Zurich introduces international programs for employee benefits

Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) introduces “Zurich International Programs for Employees”, a new state-of-the-art international employee benefits solution for multi-national corporations. Its centralized approach to managing employee benefits offers a holistic view of risks that multi-nationals face.

In a globalized world, the traditional fragmented approach to employee benefits creates many challenges for large companies. In dealing with a number of different providers globally, it is difficult to centralize control and risk management, as well as take advantage of the potential cost efficiencies of their global scale. Multinational companies and their employee benefit consultants are therefore looking to reduce complexity and costs while also ensuring that they have the appropriate level of coverage in place and that it is aligned with local regulation.

People risk is a key part of the risk landscape

“Zurich International Programs for Employees”, which will be launched in 2016, meets those needs. It allows multi-national companies to manage their employee benefits coverages through a single global program, combining local policies with cross-border policies to simplify program structure. This enables companies to take a holistic approach in offering benefits solutions to their employees. It also provides companies with a single view of their global benefits programs, with central data and report provision.

The new solution was presented at the biannual meeting of the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) in Venice, Italy. Hanno Mijer, Global Head of Corporate Life & Pensions at Zurich, said: “People risk is a key part of the risk landscape. In General Insurance, we have delivered international programs for more than 40 years. Now we are using this knowledge and the infrastructure with our multinational employee benefits customers, giving them a truly holistic view of their risks.”

Solution meets the needs of multi-national corporation

Zurich’s International Programs for Employees was first formally introduced at Zurich's Global Risk Management Summit in September 2015 and received positive feedback from customers. British Telecom is one of the multinational companies that has shown interest in becoming a pilot customer for this new solution. Tracey Skinner, Director of Insurance and Risk Financing at British Telecom Group, took part at a panel discussion and commented: “It is a central challenge for global corporations to manage purchase of employee benefits and non-life insurance products and services. With a good relationship between Risk Managers and Human Resources and the new approach presented by Zurich we will be able to finance the best cover for employees and manage the risk more efficiently through our Captive.”