Willis Chief Sees Financial Turmoil as a Golden Opportunity for the Insurance Industry

Joe Plumeri Delivers Keynote Address at Insurance Day Summit Bermuda
HAMILTON, Bermuda--(Business Wire)--
In a time of financial turmoil,the insurance industry faces an unprecedented
opportunity to begin selling on value and not on price, Joe Plumeri, Chairman
and CEO of Willis Group Holdings (NYSE:WSH), the global insurance broker,told
delegates at Insurance Day`s Summit Bermuda here. Delivering the keynote address
at today`s event, Plumeri said that the insurance industry should make the most
of being a capital provider and risk adviser in a time of scarce capital and
huge risk. A full copy of his speech is available on
www.willis.com/What_We_Think/Publications

"In a time of fear, we offer security. In a time of scarce credit, we provide
capital. In a time of newfound risk awareness, we are the risk professionals.
All of this puts us in an exceptional position to lead," Plumeri said.

Plumeri said that the need for greater transparency in business transactions
that has resulted from the financial crisis has given the insurance industry "a
perfect opportunity to showcase all that we do and the value we provide, because
we will need to explain why we charge what we charge and what it is that clients
get for their money. We are not just buying policies at the best price - we
offer analysis and fight for the best possible terms. We are selling an
experience, not a commodity. Now is our time to prove that insurance is more
than a retail transaction, insurance is a partnership."

Listing the opportunities presented by the economic turmoil, Plumeri told the
150 delegates that, in a time of renewed calls for greater transparency,
contingent commissions should be abolished once and for all as they represent
"manufactured revenue and not added value." A long-time, outspoken advocate for
greater transparency and the elimination of contingents, Plumeri also rallied
his peers to join the debate over how the industry will be regulated, advocating
principles-based over rules-based regulation and warning against a government
"over-reaction."

Another area of growth that the insurance industry should be ready to capitalize
on, according to Plumeri, is the new risk assessment that will be needed to
accommodate new business models. "We may finally have reached the moment when
true Enterprise Risk Management is something that our clients will demand. We
will need to apply the analytics and modelling sophistication that we`ve
developed in the reinsurance sector for the retail side," he said.

Plumeri applauded the industry as a whole for "sticking to its knitting,"
investing conservatively and learning and evolving from past adversity.

Plumeri`s speech was centered on a concept from Joseph Schumpeter, a
Czechoslovakian economist in the early twentieth century, who said that
capitalism moves forward following a process of "creative destruction."
"Inevitable cycles of expansion and retraction are not only survivable, but are
in fact the secret of capitalism`s extraordinary power to inspire innovation and
progress. Insurance is going to be one of the essential building blocks of
recovery. We will help the world find the `creative` in creative destruction,"
he concluded.

Willis Group Holdings Limited is a leading global insurance broker, developing
and delivering professional insurance, reinsurance, risk management, financial
and human resource consulting and actuarial services to corporations, public
entities and institutions around the world. Willis has more than 400 offices in
nearly 120 countries, with a global team of approximately 20,000 Associates
serving clients in some 190 countries. Additional information on Willis may be
found at www.willis.com.

Willis Group Holdings Limited
Investors:
Kerry K. Calaiaro, 212-915-8084
kerry.calaiaro@willis.com
or
Media:
Ingrid Bosch, +44 203 124 7182
boschi@willis.com

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