The cost of medical care will continue to rise, according to Willis Towers Watson’s annual Global Medical Trends Survey for 2017, published in June 2017. The survey points out that while the trend has slowed in some countries, it is still mostly above inflation. It can be attributed to the overall cost of hospital and inpatient services, basic medical and outpatient services, provider and employee behavior, new medical technology,

As it expands its employee benefits practice in Asia, global consulting and actuarial firm Milliman in July 2017 announced that Mark Whatley will join their ranks as a consulting actuary in Singapore, where he will focus on further developing the firm’s employee benefits business across multinational, local, and government-linked organizations. Whatley previously directed Willis Towers Watson’s benefits practice in South East Asia. A member and Fellow of the Singapore

Chris Mayo has been appointed in June 2016 Head of Global Services and Solutions (non-North America) at Willis Towers Watson. The Global Services and Solutions team works with local colleagues all around the world to ensure Willis Towers Watson delivers to the global needs of its multinational clients. A First class honours graduate in Mathematics of the University of Nottingham and a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of

The 2016 Asia Pacific Health Conference, to be held in Singapore on 14 July 2016, will share the findings of two studies by Willis Towers Watson pertaining to the Asia-Pacific region. The 2015/2016 Staying@Work survey will present how organizations take steps to develop and implement health and productivity programs to improve health culture and well-being. The 2015/2016 Global Medical Trends survey will show the results of medical cost tracking

A recent Willis Towers Watson study, published in April 2016 in cooperation with the CII-Suresh Neotea Centre for Excellence for Leadership, queried 100 CEOs, CHROs, and other senior executives in India to determine the top human capital risks (HCR) and provide recommendations for C-Suite and Boards going forward. The study, entitled The State of Human Capital Risk in India, based its queries on two determining factors: the potential impact

Health care costs will continue to rise worldwide in 2016 according to the Willis Towers Watson (WTW) 2016 Global Medical Trends Survey of 174 insurers in 55 countries, employers in 34 countries, and 30,000 employees worldwide who have employer-sponsored health benefits. As private medical insurance costs continue to rise, from 7.5% in 2014 and 8.0% in 2015 to a projected 9.1% in 2016, WTW noted that more than half

Willis and Towers Watson completed their merger in early January 2016 and became Willis Towers Watson (WTW). The go-ahead decision on the USD 18 billion deal was made by shareholders in an early December 2015 vote, after the terms were changed in several increments during the preceding five months as Towers Watson shareholders were unhappy with the terms offered. Driven by both firms’ management, the deal had been announced

Two years after joining AON France as its Global Benefits practice leader, Bruno Valette joins Mercer France as Client Relationship Director and Principal. Or, rather, rejoins, as Valette had spent 14 years with Mercer in Paris right before AON. Mercer was his first employer in the insurance sector from 1989 to 1997, to be followed by leading French broker Gras Savoye, soon to be a division of Willis –

Willis announced the acquisition of PMI Health Group, an independent healthcare adviser and broker in the U.K. The deal will  raise Willis’s presence in the U.K. employee benefits and healthcare market, and  enhance its product offerings and skills base.

Willis announced the appointment of Brian Shea as Head of Europe for Willis Capital Markets & Advisory, its insurance investment banking division, based in London, effective August 24, 2015. Brian joins from reinsurer  SCOR, where he was Chief Corporate Strategy Officer after 20 years as an investment banker with Salomon Brothers and Merrill Lynch.

Willis appointed Simon Weaver as CEO of its Singapore office, as well as to the newly-created role of regional CEO for South-East Asia.

Willis confirmed that Steve Hearn, Deputy CEO, will leave  to join Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford at the beginning of November, 2015.

Willis combines with Towers Watson to create a new $18 billion insurance, personnel, and risk company. Willis shareholders will own 50.1% of the new Ireland-based company, Willis Towers Watson. The new $18-billion company has annual revenue of about $8.2 billion and 39,000 staff in 120 countries, and advises more than 80% of the world’s top 1,000 companies.