Global insurer to allow parents up to 16 weeks paid leave
French-based global insurance company
AXA has announced a new parental leave policy for its employees.
From January 1, 2017, new parents working for the insurer across its 64-country operations, will be entitled to 16 weeks of paid leave if they are the primary parent and 4 weeks if they are the co-parent.
In both cases the worker will be guaranteed a return to an equivalent role with similar terms and conditions.
AXA says that while employees in its native Europe enjoy certain parental leave rights, this is not the case in many of its other operating countries. It notes the absence of mandated parental leave in the US.
Marsh acquires Benefits Resource Group
Marsh & McLennan Agency has acquired Ohio-based Benefits Resource Group for an undisclosed sum.
The employee benefits firm focuses on midsize employers in Ohio and will join MMA’s Midwest region. It will continue to operate out of the firm’s existing office under the leadership of its CEO, Charles Farro, and President, Ross Farro.
“Benefits Resource Group’s talented and experienced employee benefits professionals are a welcome addition to MMA’s Midwest region,” said Jeff Lightner, president and CEO of MMA-Midwest. “With BRG, we enhance our employee benefits presence and leadership in the Ohio market.”
Insurers, government, academics must collaborate on cyber
Collaboration between the insurance industry, global governments and academics is necessary to tackle to growing risk of cyber crime.
A new report from leading think tank on the insurance industry, the Geneva Association, says that there is currently a lack of data and modeling approaches to ensure that the coverage meets the risk.
“Society’s ever-growing reliance on ICT means that the risks of its failure, be it from malicious acts or system malfunction, are increasingly significant,” warns Deputy Secretary General of The Geneva Association and editor of the report, Dr Fabian Sommerrock.
“This report has been provided to increase understanding of the risk and support the insurance industry’s role in mitigating and managing it for the benefit of individuals, institutions and governments alike,” he says.
The research shows that one issue is a lack of standards, common vocabulary and best practices. It calls for the insurance industry to work with other stakeholders to fill these gaps.
There is also clearly a role for insurers to educate clients on the risk and management of cyber incidents but the Geneva Association’s report questions whether policies being developed by some brokers are less effective than a collaborative approach.
The report also suggests that governments could support insurers in the implementation of an insurance pool for a limited time or for specific cyber risks.
Professor Martin Eling, co-author of the report and Director of the Institute of Insurance Economics at the University of St. Gallen said, “The report provides us an opportunity to become part of the global dialogue on effective cyber risk management. Future work is necessary not only for the insurance industry and the government, but also much more academic research is needed to improve our understanding of this new and important type of risk.”
