in what’s an increasingly complex market. With the weight of the AXA brand and the businesses’ global capabilities I feel the potential to collaborate and grow the business is massive. To do this it’s vital we put our customers first and the new European hub allows us to do so while providing a fantastic platform to develop the business further.”

The dedicated European hub, which opened in March 2019, is already supporting AXA’s customers and new business opportunities in the region. Despite changing regulations and uncertainty around the UK’s position in the EU, by working with AXA Insurance dac, another insurer from within the AXA Group, it means AXA – Global Healthcare is well prepared to take advantage of whatever the future holds. Delaney has extensive experience of the local regulatory market as well as other markets across the region in which AXA operates.

Kevin Melton, Global Head Sales and Marketing AXA – Global Healthcare, commented: “Considering his extensive experience we’re looking forward to realising the value that Gordon will bring to our global team. Together with our distribution hubs in the UK and Hong Kong, and AXA’s capabilities in the Middle East, our new European hub demonstrates our continued commitment to the global healthcare market and our ability to meet the regional needs of clients, on a global scale.”

The U.S. insurance industry’s overall holdings of structured securities rose for a third straight year, by nearly 7% in 2018, and now top the $1 trillion mark, according to a new AM Best report.

The new Best’s Special Report, titled, “Insurers’ Structured Securities Holdings Continue to Rise,” states that all three U.S. insurance segments grew their structured securities holdings in 2018, with property/casualty holdings up by 14.3%; life/annuity holdings by 4.1%; and health by 22.2%. Market issuance of structured securities declined marginally in 2018, by 3%, but was up 4.9% in 2017, after rising 11% in 2016 and 16% in 2015. Collateralized loan obligations (CLO) issuance dropped by nearly 5% in 2018 to $280.7 billion, but between 2016 and 2017 had more than doubled. Insurers continue to add to their CLO allocations, with industry holdings climbing consistently each of the last five years, up 28% in 2018 to $82.2 billion. The life/annuity segment holds roughly 80% of industry CLOs, and its holdings increased by 25% in 2018 to approximately $65 billion.

Other report highlights include:

• Since 2016, the life/annuity segment has reported a decline of 7.2% in residential mortgage-backed securities, but increases of 13.1% in commercial mortgage-backed securities, and 14.9% in other asset-backed securities.
• New issues of student loan-backed securities (SLABS) increased by 18% in 2018 to $18.9 billion, following a decline of more than 2% in 2017.
• The life/annuity industry was the only major U.S. insurance segment to reduce its SLAB holdings in 2018, but all three increased their SLAB holdings substantially in 2017, with the life/annuity segment increasing its holdings by almost $2 billion (31%).
• Insurers’ holdings in auto loan-backed securities remain modest, at $16 billion, as are holdings in credit-card backed securities. Exposure is minimal, and over 98% are investment grade.

Structured securities can provide bond portfolio diversification, and AM Best views allocations to various types of structured securities as it would many other traditional asset classes, and expects companies to be able to discuss their investments in detail as part of the rating process.

To access the full copy of this special report, please visit http://www3.ambest.com/bestweek/purchase.asp?record_code=288181.

Global Insurance News: A.M. Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “a-” of Colina Insurance Limited (Colina).

Concurrently, A.M. Best has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of “bbb-” of Colina Holdings Bahamas Limited (CHBL) [BISX:CHL]. Both companies are domiciled in Nassau, Bahamas. Colina is a wholly owned subsidiary of its publicly traded parent, CHBL, which in turn is majority owned by AF Holdings Ltd. (AFH). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The rating affirmations for Colina reflect the company’s leading position in the life/health market in the Bahamas, its strong risk-adjusted capitalization and favorable operating results. Partially offsetting these strengths are delinquencies in the company’s mortgage loan portfolio and a narrow geographic profile in the Bahamas.

Colina enjoys a leading market share in the region in its selected segments and its risk-adjusted capitalization is appropriate relative to its investment and insurance risks. A.M. Best expects a continuation of a normalized level of profitability based on recent performance measures including favorable return metrics. However, given the mature nature of the market, Colina’s top line growth has been fairly flat in recent years.

Economic headwinds within the Bahamas’ economy and potential mortgage loan delinquencies continue to pose rating concerns for the company in the near to intermediate term. While A.M. Best remains concerned over mortgage loan exposures and delinquencies relative to total stockholders’ equity, A.M. Best notes that over the past several years the company has decreased its exposure to such asset classes in the aggregate and as a percentage of total invested assets.

Please introduce yourself and background in the international private medical insurance industry?

I was an ACII and for many years worked for brokers and insurers in the London insurance market in a range of roles. These included negotiating national schemes and policy wordings, market research, product development, product comparisons and marketing/advertising. And I was a co-founder of the General Insurance Market Research Association.

In the last - cough - years I have made a living by writing and researching about insurance, financial products, global healthcare and medical tourism for a wide range of magazines and websites. This includes various activities for the Chartered Insurance Institute and editing parts of Kluwer's Handbook of Insurance.

Books include ones on international directors and officers liability, and on competitor analysis in financial services. I have also published 200 plus research reports on insurance, health, medical tourism and finance. Until recently I actually forgot that I had written the first ever study of international health and health insurance for a publisher now long gone. The 2016 IPMI report is the sixth one in over a decade- and at 1500 pages the biggest ever.

In your most recent report, International And Expatriate Healthcare And Insurance 2016, you layout how IPMI, healthcare and health insurance works in over 150 countries. Why do 1- insurers; 2- corporations; 3 - brokers; 4 - international hospitals; 5 - assistance providers; 6 - ground and air ambulance providers, need this information?

Keeping up with what is happening on healthcare, insurance, legislation, expats insurers and brokers- takes me a couple of hours a day at least. By speed reading and knowing what I need to find and how to find things, it is manageable. So if you have to do your normal job and then keep up with all that too it is impossible and easy to miss trends, new competitors, new product and marketing ideas and all the techie stuff too.

244 Million People live away from their country of birth. There will be 60 million expatriates by 2020. What does this mean for payors and providers in the business?

It used to be easy- you had locals, refugees, and expats. Some workers are now global rather than temporary expats- and then you have economic and social and political migrants. When does an expat become a migrant? Many countries now refer to citizens and non citizens- and have rules on who gets what on healthcare. So referring to expats as a specialist class is out of date and not how laws and rules are made. In a global business world, with increased rules on who they can and cannot employ- it is hard for insurers to offer cover A to expats and cover B or no cover to locals. For each country you have to understand the rules on healthcare, health insurance, local cover, and even price and cover regulation-before you even try to offer a policy. There are far more risks on offering offshore covers than five years ago - and sadly, some insurers and brokers still offer a " one size fits all" cover that may neither be legal nor appropriate.

Risk is changing. Does insurance require reinvention in 2016 to mitigate new risks that pose major threats to global travellers and expats? 

The number of insurers rushing to add health information and help on relocation has been overtaken by those offering help and information on terrorism, political risk and other non-medical help. What concerns me is that some just offer advice, which to my mind is useless unless you have a way to evacuate or protect people who suddenly become at risk.

How can we educate the entire IPMI industry about global trends and what do payors and providers need to get their head around?

As well as all the factors I mentioned before, you need to keep up to date with the way technology and social media is changing how insurers, intermediaries, customers and healthcare providers work and interact. There are mind blowing changes happening and those that do not keep up will vanish. For insurers and brokers there are companies from Asia, China, Africa, The Middle East and Latin America who want a multi country presence on health insurance- and some of these are so new that they look at new ways to design products and link technology with health. Stand still and you risk being trampled.

Insurers are rebranding as global health services companies. Insurance is a given. What opportunities exist?

With PMI, IPMI, health cash, major medical, micro health and other variations there is a health policy for everyone. But many insurers are stuck with just offering one or two of these. Some new insurers have combined categories or change how it is done. It is easy to get into a UK, US or European mind set of what a health insurance product is and ignore how technology can be used to simplify the historic practices.

How can we define IPMI in 2016?

Health insurance with an increasing raft of add-ons, extra services, options and non-insurance extras ranging from cheap cinema tickets to a risk profile of the country you may move to next. This is in danger of being a car that has been retuned, added to and with so many functions that the focus is lost. Car dealers reckon that motorists use, or even know about, only a fraction of the features in their car- and health insurance is going that way.

How will we define IPMI in 2021?

Those thinking ahead see that it is no longer about having insurance and tacking everything else on to it like some mad scientist- but in offering health and lifestyle assistance and protection to individuals and companies- where insurance is just a back stop when everything else fails. It is bringing wellness, health (in mind and body) and humanity to the forefront and hanging on services of which insurance is just a part. But at the other extreme you have micro health cover with low price, simple cover, little or no choice or extras, direct billing and all done by social media in the cloud so hardly any admin. You could have virtual insurers with no offices- and before dismissing this as barmy, publishers of web magazines are closing their offices and just have a handful of people working remotely.

What more can be done to assist the under insured and those on low incomes access decent healthcare globally?

Micro health insurance targeting people who would not normally buy health insurance is a huge growth market in Africa and Asia - where major insurers see that if they can make money on low price products they can use that technology and methodology to simplify how they handle PMI and IPMI. One country has 34 people with micro insurance including micro health and expects that to be 50 million by 2020.

What reports are you working on next?

My annual Medical Tourism Facts and Figures one is being updated- but that has become a settled market.

After that I am doing a brand new one on micro insurance - with a focus on micro health. That is something I have followed for years but only recently have major insurers taken it seriously.

And then - some time off; with the next one and area that insurers are struggling with- peer-to-peer insurance. I have done reports on peer to peer lending but how p to p insurance works and why it is different from traditional mutuals is something to get my head round.

What annoys you?

As well as lying politicians, celebrities who are famous for nothing, techies of driverless cars that think lorries and buses will give way to cars at junctions- and the way my football team is playing - boiler plate research reports which confuse PMI and IPMI, mix both in with accident and critical illness, mix it with life insurance and income protection cover- and most recently, thinking medical cover under travel insurance is part of health insurance and not part of travel insurance. Other pet hates are press releases with" we are delighted to" or " we are announcing the launch" or " really unique" or " X will help us take the company to the next level' or" Z has been specially designed to cater for".

What enthuses you?

Insurers and brokers used to be grey men in grey suits with grey minds, with a few girls there for show.  It is now far more equal and with many bright people using technology and ideas that perhaps those running the companies do not really get. If it can bring in more scientists, engineers, social thinkers and not just those with a financial background or are happy to follow orders-then it can thrive.  It needs disrupters, people who annoy bosses by challenging how anything is done, and those who can look at health insurance upside down and insight out.

iPMI Magazine Speaks With Ian Youngman About International Private Medical Insurance (IPMI)