[September 08, 2010]

Insurance Industry Leader Martin Sullivan Joins Willis in Key Global Roles

Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH), the global insurance broker, today announced the appointment of Martin J. Sullivan as Deputy Chairman of Willis Group Holdings plc and Chairman and CEO of a new business unit, Willis Global Solutions, which will oversee brokerage and risk management advisory services for Willis's multinational and global accounts. Mr. Sullivan will be based in New York City.

In Mr. Sullivan's role as Deputy Chairman of Willis Group Holdings, he will report to Joe Plumeri, Chairman and CEO of Willis Group Holdings, and assist in managing and shaping the long term growth strategy for the company. He will also work with Mr. Plumeri and other senior leaders as a member of the company's Executive Committee.

As Chairman and CEO of Willis Global Solutions, Mr. Sullivan will work with Grahame Millwater, Willis Group President, to develop and manage a differentiated service proposition in the large account sector. Building on the differentiated global capabilities already in place at Willis, this new unit will distinguish the company as a significant player in the global marketplace positioned to serve the world's largest clients and challenge entrenched brokers who have a significant share of multinational business.

Willis Global Solutions will be a unit of Willis Global, the Chairman and CEO of which will be Grahame Millwater. Mr. Millwater will also retain his current title as President of Willis Group Holdings. Willis Global will encompass Willis Global Solutions, and will also include Willis Re, Willis Global Specialties, Willis Global Markets, Willis Global Placement, Willis Facultative Reinsurance, Willis Capital Markets & Advisory, Willis Analytics and Faber & Dumas, which comprises many of Willis's wholesale businesses. Each unit will continue to operate under their current leadership teams.

"To meet the insurance and risk management needs of global organizations, we believe Willis will be second to none in the level, quality and expertise of the service it provides to clients from continent to continent and on the seas in between," said Mr. Plumeri. "Across the length and breadth of the insurance industry, a client would be hard pressed to find a more experienced or skilled expert than Martin Sullivan. Martin's deep, strong and lasting connections to all segments of the insurance industry will be an enormous asset to Willis, working for our current and future clients in the type of role that has earned him well-deserved recognition over many decades in our business."

Grahame Millwater added: "Willis Global will bring together in one tightly coordinated organization many of the best qualities and capabilities that make Willis unique in the insurance business. The synergies and linkages within Willis Global make us stronger than the sum of our parts. Then add in our company's integrated culture and the individual strength of each of our global specialist units and it gives Willis a truly unique position. In his role as CEO of Willis Global Solutions, Martin Sullivan will be instrumental in delivering a differentiated proposition to multinational clients whose demands for global services are unmet by larger, less nimble competitors in this sector."

Martin Sullivan added: "In my four decades in the insurance industry, I have always had great admiration for the Willis organization and am delighted to have the opportunity of joining their senior management team. I look forward to working with Joe, Grahame and the team in building Willis Global Solutions into a significant service provider responding to the insurance and risk management needs of major companies around the world."

Martin Sullivan, 56, began his career in insurance in 1970 and joined AIU, the non-life UK company of American International Group (AIG), in 1971. He joined the Property Department of AIU in 1974 and continued to advance in a succession of underwriting and management assignments in the UK and Ireland. In 1993, he was named President of AIU's UK/Ireland Division and Managing Director of AIG Europe (UK) Ltd. He was elected Senior Vice President, Foreign General Insurance in 1996 and Executive Vice President, Foreign General in 1998. In 1996 he was appointed Chief Operating Officer of AIU in New York and named President in 1997. He was elected to the Board of AIG in May 2002. He served as CEO of AIG from 2005 to 2008.

Mr. Sullivan is an Associate Member of the Chartered Insurance Institute, a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership & Management and a Member of the Chartered Management Institute. He is also a former President of the Geneva Association and has served as Chairman of the US-ASEAN Business Council and currently serves as Chairman of the Business Advisory Committees of the St. George's Society and The British Memorial Garden Trust and is on the Board of Trustees of the American Associates of the Royal Academy Trust. He is also on the Board of Trustees of the Inner City Scholarship Fund.

Mr. Sullivan was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2007 and an honorary doctorate from Hofstra University. He is married and has three children.

Media Conference Call

Joe Plumeri will host a media conference call with Grahame Millwater and Martin Sullivan today, Wednesday, September 8, at 1:30 PM British Summer Time (8:30 AM Eastern Time) to discuss Mr. Sullivan's appointment and the creation of Willis Global Solutions. Interested parties may access the conference call by dialing the following numbers with a passcode of "Joe Plumeri":

Participants are asked to dial in a few minutes prior to the call to register for the event. All participants other than media representatives will be in a listen-only mode.

About Willis

Willis Group Holdings is a leading global insurance broker. Through its subsidiaries, Willis develops and delivers 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 17,000 employees serving clients in virtually every part of the world. Additional information on Willis may be found at www.willis.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

We have included in this document ''forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created by those laws. These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future results of our operations. All statements, other than statements of historical facts that address activities, events or developments that we expect or anticipate may occur in the future, including such things as our outlook, future capital expenditures, growth in commissions and fees, business strategies, competitive strengths, goals, the benefits of new initiatives, growth of our business and operations, plans and references to future successes, are forward-looking statements. Also, when we use the words such as ''anticipate'', ''believe'', ''estimate'', ''expect'', ''intend'', ''plan'', ''probably'', or similar expressions, we are making forward-looking statements.

There are important uncertainties, events and factors that could cause our actual results or performance to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements contained in this document, including the following: the impact of any regional, national or global political, economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory conditions on our global business operations; the impact of current financial market conditions on our results of operations and financial condition, including as a result of any insolvencies of or other difficulties experienced by our clients, insurance companies or financial institutions; our ability to continue to manage our significant indebtedness; our ability to compete effectively in our industry; our ability to implement and realize anticipated benefits of the Shaping Our Future, Right Sizing Willis, Funding for Growth initiatives or any other new initiatives; material changes in commercial property and casualty markets generally or the availability of insurance products or changes in premiums resulting from a catastrophic event, such as a hurricane, or otherwise; the volatility or declines in other insurance markets and premiums on which our commissions are based, but which we do not control; our ability to retain key employees and clients and attract new business; the timing or ability to carry out share repurchases or take other steps to manage our capital and the limitations in our long-term debt agreements that may restrict our ability to take these actions; any fluctuations in exchange and interest rates that could affect expenses and revenue; rating agency actions that could inhibit ability to borrow funds or the pricing thereof; a significant decline in the value of investments that fund our pension plans or changes in our pension plan funding obligations; our ability to achieve the expected strategic benefits of transactions; any potential impact from the new US healthcare reform legislation; the potential costs and difficulties in complying with a wide variety of foreign laws and regulations and any related changes, given the global scope of our operations; changes in the tax or accounting treatment of our operations; our involvements in and the results of any regulatory investigations, legal proceedings and other contingencies; underwriting and advisory risks we assume in connection with our non-core capital markets and advisory operations; our exposure to potential liabilities arising from errors and omissions and other potential claims against us; and the interruption or loss of our information processing systems or failure to maintain secure information systems.

The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive and new factors may emerge from time to time that could also affect actual performance and results. For more information see the section entitled ''Risk Factors'' included in Willis' Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 and our subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies are available online at http://www.sec.gov or on request from the Company as set forth in Part I, Item 1 "Business-Available Information" in Willis' Form 10-K.

Although we believe that the assumptions underlying our forward-looking statements are reasonable, any of these assumptions, and therefore also the forward-looking statements based on these assumptions, could themselves prove to be inaccurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included in this document, our inclusion of this information is not a representation or guarantee by us that our objectives and plans will be achieved. Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made and we will not update these forward-looking statements unless the securities laws require us to do so. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this document may not occur, and we caution you against unduly relying on these forward-looking statements.

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