Case on Aon-WTW: “Together we will be stronger for colleagues and clients”

Aon CEO Greg Case reiterated his confidence that the broker’s merger with Willis Towers Watson will complete during the first half of 2021 and said the combined entity will be better placed to meet the unprecedented demand from clients for new solutions.

In the second part of his interview with The Insurer TV, Case said the deal “remains on target” and was currently “exactly where we thought we would be”.

And he believes the ‘Aon United’ culture fostered over the past decade will be maintained when the broker joins forces with Willis Towers Watson.

“We use the phrase Aon United to describe what we are up to but really the phrase isn’t as important as the intent,” he said.

“When we deliver our global firm on behalf of clients, we can serve them more effectively. It also allows them to innovate and scale that innovation on their behalf.

“It has been very gratifying John Haley has the same view and approach. They have been working in the same general direction over a number of years as well.

“Having spent 10 months planning for bringing our firms together. Our view is that together we will be stronger. Stronger than Aon has been and stronger than Willis Towers Watson has been, through working together against our client agenda.”

He said the combined entity would be better able to meet evolving client demand both now and in the future.

“Our view was this is an opportunity to do something that hasn’t been done before for both clients and colleagues,” Case said.

“Since the mid-90s, risk as a percentage of GDP has come down - a trend that means overall relevance in terms of what our clients are doing has come down for 30 straight years.

“How do you break that trend? You break that trend by addressing these long-tail risks, bringing solutions to bear, by addressing the here and now and the challenges facing our clients – in our view, the combination with Willis Towers Watson is a way to do that.”

He added that the deal represented a “great opportunity” to address clients’ most important needs.

“Clients will have an opportunity to see innovation that breaks that 30 year trend,” he said.

Case said he saw “tremendous opportunity” in the economy long-term, despite the current challenges posed by Covid-19, and also recommended the insurance industry as an attractive career for those looking for an opportunity to make a difference. 

“If you are a young professional looking to have a meaningful impact over time, this is an opportunity to make a difference in a world where volatility is mattering more and more.

“We have a chance to help companies shape their growth agenda in a more effective way against some of the most profound risks of our time – climate, cyber, intellectual property, the health-wealth gap – that’s a pretty compelling opportunity,” he said.

Click here to watch the first part of our interview. 

During the second part of The Insurer TV’s exclusive beginning-of-the-year interview with the Aon CEO, we discuss the benefits of the broker’s proposed combination with Willis Towers Watson, Case’s expectations for the economic outlook and why he believes the insurance industry represents a worthwhile career for a young professional. Click the link below to watch the interview…