News

--Broker Establishes New Region with Addition of Three New Members with Combined Revenue of Over GBP 20 Million--  

London, UK, January 05, 2010 – Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH), the global insurance broker, today announced that it is expanding its highly successful UK Willis Commercial Network (WCN) business model into Northern Ireland with the addition of three new independent brokers, including McCausland Light & Rankin and Dickson & Co, both of which join on January 1, 2010, and another soon-to-be-announced member firm, which will commence trading within the Network from March 1.

Established in 1993 with two offices in Belfast, McCausland Light & Rankin are commercial insurance brokers with a particular strength in transportation insurance and a wide range of property insurance clients varying from single occupancy to industrial estates. 

Commenting on the reasons for joining the WCN, Gary McCausland, Managing Director of McCausland Light & Rankin, said, "We have always prided ourselves on being independent and providing a personal service, but we saw the opportunity to tap into the resources of a bigger organisation, while still retaining our own independence, as being a great advantage. The WCN gives us better access to markets for clients who have business outside of Northern Ireland." Dickson & Co was established in 1992 and has grown to become a leading commercial and personal lines broker with their head office based in Co Tyrone and with a network of six offices throughout Northern Ireland.

Ashley Dickson, Managing Director, Dickson & Co, saw joining the WCN as a progressive step in aiding the future development of his company. He said, "By becoming a Willis Networks member, we will be able to expand on the range of services that we can provide to our clients by accessing the specialist skills of Willis. We will also strengthen our own team through the sales training and support the Network provides."

A third Northern Irish broker will commence trading within the Network in March, bringing the combined revenues of the first three Northern Irish members to more than GBP 20 million.

Phil Scarrett, Managing Director, Willis Networks, said, "We are pleased to announce the establishment of a new region for the WCN in Northern Ireland. Northern Irish brokers are fiercely independent and they value the fact that as part of the Willis Network they will have total autonomy. As our first Network members in Northern Ireland, McCausland Light & Rankin and Dickson & Co embody the professional, independent and ambitious spirit of the Willis Commercial Network. We look forward to a long and successful partnership with them and a strong network presence in Northern Ireland."

Mark Radburn Appointed CEO, Willis Networks International; Phil Scarrett to lead UK Networks

London, UK, November 4, 2009 – Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH), the global insurance broker, today announced plans to expand its successful Willis Commercial Network business model for serving independent brokers from its base in the UK to countries around the world.

To oversee the expansion, Willis has appointed Mark Radburn CEO, Willis Networks International.  Radburn, who has developed and led Willis Networks for seven years, will report to Sarah Turvill, CEO, Willis International. Phil Scarrett, currently Managing Director of Willis UK & Ireland's Commercial business, will succeed Radburn as Managing Director, Willis Networks, in the UK, and will continue to report to Brendan McManus, CEO, Willis UK & Ireland.Willis Networks was established in the UK in 1999 and is comprised of the Willis Commercial Network, representing more than 81 regional brokers who place in excess of GBP 350 million in premium; and Willis N2, which represents 21 smaller, community brokers who place around  GBP 50 million in premium. Members of Willis Networks receive technical and sales training from Willis, as well as strategic marketing, compliance, business development and sales support, along with access to Willis' global placement and industry resources.

Commenting on the appointments, McManus said, "The key to the success of Willis Networks has been the independence of its members and their access to our strong trading relationships with leading insurers, cutting-edge technology and business support and training services. We believe that the name we have created for our Networks in the UK will resonate in other markets around the world and have appointed Mark to lead the initial charge into Europe and Latin America. The UK networks remain the jewel in our crown and Phil's experience will help us reach our goals of growing the Willis Commercial Network to 100 members and Willis N2 to 120 members by 2011."

Radburn has 30 years of insurance brokerage experience. He joined Willis from JLT in 1996 as Sales & Marketing Director for the Willis UK & Ireland central region. He was instrumental in formulating the Willis Commercial Network strategy and was appointed Managing Director in 2002. Since then, Radburn has built Willis Networks into the leading partnership of its kind in the UK. He is also the Chairman of the Faculty of Insurance Broking, part of the UK's Chartered Insurance Institute. He sits on the Board of Polaris, a company owned and controlled by the UKinsurance industry that focuses on streamlining insurance transactions. Mark has a Masters Degree in Strategic Marketing and is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute.

Scarrett started at Willis in May 2008 as Managing Director of the UK & Ireland Commercial division. He joined from Norwich Union where he held various roles in their Intermediary Business, the most recent being Director of Trading for Regional Brokers (North) and then Director of Trading for its National Broker business. Scarrett brings a wealth of experience in developing broker relationships to the role. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute. 

London, UK, October 9, 2009 – Willis Networks today announced its first network member graduate of its Chartered Management Institute (CMI) accreditation scheme.

Willis Commercial Network (WCN) member Chris Harper Insurer Relations Director of Berkeley Insurance Group has successfully completed the CMI Level Seven accreditation through the Willis Networks training programme. He is now a CMI member and intends to continue the programme to become a Chartered Manager, which will significantly enhance Berkeley Insurance Group Ltd, which employs 55 staff. Eight other WCN members are currently taking part in the scheme Including Henshalls Insurance Brokers, Gauntlet Risk Management. K L Plester Insurance Service Limited, Scrutton Bland Ltd and Heartland Ltd with more anticipated to join in 2010.

As part of its ongoing initiative to train and support independent regional brokers, Willis Networks has developed a roster of training programmes dedicated to enhancing the management skills and expertise of its network members. The current courses include an executive development programme and a supervisors course. Last year the WCN aligned and extended these programmes to the CMI qualification to enable network members to combine and develop their practical business experience in conjunction with the theory of the programme to develop their managers.

Anne Hughes, Operations Director, Willis Networks, said, "The training offered by the Willis Commercial Network only serves to further highlight our commitment to helping regional brokers thrive in these difficult times. I congratulate Chris on his achievement and look forward to seeing businesses like Berkeley Insurance Group grow as their managers reap the benefits of the CMI training."

Chris Harper said, "I am delighted to have finished the first part of this scheme, and am eager to take the next steps towards becoming a Chartered Manager. The Willis Commercial Network has provided a vital stepping stone through the CMI scheme and I am sure that many more will see their businesses enhanced through this service."

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About CMI

The CMI is only chartered professional body that is dedicated to management and leadership. They are committed to raising the performance of business by championing management, and do this through supporting and advising individuals and organisations, or through engaging policy makers and key influencers in government and the management profession.

About Berkeley Insurance Group

Berkeley Insurance Group Ltd completed a management buy-out of the general insurance business in 2008. They have been members of WCN since 2000. They are the fifth largest Chartered Insurance Broker in the UK and have a gross written premium approaching £40m. Group Chairman Andrew Bedford said 'We are delighted Chris Harper has achieved this qualification which will be invaluable in his personal development'.

London, UK, September 30, 2009 – Willis Commercial Network (WCN) announced today the launch of an initiative in conjunction with its insurer partners to eliminate inefficiencies in the joint renewals process.

The initiative aims to eliminate or modify non-value add parts of network members and insurer partners processes. It will also focus on getting a joint agreement on timely and "right first time" renewal processes for the future, which will be delivered through efficient and effective internal procedures. This will save time and resource and will streamline the renewals process for both parties, but most importantly it will improve the service experience for clients.

At the Willis Commercial Networks' tenth anniversary conference in July, WCN members and representatives from Aviva, Allianz, Axa, Zurich and RSA took part in a Continuous Improvement Masterclass run by the Warwick Business School. At this workshop, inefficiencies in the renewals process – including what information is collected and how it is exchanged with insurers – were cited as one of the biggest stumbling blocks for brokers. The WCN members and insurers present resolved to work together on a project, spearheaded by the Willis Networks management team, to eliminate these inefficiencies.

After taking part in the workshops at the conference, Janice Deakin, Corporate Sales Director, Aviva, commented, "I was taken aback by some of the inefficiencies in the current renewal process and was sure such processes could be streamlined even further with insurers' input.  I therefore gave a commitment that Aviva would actively engage in such an exercise with both the Willis Networks team and WCN members, as this will ultimately benefit all the parties to this partnership."

The Continuous Improvement Project began a year ago when Willis introduced its network members to Japanese Kaizen principles and tools to help them improve their business processes. The principle of Kaizen is to bring together the constituent parts of a team and office to collectively review real-life performance issues, with the aim of improving processes and resolving the issues.

The Kaizen principles were initially applied in pilot programmes at several WCN-member brokers, in which process inefficiencies were identified and improvements put in place with great success. In these pilots, it was discovered that there were various underlying types of "waste" in most of the businesses, including duplication of work, poor access to and storage of information, and the incorrect allocation of administrative tasks to senior employees.  Each member conceded there were certain efficiencies that could be achieved if they were able to include their insurer partners within this review and improvement process.

Willis Networks Managing Director, Mark Radburn said, "I am excited by the launch of this project, which we are hoping will have dramatic positive repercussions among our members and the clients they serve. It is vital that the network community works together to help each other thrive, particularly in these tumultuous times. Through this project our members and insurer partners will be able to do more with the resources they each have because they will have tackled the daily process frustrations which currently get in the way."

Following on from the success of the previous workshops, the Willis Networks management team is currently organising a one-day workshop in October to kick off the new renewals improvement project. Participants will be drawn from WCN's insurer partners, network members and the Willis Networks operations team.