Towers Perrin Acquires Watson Wyatt Risk and Insurance Group
Towers Perrin has completed its acquisition of the risk and insurance services consulting practices from Watson Wyatt & Company, a move the new parent says boosts its risk management unit by nearly two-thirds.
"This acquisition enhances our capabilities in both the insurance and risk management markets, giving us even greater breadth and depth to serve our clients," says John Tierney, managing principal of Tillinghast-Towers Perrin's property and casualty consulting practice.
"The dramatic and rapid changes we are still seeing in the business environment are leading to new ways of defining and managing risk," says John Yonkunas, managing principal of the firm's Risk Management practice. "Our clients recognize that the risk management techniques traditionally used in a property/casualty context are very powerful tools that can also be used to enhance overall business performance."
Tillinghast-Towers Perrin says it will evolve its risk management consulting into a broader-based discipline that goes beyond hazard risks to encompass all risks and enterprise faces. The firm believes this new acquisition broadens its ability to elevate risk management to a strategic level and address key marketplace needs such as:
- risk mapping - identifying a broad range of business risk, including financial and operational risks, that hinder the effective achievement of business strategy
- risk assessment - measuring the impact of risk on the enterprise
- risk strategies - designing cost-effective and efficient management and financing mechanisms
- risk implementation - structuring and placing financing vehicles, as well as providing guidance for implementing changes to business processes and organizational structure.
The acquisition also brings new intellectual capital to the firm, such as Watson Wyatt's Directors & Officers survey, as well as highly complementary product/service offerings, geographic locations and client bases. The property and casualty consulting practice of Tillinghast-Towers Perrin has a strong client base with insurance companies, and its Risk Management practice consults with many large corporations.
Watson Wyatt principals and consultants in the consulting services being acquired have moved from their offices into the corresponding Tillinghast-Towers Perrin offices in the following cities: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco and Toronto.