In a rapidly changing world, new innovations that keep global companies competitive are an extremely important resource – none more so than in the UK’s insurance sector. The Rt. Hon. David Willetts, the UK’s Universities and Science Minister, demonstrated just how important by attending the launch at the Willis Building in London of the international broker’s new WillPLACE algorithmic placement platform.
He described Willis as being at the forefront of innovation, in praising the algorithm-based placement platform, noting that the “customer wins thanks to better information about the market, which drives competition. The UK wins by Willis, and companies like you, being at the forefront of innovation and also based here.”
In a keynote address, the Minister hailed the role of science in supporting growth and efficiency in the insurance sector and UK economy. “Your excellent performance depends in part on access to world-class science,” he stated.
In conclusion Minister Willetts stressed that “high-tech is crucial to rebalancing the economy… On that basis, I congratulate you (Willis) on the development and delivery of WillPLACE and wish you every success.”
Steve Hearn, chairman and CEO of Willis Global, described WillPLACE as a “glimpse at the future of our industry. This technology will make the broking process more transparent and give our clients better intelligence to help them make the right insurance decisions. Delivering the best for our clients is what drives us at Willis and we’re proud to be leading the way in the industry.”
Alastair Swift, Willis CEO of Global Placement, added: “Finally we have a tool that complements our client-centric analytics platform by adding science to the selection of markets. This gives Willis clients the best solutions for their risk exposures by truly understanding their needs.”
Willis’ bulletin also noted that “while technology is not new to insurance placement decision-making, WillPLACE is the first system not driven by static data, but by an algorithm that constantly adjusts to, learns from, and weights clients’ needs. This client-centric, proprietary matching algorithm was developed by Willis.
WillPLACE has now been introduced across Willis operations in North America, Brazil, the UK, Germany and Italy and is used by more than 3,200 Associates. By the end of March, Willis said more than 70 percent of the premium Willis places into the insurance market will be through WillPLACE. Further roll out will continue this year across Latin America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Source: Willis Group Holdings plc
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