Willis Europe Acquires Polish Insurance Broker BCU AMA ~ Finance Update

Willis Sets Sights on Growing Polish Employee Benefits and Construction Sectors with Acquisition of BCU AMA

London, UK August 25, 2011 - Willis Europe B.V., a division of Willis Group Holdings plc (NYSE: WSH), the global insurance broker, has acquired 100 percent of the shares of Polish insurance broker, Brokerskie Centrum Ubezpieczeniowe (AMA) Sp. Zoo. The deal, effective immediately, will further strengthen Willis' presence in the country, in particular in the burgeoning Employee Benefits and Construction sectors. Terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Major civil engineering projects are set to increase the growth of the Polish construction market by around 11 percent this year, while the IMF says that a rebound in employment growth is being driven by increased activity in the services sector.

Established in Warsaw in 1998, BCU AMA focused on specialty insurance lines, developing a significant book of business providing insurance brokerage services to the rapidly expanding Employee Benefits and Construction industries.

Willis Polska, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Willis Europe, has been trading in Poland since 1991, and has 47 employees and three offices in Warsaw, Katowice and Gda??sk. Its latest acquisition will see 12 BCU AMA staff transfer to the Willis' office in Warsaw.

Commenting on the rationale behind the deal, Jacek Cichy, CEO of Willis Polska, said, "As the Polish economy continues to grow at a rate of around 3.8 percent, the expansion of the Employee Benefits and Construction markets, along with other industries, will need to be accompanied by robust risk management. By joining with BCU AMA, we now have leading expertise in these lines of business and can help our clients put in place holistic insurance programmes to mitigate their increased exposure to risk.

"In addition, BCU AMA's clients will also benefit from access to a much broader range of services, backed by the vast global resources of Willis Group, in areas like Energy, Marine, Aviation and Financial and Executive risks."

Willis Group Holdings plc 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 17,000 Associates.