Towers Watson shareholders should reject Willis deal say advisors
Shareholders of New York based insurer Towers Watson should reject the merger deal proposed by Willis Group. That’s the advice from two proxy advisors, Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis & Co. which both believe there’s a better deal to be done. Bloomberg reports that ISS has warned that Towers’ shares have declined since the merger was revealed and Willis’ effective premium on the $8.7 billion deal is also now worth less. Glass Lewis opined that “the better option at this time is to remain a standalone company.” Shareholders of Towers and Willis are due to vote on the deal on November 18.
Insurers named among Canada’s best employers
Some of Canada’s insurance firms have been named among the best employers in the country compiled by consultancy firm
Aon Hewitt.
Allstate Insurance Company,
Chubb Insurance and
Intact Financial are among those listed for 2016. The rankings are decided following submissions from employees and HR professionals.
MetLife could face “significant” fine over retirement-income allegations
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s investigation into alleged issues with retirement income products sold by MetLife could result in a “significant fine” the insurer was warned Thursday. The probe focuses on the MetLife Securities division and whether Finra rules were breached on variable annuities. The Wall Street Journal says that MetLife is co-operating fully with the probe but issued a statement saying: “we strongly disagree with the conclusions reached by Finra, and we will defend ourselves vigorously.”
Health Insurance sales teams receiving incentives not wage hikes
If you are part of the sales team at a US health insurance company, your salary may have been pretty flat with pressure increasing to make up your income from incentives. An in-depth study of 25 health insurance companies found a strong correlation between pay and performance. On average, sales representatives receive as little as half of their potential income as salary. The other half of their income is “at risk” and must be earned through commissions or bonuses for sales and/or renewals.
The study, by HR+ Survey Solutions, found that reps that exceeded quota earned as much as double their target incentive and averaged about 20 per cent more in total compensation (base + incentive) than target. In contrast, sales reps missing their quota earned less than half (about 40 per cent) of their target bonus. The study also found that the size of goals and quota vary significantly for each sales representative and the reps with larger goals receive greater compensation.
