Our Company

Willis Group Holdings plc is a leading global risk advisor, insurance and reinsurance broker. With roots dating to 1828, Willis operates today on every continent with more than 18,000 employees in over 400 offices. Willis offers its clients superior expertise, teamwork, innovation and market-leading products and professional services in risk management and transfer. Our experts rank among the world’s leading authorities on analytics, modelling and mitigation strategies at the intersection of global commerce and extreme events. Find more information at our website, www.Willis.com, our leadership journal, Resilience, or our up-to-the-minute blog on breaking news, WilllisWire. Across geographies, industries and specialisms, Willis provides its local and multinational clients with resilience for a risky world. We were founded in 1828. Measured by the calendar, Willis is the world’s oldest insurance broker. Measured by vitality, innovation and commitment to leading our industry in the 21st century, we consider ourselves the youngest. Our origins lie in the early 19th century with the founding in London of three firms, Henry Willis & Co, Faber Brothers, and Dumas & Wylie. The first two merged in 1897 to form Willis, Faber & Co. Dumas & Wylie joined in 1928, creating the famous name of Willis, Faber & Dumas Limited. R A Corroon & Co. Inc., was established in New York in 1905. In 1966 it merged with C R Black Jr Corporation. Of many subsequent amalgamations the most significant was with Synercon Corporation of Nashville in 1976. In mid-1998 the Group's shareholders accepted an offer from the leveraged buy-out specialists Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, who took the company private. In 1999, the Group's operations amalgamated under one name Willis Group Limited. Willis returned to the New York Stock Exchange in 2001. On October 1, 2008, Willis acquired Hilb Rogal & Hobbs, one of the largest insurance and risk management intermediaries in North America, in the largest industry deal of the decade.