Willis Towers Watson
In 1828 Henry Willis began his career as a merchant selling imported goods on commission in the UK at the Baltic Exchange in London. Willis applied for membership of Lloyd’s in 1848, where he started to broker insurance for the cargoes of commodities he sold on commission. As his enterprise grew, he became involved in the hull business, establishing himself in marine insurance and founding Henry Willis & Company. Today WTW, created by the merger of Willis and Towers Watson in 2016, aims to provide data-driven, insight-led solutions in the areas of people, risk and capital to help make organization more resilient, motivate workforces, and maximize performance.
Willis Towers Watson features in the Insurance Age Top 75 UK Brokers listing. Find out what other companies made the cut.
Garwyn appoints ex-Marsh CEO
Loss adjuster Garwyn has appointed Artur Niemczewski as chief executive officer.
Aon takes 10 floors of 'Cheese Grater'
Aon is to move into the heart of the London insurance community after agreeing to take 10 floors of the Leadenhall Building in Leadenhall Street.
Jelf targets South-East business
Jelf Insurance has appointed Lee Gwilliam as business development executive to boost the company’s profile in the South East.
Nine more for Willis Networks
Willis Networks has signed up nine new members, taking total membership to 125 independent UK brokers.
Products: Willis offers hotels cover against loss of reputation
Willis has teamed up with Lloyd’s of London underwriter Kiln to create Hotel Reputation Protection 2.0, a new policy designed to limit the financial fallout from negative public relations exposure for hotels.
Product roundup: Cleaning up in a commercial niche
Groupama is aiming to sweep up business in the cleaning world, an industry it believes has a turnover of £5.3bn a year. The latest addition to its Exclusively range, which is available for open market trading, allows brokers to flex their commission…
It’s tough at the top
Is the spate of high-profile departures at the top of large industry players indicative of deeper troubles in the market?
Income down at Willis UK
Willis Group has announced a 4% growth in commission and fees for the third quarter of 2011 to $755m (£472.6m) compared to $723m in the same period of 2010.
Willis promotes from within to replace McManus
Willis has appointed Daniel Wilkinson as chief executive officer for Willis United Kingdom & Ireland (WUKI).
Jardine Matheson increases JLT stake to 40%
Jardine Matheson’s bid for a 10% increase in its shareholding of JLT has won both shareholder and regulatory support.
King quits RFIB
RFIB has confirmed that chief executive officer and minority shareholder Marshall King will be leaving the company and that current group chief financial officer Jonathan Turnbull will take up the position of CEO with immediate effect.
Insurance Age blog: McManus for Towergate?
Well the big news this week is the departure of Brendan McManus, CEO of Willis UK, from the company.
Brendan McManus parts company with Willis
Willis has announced the departure of Brendan McManus, CEO of Willis.
Clear appoints from Willis Networks
Clear Insurance Management has appointed Simon Taylor, previously regional managing director for Willis Network, to the role of executive director.
Willis and Kiln launch new protection policy for hotels
Willis Group and Kiln, a Lloyd’s of London underwriter, have joined forces to create a policy aimed at protecting hotels from financial loss arising out of adverse publicity.
Willis Argentina names new CEO
Willis has appointed Seth Peller CEO of Willis Argentina with immediate effect.
Grant Ellis scoops achievement award at UK Broker Awards
Bartlett & Co won both the Chartered and Commercial Lines Broker of the Year awards and Broker Network’s Grant Ellis bagged the Achievement Award at this year's UK Broker Awards.
Editor’s letter - August 2011
“My guess is that although there will be further high-profile examples made, this type of practice will continue unfettered”
Network Spotlight day 11: Willis’ Fardon foresees imminent network mergers
Sara Fardon, managing director of Willis Networks, claims in the penultimate interview for Network Spotlight that 43% of brokers are part of a network or a club and that weaker networks could fold within a year.
Network spotlight series
Insurance Age has interviewed the leaders of the networks to ask them why there are more brokers outside networks than in and what steps they have taken to help members in the past year.
UK plc disadvantaged by bribery crackdown
If the FSA pursues firms over bribery it could lead to UK companies losing business abroad
Burke predicts interim profits at Thistle in 2012
Chief executive of JLT, Dominic Burke, has predicted that Thistle Insurance will beat its 2010 full year trading profit of £4.8m this year.
Willis Networks in member deal with Our Network
Willis Networks and the Broker Direct-owned Our Network have announced a partnership that will give Our Network members access to products and services of Willis’ N² proposition.