The product operates through Marsh’s Mangrove Protected Cell Company, domiciled in Washington, D.C. It targets organizations with employee benefits spending outside the US of more than $3 million annually.
The launch comes as employer-provided health plans face sustained financial pressure. Marsh’s Health Trends 2026 report projects double-digit increases in health benefits costs across most markets.
Third-party data reinforces that picture. Global health insurance costs are projected to rise 10.3% in 2026, following increases of 10% in 2025 and 9.5% in 2024, per WTW’s 2026 Global Medical Trends report. New medical technologies were cited by 74% of insurers as a key driver of claims inflation.
The cost pressure has shifted employer priorities. Cost reduction is now the top priority for 54% of employers, up from 38% in 2025, according to Lockton’s 2026 National Benefits Survey. The survey drew responses from 1,705 plan sponsors. The priority placed on attracting and retaining talent fell from 44% in 2023 to just 19% in 2026.
Paul Lewis, Mercer Marsh Benefits’ multinational advisory growth leader, said organizations are focused on balancing cost management with personalized benefits delivery globally.
“By reducing the administrative effort and costs associated with utilizing a single parent captive, Marsh Nexus is a cost-efficient vehicle that complements broader benefits strategies and supports multinational organizations in optimizing next-generation employee benefit programs,” Lewis said.
Marsh Nexus targets firms that lack the scale or resources to establish a standalone captive. The structure combines portfolio management with Marsh’s global captive platform. Marsh said it reduces administrative complexity for smaller multinationals.
Employee benefits have become one of the fastest-growing lines within captive programs. The line now accounts for about 20% of Marsh’s global captive portfolio. Captives globally wrote $77 billion in premiums in 2023, a 6% increase from the prior year.
Donna Weber, Marsh Captive Solutions’ global pooling and cell facilities leader, said the use of captives for international employee benefits has more than doubled in the last five years.
“More than 140 companies now have in excess of $3 billion in premium,” Weber said. “Marsh Nexus enables clients to take an off-the-shelf, low-cost approach to risk retention and break new ground in managing mounting international employee benefits costs.”
That growth sits within a broader shift in how corporations manage risk. More than 7,000 captives are now active worldwide, writing in excess of $80 billion in premiums, per a Global Insurance Law Connect report across 20 jurisdictions. Years of hardening commercial insurance conditions have driven the expansion.
Marsh Nexus extends the firm’s global captive platform to a broader segment of the multinational market, targeting companies that previously lacked the scale to access risk retention structures for employee benefits.
