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.
Willis revenue rises as commissions increase 3%
Willis has announced a 2% rise in revenues to $3.34bn (£2.08bn) for the year ended 31 December 2010 (2009: $3.26bn).
TEn commits to Aldermanbury
TEn Insurance has become the first stand-alone network to sign the Aldermanbury Declaration.
Keynote speakers revealed for Biba 2011
The keynote speakers for this year’s the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (Biba) conference have been confirmed as Greg Case, president and CEO of Aon Corporation, explorer Ed Stafford who was the first man to walk the length of the Amazon and…
HSB appoints London and South East regional manager
Sian Williams, regional broking director at Willis, has moved to HSB Engineering as regional manager for London and the South East.
Reportage - training delivery: Digital vs. face to face
Traditionally, training has been about face-to-face contact but there has recently been an increase in online offerings, which claim to provide the same quality of tuition with less cost and increased convenience. Edward Murray looks at the pros and cons…
Focus - Broker funding: Finding your way through
With the major banks still cautious about lending, brokers are finding it tough to access funding for growth. Rachel Gordon looks at the options.
The PB Interview - Laurent Matras: Through the storm
Laurent Matras, managing director at Groupama Insurances, tells Andrew Tjaardstra about the state of the insurance market and how he is working closely with brokers to give his firm a competitive advantage.
Five new members join Willis Networks
Five new members have joined Willis Networks, bringing its combined membership to 111 firms.
Willis Networks appoints regional MDs
Willis Group Holdings has announced the appointment of two new regional managing directors for Willis Networks.
News round-up: Business continuity
According to research from the Business Continuity Institute on behalf of the Chartered Insurance Institute, insurance professionals need a more consistent message when promoting the benefits of business continuity plans.
News review: October
The founder and chairman of direct insurer Esure, Peter Wood, revealed that 2014 would be the earliest date that the company would launch an initial public offering.
Willis net income remains flat during first nine months
Willis has reported a drop in net income to $64m for Q3 2010 (Q3 2009: $78m) and net income for the nine months ending 30 September 2010 of $357m, which is the same figure as last year.
Willis opens new Birmingham office
Willis Group Holdings has opened a new office in Birmingham's jewellery quarter.
Willis develops group mining practice
Willis has brought the leaders and teams of its main mining businesses under one umbrella to create a worldwide group practice, reporting to Steve Hearn, London-based chairman of global markets international.
The PB Interview - Tim Ryan: Local hero
Andrew Tjaardstra meets Tim Ryan in Ipswich, where he is fighting hard against the recession and the force of the consolidators.
Editor's comment: Commercial rates still not good enough
As revealed in our latest Sentiment Survey, there is still a considerable problem in the commercial market when it comes to rate strengthening.
Reportage - state of the market: Caring for the community
There was a time when networks were touted as the best alternative to brokers that did not want to sell out to a consolidator. Louise Meeson assesses the current state of the market and asks if the same arguments in support of network membership still…
Injury claims costs in motor rising by nearly a third a year, claims Towers Watson
The cost of injury claims in the UK car insurance market has grown recently by nearly 30% per annum according to Towers Watson.
Xchanging hires new broking chief from Marsh
Xchanging has announced the appointment of former CEO of the specialities and large accounts division of Marsh, Artur Niemczewski, as managing director of Xchanging Broking Services (XBS).
Viewpoint: The pros and cons of commission disclosure
Evolution Underwriting CEO Paul Upton evaluates the pros and cons of commission disclosure for large and small brokers as the transparency of the current model comes under scrutiny by professionals in the US and the UK as well as by the European…
News review: August
Axa Insurance customer experience director, Paul Meehan, expressed interest in filling the senior management vacancy in the company's commercial division.
Interview: The almost great and the good
Martin Friel talks to Theo Duchen and David McDonald about how Acturis is over-delivering in professionalism and efficiency in a bid to achieve greatness
Willis teams up for Patentwize
Willis Group Holdings has announced it is partnering with Innography to launch Willis PatentWize, an enterprise-wide business intelligence solution designed to help companies better manage their intellectual property risks.
Confidence grows as broker recruitment activity picks up
Broker recruitment activity has increased by between 50% and 60% this year, according to financial recruiting company Joslin Rowe.