Willis Group

Willis Group Holdings plc

Company type	Public limited company
Industry	Insurance brokerage, risk consultancy, reinsurance intermediary
Founded	1828
Founder	Henry Willis
Defunct	2016
Fate	Acquired Towers Watson and rebranded as Willis Towers Watson
Headquarters	London , United Kingdom
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Insurance brokerage, risk consultancy, reinsurance intermediary services

Willis Group Holdings plc operated as a global risk consultancy, insurance brokerage, and reinsurance intermediary firm, with its main office located in the Willis Building in London. It was recognized as the third-largest insurance brokerage firm worldwide by revenue. In 2016, the company acquired Towers Watson and subsequently rebranded itself as Willis Towers Watson.

History

The company traces its origins back to 1828 when Henry Willis founded it, initially dealing in imported goods on commission at the Baltic Exchange before diversifying into marine insurance and establishing Henry Willis & Company. By 1896, it expanded into the United States via a collaboration with Johnson & Higgins.

In 1898, Willis combined forces with Faber Brothers to create Willis Faber, and three decades later in 1928, it merged again with Dumas & Wylie, resulting in Willis, Faber & Dumas. The 1950s saw growth in its actuarial services parallel to the development of private pension schemes.

Willis became a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange in 1976. During the 1980s, its reinsurance operations experienced significant expansion, overtaking its marine brokerage activities. The company merged with Corroon & Black in 1990 to form Willis Corroon Group, which ranked as the fourth-largest insurance broker worldwide at that time.

A leveraged buyout by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts occurred in 1998, leading to the adoption of the Willis Group name in 1999. The firm then debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in 2001.

In October 2008, Willis enhanced its footprint in North America by acquiring Hilb, Rogal & Hobbs Co. for $2.1 billion. By December 2009, it transferred its registered office from Bermuda to Ireland.

In 2015, Willis obtained a £22 million settlement from competitor Jardine Lloyd Thompson concerning allegations of employee poaching.

The most significant development took place in 2016 when Willis completed an $18 billion acquisition of Towers Watson—a company created from the 2009 merger between Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt Worldwide—forming Willis Towers Watson. Although initially met with shareholder opposition, approval was secured after an increased dividend offer was made to Towers Watson shareholders.

Notable office locations

• Willis Building – The company’s London headquarters, occupied beginning in May 2008.

• Willis Building located in Ipswich, England; one of the earliest projects designed by Norman Foster following the establishment of Foster Associates. Constructed between 1970 and 1975, it is among Britain's youngest structures granted Grade I listed building status.

• Willis Tower – A skyscraper with 110 floors situated in Chicago. Willis acquired naming rights in July 2009 as part of leasing arrangements within the building. It held the title of tallest building in the United States from 1974 until 2014 and was the tallest globally from 1974 through 1998.

Sponsorship

The firm sponsored The Willis Resilience Expedition, a scientific project conducted from November 2013 to January 2014 in Antarctica, which aimed at researching climate change and improving resilience against weather-related hazards.