Sign in

WSH on NYSE

Willis Group

Logo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

Multinational risk advisor, insurance brokerage and reinsurance brokerage company

Willis Group Holdings plc was a multinational risk advisor, insurance brokerage and reinsurance brokerage company headquartered in the Willis Building in London. It was the third-largest insurance broker worldwide by revenues. In 2016, the company acquired Towers Watson and was renamed Willis Towers Watson.2 Its shares trade on NYSE under the symbol WSH.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Price unavailable

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1828Founded1

Compare with another stock.

  • TickerWSH on NYSE1
  • Industryinsurance broker1
  • HeadquartersLondon1
  • Websitewww.willistowerswatson.com
  • Legal formLimited Company1
  • LEI549300SC8BT1SQGTP7213
  • StatusActive3
  • LEI statusIssued and current3
  • Registered address51 LIME STREET, EC3M 7DQ London, United Kingdom3
  • Registered withCompanies House, 006217573

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

Willis Tower East
Photo: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons6

Willis Group Holdings plc was a multinational risk advisor, insurance brokerage and reinsurance brokerage company headquartered in the Willis Building in London. It was the third-largest insurance broker worldwide by revenues. In 2016, the company acquired Towers Watson and was renamed Willis Towers Watson.2

Corporate structure

Willis Group is part of a group headed by Willis Towers Watson. 265 entities, 77 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Willis Towers Watson London, United Kingdom
    • Willis Group London, United Kingdom
    • Gras Savoye Willis Towers Watson Subsidiary · Puteaux, France
    • Newfront Subsidiary · San Francisco, United States
    • Acclaris Business Solutions Private Limited Subsidiary · India
    • Acclimatise Group Ltd (In Liquidation) Subsidiary · United Kingdom
    • Actuary Online (Pty) Ltd Subsidiary · South Africa
    • Administradora de Riesgos Parsalud, S.A. Subsidiary · Venezuela
    • Aerosure Asia Pacific Pty Ltd Subsidiary · Australia
    • AIMUW S.p.A. Subsidiary · Italy
    • Asifina S.A. Subsidiary · Argentina
    • Carsa Consultores, Agente de Seguros y de Fianzas, S.A. de C.V. Subsidiary · Mexico
    • CHANCE UNDERWRITING, S.L. Subsidiary · Spain
    • Cortex Global Risk Australia Pty Limited Subsidiary · Australia
    • Cortex Global Risk Pty Limited Subsidiary · Australia
    • Drustvo za posredovanje u osiguranju WILLIS TOWERS WATSON DOO BEOGRAD Subsidiary · Serbia
    • Gras Savoye (Cambodia) Insurance Broker Plc Subsidiary · Cambodia
    • Gras Savoye Gabon SA Subsidiary · Gabon
    • Gras Savoye Ukraine, Limited Liability Company Subsidiary · Ukraine
    • Invercasa Correduria De Seguros, S.A. Subsidiary · Nicaragua
    • LifeSight Ireland Trustees DAC Subsidiary · Ireland
    • Lime Street Insurance Guernsey PCC Limited Subsidiary · Guernsey
    • Lime Street Insurance PCC Limited Subsidiary · Malta
    • MERIDIAN INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED Subsidiary · Bermuda
    • Mutual Risk Advisory Services (Pty) Ltd Subsidiary · South Africa
    • Promotores Unity - Corredores de Seguros, Sociedad Anonima Subsidiary · Guatemala
    • and 239 more

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries listed in Exhibit 21 of annual reports filed with the SEC; subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

In 1828, Henry Willis began selling imported goods for commission on the Baltic Exchange in London. In 1841, he began brokering insurance for the cargoes of commodities he sold on commission. He expanded to marine insurance and founded Henry Willis & Company shortly thereafter. In 1896, the company expanded to the U.S. market through a relationship with Johnson & Higgins.

In 1898, the company merged with Faber Brothers (founded in 1886) to form Willis Faber.

In 1928, it merged with Dumas & Wylie (founded in 1843) to create Willis, Faber & Dumas.

In the 1950s, the company's actuary business grew significantly as private pensions gained usage.

The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1976.

In the 1980s, the company's reinsurance business grew significantly, eclipsing its marine brokerage business.

It expanded into the United States in 1990 when it merged with Corroon & Black (founded as R. A. Corroon & Co. in 1905) to form the Willis Corroon Group, the fourth largest insurance broker worldwide.

In 1998, in a leveraged buyout, the company was acquired by Trinity Acquisition on behalf of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and in 1999 the name Willis Group was adopted. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2001.

Read the full text

In October 2008, Willis acquired Hilb, Rogal & Hobbs Co. (HRH), one of the largest insurance and risk management intermediaries in North America, for $2.1 billion. The acquisition included Glencairn Limited.

In December 2009, the company relocated its registered office from Bermuda to Ireland.

In 2015, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales held that the company was entitled to an interim injunction to prevent Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT), a competing firm of brokers, from unfairly recruiting its remaining staff after more than 20 employees, including nearly all senior staff in one department, left Willis to work for JLT. JLT paid £22 million to settle the claims.

In 2016, the company acquired Towers Watson in an $18 billion stock transaction and was renamed Willis Towers Watson. Towers Watson was formed as a merger between Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt Worldwide in 2009. The merger was completed after a dividend payment to Towers Watson shareholders was increased after shareholders, including Driehaus Capital Management, opposed the initial proposal and the first shareholder vote for merger approval failed.

From Wikipedia’s article on Willis Group, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Products and brands

  • insurance

Listed on Wikidata.1

Willis Building - London headquarters, occupied in May 2008.

Willis Building in Ipswich, England, - one of the earliest buildings designed by Norman Foster after establishing Foster Associates. Constructed between 1970 and 1975, it is one of the youngest buildings to be given Grade I listed building status in Britain.

Willis Tower - 110-story building in Chicago. Willis secured the naming rights effective July 2009 as part of its agreement to lease 140,000 square feet (13,000 m2) of space in the 3,800,000-square-foot (350,000 m2) tower. It was the tallest building in the U.S from 1974 until 2014, when it was surpassed by the One World Trade Center in New York City and was the tallest building in the world from 1974 until 1998, when it was surpassed by the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

From Wikipedia’s article on Willis Group, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Timeline

  1. 1828Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6