3
Willis
Group Holdings plc
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:
About
Willis
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.
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.
History and
Development of the Company
Willis Group Holdings is the ultimate holding company for the
Group. We trace our history to 1828 and are one of the largest
insurance brokers in the world.
Willis Group Holdings was incorporated in Ireland on
September 24, 2009 to facilitate the change of the place of
incorporation of the parent company of the Group from Bermuda to
Ireland (the ‘Redomicile’). At the Effective Time, the
common shares of Willis-Bermuda were canceled, the
Willis-Bermuda common shareholders received, on a
one-for-one
basis, new ordinary shares of Willis Group Holdings, and Willis
Group Holdings became the ultimate parent company for the Group.
For administrative convenience, we utilize the offices of a
subsidiary company as our principal executive offices. The
address is:
Willis Group Holdings Public Limited Company
c/o Willis
Group Limited
The Willis Building
51 Lime Street
London EC3M 7DQ
England
Tel: +44 203 124 6000
For several years, we have focused on our core retail and
specialist broking operations. In 2008, we acquired HRH, at the
time the eighth largest insurance and risk management
intermediary in the United States. The acquisition almost
doubled our North America revenues and created critical mass in
key markets including California, Florida, Texas, Illinois, New
York, Boston, New Jersey and Philadelphia. In addition, we have
made a number of smaller acquisitions around the world and
increased our ownership in several of our associates and
existing subsidiaries, which were not wholly-owned, where doing
so strengthened our retail network and our specialty businesses.
Available
Information
The Company files annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy
statements and other information with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the ‘SEC’). You may read and copy
any documents we file at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at
100 F Street, NE Washington, DC 20549. Please call the
SEC at
1-800-SEC-0330
for information on the Public Reference Room. The SEC maintains
a website that contains annual, quarterly and current reports,
proxy statements and other information that issuers (including
Willis Group Holdings) file electronically with the SEC. The
SEC’s website is www.sec.gov.
The Company makes available, free of charge through our website,
www.willis.com, our annual report on
Form 10-K,
our quarterly reports on
Form 10-Q,
our proxy statement, current reports on
Form 8-K
and Forms 3, 4, and 5 filed on behalf of directors and
executive officers, as well as any amendments to those reports
filed or furnished
pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
‘Exchange Act’) as soon as reasonably practicable
after such material is electronically filed with, or furnished
to, the SEC. Unless specifically incorporated by reference,
information on our website is not a part of this
Form 10-K.
The Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, Audit
Committee Charter, Risk Committee Charter, Compensation
Committee Charter and Corporate Governance and Nominating
Committee Charter are available on our website, www.willis.com,
in the Investor Relations-Corporate Governance section, or upon
request. Requests for copies of these documents should be
directed in writing to the Company Secretary
c/o Office
of General Counsel, Willis Group Holdings Public Limited
Company, One World Financial, 200 Liberty Street, New York, NY
10281.
General
We provide a broad range of insurance brokerage, reinsurance and
risk management consulting services to our clients worldwide. We
have significant market positions in the United States, in the
United Kingdom and, directly and through our associates, in many
other countries. We are a recognized leader in providing
specialized risk management advisory and other services on a
global basis to clients in various industries including
aerospace, marine, construction and energy.
In our capacity as an advisor and insurance broker, we act as an
intermediary between our clients and insurance carriers by
advising our clients on their risk management requirements,
helping clients determine the best means of managing risk, and
negotiating and placing insurance risk with insurance carriers
through our global distribution network.
We assist clients in the assessment of their risks, advise on
the best ways of transferring suitable risk to the global
insurance and reinsurance markets and then execute the
transactions at the most appropriate available price, terms and
conditions for our clients. Our global distribution network
enables us to place the risk in the most appropriate insurance
or reinsurance market worldwide.
We also offer clients a broad range of services to help them to
identify and control their risks. These
services range from strategic risk consulting (including
providing actuarial analyses), to a variety of due diligence
services, to the provision of practical
on-site risk
control services (such as health and safety or property loss
control consulting) as well as analytical and advisory services
(such as hazard modeling and reinsurance optimization studies).
We assist clients in planning how to manage incidents or crises
when they occur. These services include contingency planning,
security audits and product tampering plans. We are not an
insurance company and therefore we do not underwrite insurable
risks for our own account.
We and our associates serve a diverse base of clients including
major multinational and middle-market companies in a variety of
industries, as well as public institutions and individual
clients. Many of our client relationships span decades. We have
approximately 20,000 employees around the world (including
approximately 3,000 at our associate companies) and a network in
excess of 400 offices in some 100 countries.
We believe we are one of only a few insurance brokers in the
world possessing the global operating presence, broad product
expertise and extensive distribution network necessary to meet
effectively the global risk management needs of many of our
clients.
Business
Strategy
Since 2008, we have launched a series of initiatives to drive
profitable growth, including Shaping Our Future, Right Sizing
Willis, and Funding for Growth. In 2011, we are realigning our
business model to further grow the company and deliver the
Willis Cause — our value proposition to clients.
The Willis Cause is our pledge that:
Our
Business
Insurance and reinsurance is a global business, and its
participants are affected by global trends in capacity and
pricing. Accordingly, we operate as one global business which
ensures all clients’ interests are handled efficiently and
comprehensively, whatever their initial point of
contact. We organize our business into three segments: North
America and International, which together comprise our principal
retail operations, and Global. In 2010 and 2009, approximately
50 percent of our total revenue was generated from within
the US, with no other country contributing in
excess of 20 percent. For information regarding revenues,
operating income and total assets per
segment, see Note 26 of the Consolidated Financial
Statements contained herein.
Global
Our Global business provides specialist brokerage and consulting
services to clients worldwide for the risks arising from
specific industrial and commercial activities. In these
operations, we have extensive specialized experience handling
diverse lines of coverage, including complex insurance programs,
and acting as an intermediary between retail brokers and
insurers. We increasingly provide consulting services on risk
management with the objective of assisting clients to reduce the
overall cost of risk. Our Global business serves clients in
around 190 countries, primarily from offices in the United
Kingdom, although we also serve clients from offices in the
United States, Continental Europe and Asia.
The Global business is divided into:
Effective January 1, 2011, we have changed our internal
reporting structure; Global Markets International, previously
reported within our International segment, is now reported in
our Global division.
Global
Specialties
Global Specialties has strong global positions in Aerospace,
Energy, Marine, Construction, Financial and Executive Risks as
well as Financial Solutions.
• Aerospace
We are highly experienced in the provision of insurance and
reinsurance brokerage and risk management services to Aerospace
clients worldwide, including aircraft manufacturers, air cargo
handlers and shippers, airport managers and other general
aviation companies. Advisory services provided by Aerospace
include claims recovery, contract and leasing risk management,
safety services and market information. Aerospace’s clients
include approximately one
third of the world’s airlines. The specialist Inspace
division is also prominent in supplying the space industry
through providing insurance and risk management services to
approximately 40 companies.
Our Energy practice provides insurance brokerage services
including property damage, offshore construction, liability and
control of well and pollution insurance to the energy industry.
Our Energy practice clients are worldwide. We are highly
experienced in providing insurance brokerage for all aspects of
the energy industry including exploration and production,
refining and marketing, offshore construction and pipelines.
Our Marine unit provides marine insurance and reinsurance
brokerage services, including hull, cargo and general marine
liabilities. Marine’s clients include ship owners, ship
builders, logistics operators, port authorities, traders and
shippers, other insurance intermediaries and insurance
companies. Marine insurance brokerage is our oldest line of
business dating back to our establishment in 1828.
Our Construction practice provides risk management advice and
brokerage services for a wide range of UK and international
construction activities. The clients of the Construction
practice include contractors, project owners, project managers,
project financiers, professional consultants and insurers. We
are a broker for many of the leading global construction firms.
Our Financial and Executive Risks unit specializes in broking
directors’ and officers’ insurance as well as
professional indemnity insurance for corporations and
professional firms.
Financial Solutions is a global business unit which incorporates
our political risk unit, as well as structured finance and
credit teams. It also places structured crime and specialist
liability insurance for clients across the broad spectrum of
financial institutions as well as specializing in strategic risk
assessment and transactional risk transfer solutions.
Willis
Re
We are one of the world’s largest intermediaries for
reinsurance and have a significant market share in all of the
world’s major markets. Our clients are both insurance and
reinsurance companies.
We operate this business on a global basis and provide a
complete range of transactional capabilities, including, in
conjunction with Willis Capital Markets & Advisory, a
wide variety of capital markets based products. Our services are
underpinned by leading modeling, financial analysis and risk
management advice. We bolster and enhance all of these services
with the cutting edge knowledge derived from our Willis Research
Network, the insurance industry’s largest partnership with
global academic research.
London
Market Wholesale
This business unit was created on January 1, 2011 and
amalgamates Faber & Dumas and Global Markets International.
Faber & Dumas, our wholesale brokerage division,
comprises London-based operation, Glencairn, together with our
Fine Art, Jewelry and Specie, Special Contingency Risk and
Hughes-Gibb units.
Global Markets International works closely with our Global
business segment to further develop access for our retail
clients to global markets, and provide structuring and placing
skills in the relevant areas of property, casualty, terrorism,
accident & health, facultative and captives.
Willis
Capital Markets & Advisory
Willis Capital Markets & Advisory, with offices in New
York and London, provides advice to insurance and reinsurance
companies on a broad array of mergers and acquisition
transactions as well as capital markets products, including
acting as underwriter or agent for primary issuances, operating
a secondary insurance-linked securities trading desk and
engaging in general capital markets and strategic advisory work.
Retail
operations
Our North America and International retail operations provide
services to small, medium and
major corporate clients, accessing Global’s specialist
expertise when required.
North
America
Our North America business provides risk management, insurance
brokerage, related risk
services, and employee benefits brokerage and consulting to a
wide array of industry and client
segments in the United States and Canada. With around 120
locations, organized into seven geographical regions including
Canada, Willis North America locally delivers our global and
national resources and specialist expertise through this retail
distribution network.
In addition to being organized geographically and by specialty,
our North America business focuses on four client segments:
global, large national/middle-market, small commercial, and
private client, with service, marketing and sales platform
support for each segment.
The largest industry practice group in North America is
Construction, which specializes in providing risk management,
insurance brokerage, and surety bonding services to the
construction industry. Willis Construction provided these
services to around 25 percent of the Engineering News
Record Top 400 contractors (a listing of the largest 400
North American contractors based on revenue). In addition, this
practice group has expertise in owner-controlled insurance
programs for large projects and insurance for national
homebuilders.
Other industry practice groups include Healthcare, serving the
professional liability and other insurance and risk management
needs of private and
not-for-profit
health systems, hospitals and physicians groups; Financial
Institutions, serving the needs of large banks, insurers and
other financial services firms; and Mergers &
Acquisitions, providing due diligence, and risk management and
insurance brokerage services to private equity and merchant
banking firms and their portfolio companies.
Willis Employee Benefits, fully integrated into the North
America platform, is our largest product-based practice group
and provides health, welfare and human resources consulting, and
brokerage services to all of our commercial client segments.
This practice group’s value lies in helping clients control
employee benefit plan costs, reducing the amount of time human
resources professionals spend administering their
companies’ benefit plans and educating and training
employees on benefit plan issues.
Another industry-leading North America practice group is Willis
Executive Risks, a national team of technical professionals who
specialize in meeting the directors and officers, employment
practices, fiduciary liability insurance risk management, and
claims advocacy needs of public and private corporations and
organizations. This practice group also has expertise in
professional liability, especially internet risks.
The Captive, Actuarial, Programs, Pooling, Personal Lines and
Strategic Outcomes (CAPPPS) group has a network of actuaries,
certified public accountants, financial analysts and pooled
insurance program experts who assist clients in developing and
implementing alternative risk management solutions. The program
business is a leader in providing national insurance programs to
niche industries including ski resorts, auto dealers, recycling,
environmental, and specialty workers’ compensation. The
group also works with financial institutions to confirm their
loans are properly insured and their interests are adequately
protected.
International
Our International business comprises our operations in Eastern
and Western Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland,
Asia-Pacific, Russia, the Middle East, South Africa and Latin
America.
Our offices provide services to businesses locally in over 100
countries around the world, making use of
skills, industry knowledge and expertise available elsewhere in
the Group.
The services provided are focused according to the
characteristics of each market and vary across offices, but
generally include direct risk management and insurance
brokerage, specialist and reinsurance brokerage and employee
benefits consulting.
We believe the combined total revenues of our International
subsidiaries and associates provide an indication of the spread
and capability of our International network. The team generated
over 30 percent of the Group’s total consolidated
commissions and fees in 2010.
As part of our on-going strategy, we look for opportunities to
strengthen our International market share through acquisitions
and strategic investments. We have acquired a controlling
interest in a broad geographic spread of other brokers. A list
of significant subsidiaries is included in Exhibit 21.1 to
this document.
We have also invested in associate companies; our significant
associates at December 31, 2010 were GS & Cie
Groupe (‘Gras Savoye’), France (31 percent
holding) and Al-Futtaim Willis Co. LLC, Dubai (49 percent
holding). In connection with many of our investments we retain
the right to increase our ownership over time, typically to a
majority or 100 percent ownership position. In addition, in
certain instances our co-shareholders have a right, typically
based on some price formula of revenues or earnings, to put some
or all of their shares to us. On December 17, 2009 as part
of a reorganization of the share capital of Gras Savoye our
interest in that company reduced from 48 percent to
31 percent. In addition, we have the option to acquire a
100 percent interest in the capital of Gras Savoye in 2015.
For further information on the Gras Savoye capital
reorganization see ‘Item 8 — Financial
Statements and Supplementary Data —
Note 13 — Investments in Associates’.
Customers
Our clients operate on a global and local scale in a multitude
of businesses and industries throughout the world and generally
range in size from major multinational corporations to
middle-market companies. Further, many of our client
relationships span decades, for instance our relationship with
The Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance Company Limited
dates back over 100 years. No one client accounted for more
than 10 percent of revenues for fiscal year 2010.
Additionally, we place insurance with over 5,000 insurance
carriers, none of which individually accounted for more than
10 percent of the total premiums we placed on behalf of our
clients in 2010.
Competition
We face competition in all fields in which we operate based on
global capability, product breadth, innovation, quality of
service and price. According to the Directory of Agents and
Brokers published by Business Insurance in July 2010, the 136
largest commercial insurance brokers globally reported brokerage
revenues totaling $38 billion in 2009, of which
Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. had approximately
28 percent, Aon Corporation had approximately
20 percent and Willis had approximately 9 percent.
We compete with Marsh & McLennan and Aon as well as
with numerous specialist, regional and local firms.
Insurance companies also compete with brokers by directly
soliciting insureds without the assistance of an independent
broker or agent.
Competition for business is intense in all our business lines
and in every insurance market. Competition on premium rates has
also exacerbated the pressures caused by a continuing reduction
in demand in some classes of business. For example, rather than
purchase additional insurance through brokers, many insureds
have been retaining a greater proportion of their risk
portfolios than previously. Industrial and commercial companies
are increasingly relying upon captive insurance companies,
self-insurance pools, risk retention
groups, mutual insurance companies and other mechanisms for
funding their risks, rather than buying insurance.
Additional competitive pressures arise from the entry of new
market participants, such as banks, accounting firms and
insurance carriers themselves, offering risk management or
transfer services.
In 2005, we, along with Marsh & McLennan and Aon,
agreed to implement certain business reforms which included
codification of our voluntary termination of contingent
commission arrangements with insurers. However, most other
special, regional and local insurance brokers continued to
accept contingent compensation and did not disclose the
compensation received in connection with providing policy
placement services to its customers. In February 2010, we
entered into the Amended and Restated Assurance of
Discontinuance with the Attorney General of the State of New
York and the Amended and Restated Stipulation with the
Superintendent of Insurance of the State of New York which ended
many of the requirements previously imposed upon us. The new
agreement no longer limits the type of compensation we can
receive and lowers the compensation disclosure requirements we
must make to our clients.
We continue to refuse to accept contingent commissions from
carriers in our retail brokerage business. To our knowledge, we
are the only insurance broker that takes this stance. We seek to
increase revenue through higher commissions and fees that we
disclose to our clients, and to generate profitable revenue
growth by focusing on the provision of value-added risk advisory
services beyond traditional brokerage activities. Although we
continue to believe in the success of our strategy, we cannot be
certain that such steps will help us to continue to generate
profitable organic revenue growth.
Regulation
Our business activities are subject to legal requirements and
governmental and quasi-governmental regulatory supervision in
virtually all countries in which we operate. Also, such
regulations may require individual or company licensing to
conduct our business activities. While these requirements may
vary from location to location they are generally designed to
protect our clients by establishing minimum standards of conduct
and practice, particularly regarding the provision of advice and
product information as well as financial criteria.
United
States
Our activities in connection with insurance brokerage services
within the United States are subject to regulation and
supervision by state authorities. Although the scope of
regulation and form of supervision may vary from jurisdiction to
jurisdiction, insurance laws in the United States are often
complex and generally grant broad discretion to supervisory
authorities in adopting regulations and supervising regulated
activities. That supervision generally includes the licensing of
insurance brokers and agents and the regulation of the handling
and investment of client funds held in
a fiduciary capacity. Our continuing ability to provide
insurance brokerage in the jurisdictions in which we currently
operate is dependent upon our compliance with the rules and
regulations promulgated from time to time by the regulatory
authorities in each of these jurisdictions.
European
Union
The European Union Insurance Mediation Directive introduced
rules to enable insurance and reinsurance intermediaries to
operate and provide services within each member state of the EU
on a basis consistent with the EU single market and customer
protection aims. Each EU member state in which we operate is
required to ensure that the insurance and reinsurance
intermediaries resident in their country are registered with a
statutory body in that country and that each intermediary meets
professional requirements in relation to their competence, good
repute, professional indemnity cover and financial capacity.
United
Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the statutory body is the Financial
Services Authority (‘FSA’). The FSA has prescribed the
methods by which our insurance and reinsurance operations are to
conduct business, and has a wide range of rule-making,
investigatory and enforcement powers aimed at meeting its
overall aim of promoting efficient, orderly and fair markets and
helping retail consumers achieve a fair deal. The FSA conducts
monitoring visits to assess our compliance with regulatory
requirements.
Certain of our activities are governed by other regulatory
bodies, such as investment and securities licensing authorities.
In the United States, Willis Capital Markets &
Advisory operates through our wholly-owned subsidiary Willis
Securities, Inc., a US-registered broker-dealer and investment
advisor, member FINRA/SIPC, primarily in connection with
investment banking-related services and advising on alternative
risk financing transactions. Willis Capital Markets provides
advice on securities or investments
in the EU through our wholly-owned subsidiary Willis Structured
Financial Solutions Limited, which is authorized and regulated
by the FSA.
Our failure, or that of our employees, to satisfy the regulators
that we are in compliance with their requirements or the legal
requirements governing our activities, can result in
disciplinary action, fines, reputational damage and financial
harm.
All companies carrying on similar activities in a given
jurisdiction are subject to regulations which are not dissimilar
to the requirements for our operations in the United States and
United Kingdom. We do not consider that these regulatory
requirements adversely affect our competitive position.
See Part I,
Item 1A-Risk
Factors ‘Legal and Regulatory Risks’ for discussion of
how actions by regulatory authorities or changes in legislation
and regulation in the jurisdictions in which we operate may have
an adverse effect on our business.
Employees
As of December 31, 2010 we had approximately
17,000 employees worldwide of whom approximately 3,400 were
employed in the United Kingdom and 6,500 in the United States,
with the balance being
employed across the rest of the world. In addition, our
associates had approximately 3,000 employees, all of whom
were located outside the United Kingdom and the United States.
Risks Relating to
our Business and the Insurance Industry
This section describes material risks affecting the Group’s
business. These risks could materially affect the Group’s
business, its revenues, operating income, net income, net
assets, liquidity and capital
resources and ability to achieve its financial targets and,
accordingly should be read in conjunction with any
forward-looking statements in this Annual Report on
Form 10-K.
Competitive
Risks
Worldwide
economic conditions could have an adverse effect on our
business.
Our business and operating results are materially affected by
worldwide economic conditions. Current global economic
conditions coupled with declining customer and business
confidence, increasing energy prices, and other challenges, may
have a significant negative impact on the buying behavior of
some of our clients as their businesses suffer from these
conditions. In particular, financial institutions, construction,
aviation, and logistics businesses such as marine cargo are most
likely to be affected. Further, the global economic downturn is
also negatively affecting some of the international economies
that have supported the strong growth in our International
operations. Our employee benefits practice may also be adversely
affected as businesses continue to downsize during this period
of economic turmoil. In addition, a growing number of
insolvencies associated with an economic downturn, especially
insolvencies in the insurance industry, could adversely affect
our brokerage business through the loss of clients or by
hampering our ability to place insurance and reinsurance
business. While it is difficult to predict consequences of any
further deterioration in global economic conditions on our
business, any significant reduction or delay by our clients in
purchasing insurance or making payment of premiums could have a
material adverse impact on our financial condition and results
of operations.
The potential for a significant insurer to fail or withdraw from
writing certain lines of insurance coverages that we offer our
clients could negatively impact overall capacity in the
industry, which could then reduce the placement of certain lines
and types of insurance and reduce our revenues and
profitability. The potential for an insurer to fail could also
result in errors and omissions claims by clients.
Since 2008, we have launched certain initiatives, such as the
Company’s recently announced 2011 review of operations, the
Willis Cause, Right Sizing Willis, Funding for Growth, and
Shaping Our Future, to achieve cost-savings or fund our future
growth plans. In light of the global economic uncertainty, we
continue to vigorously manage our cost base in order to fund
further growth initiatives, but we cannot be certain whether we
will be able to realize any further benefits from these
initiatives or any new initiatives that we may implement.
While we focus on our core retail and specialist broking
operations, we do have certain other businesses that are not
material to the Group as a whole but which, in any period, could
have a material affect on our results of operations.
We do not control
the premiums on which our commissions are based, and volatility
or declines in premiums may seriously undermine our
profitability.
We derive most of our revenues from commissions and fees for
brokerage and consulting services. We
do not determine insurance premiums on which our commissions are
generally based. Premiums are
Risk
factors
cyclical in nature and may vary widely based on market
conditions. From the late 1980s through late 2000, insurance
premium rates generally declined as a result of a number of
factors, including the expanded underwriting capacity of
insurance carriers; consolidation of both insurance
intermediaries and insurance carriers; and increased competition
among insurance carriers. From 2000 to 2003, we benefitted from
a ‘hard’ market with premium rates stable or
increasing. During 2004, we saw a rapid transition from a hard
market, with premium rates stable or increasing, to a
‘soft’ market, with premium rates falling in most
markets. The soft market continued to have an adverse impact on
our commission revenues and operating margin from 2005 through
2008. Rates continued to decline in most sectors through 2005
and 2006, with the exception of catastrophe-exposed markets. In
2007, the market softened further with decreases in many of the
market sectors in which we operated and this continued into 2008
with further premium rate declines across our market sectors. In
2009, the stabilization of rates in the reinsurance market and
some specialty markets was offset by the continuing
soft market in other sectors and the adverse impact of the
weakened economic environment across the globe. Our North
America and UK and Irish retail operations have been
particularly impacted by the weakened economic climate and
continued soft market throughout both 2009 and 2010 with no
material improvement in rates across most sectors. This resulted
in declines in 2009 revenues in these operations with only
modest improvement in 2010, particularly amongst our smaller
clients who have been especially vulnerable to the economic
downturn.
In addition, as traditional risk-bearing insurance carriers
continue to outsource the production of premium revenue to
non-affiliated agents or brokers such as ourselves, those
insurance carriers may seek to reduce further their expenses by
reducing the commission rates payable to those insurance agents
or brokers. The reduction of these commission rates, along with
general volatility
and/or
declines in premiums, may significantly undermine our
profitability.
Competition in
our industry is intense, and if we are unable to compete
effectively, we may suffer lower revenue, reduced operating
margins and lose market share which could materially and
adversely affect our business.
We face competition in all fields in which we operate, based on
global capability, product breadth, innovation, quality of
service and price. We compete with Marsh & McLennan
and Aon, the two other providers of global risk management
services, as well as with numerous specialist, regional and
local firms. Competition for business is intense in all our
business lines and in every insurance market, and the other two
providers of global risk management services have substantially
greater market share than we do. Competition on premium rates
has also exacerbated the pressures caused by a continuing
reduction in demand in some classes of business. For example,
rather than purchase additional insurance through brokers, many
insureds have been retaining a greater proportion of their risk
portfolios than previously. Industrial and commercial companies
have been increasingly relying upon their own subsidiary
insurance companies, known as captive insurance companies,
self-insurance pools, risk retention groups, mutual insurance
companies and other mechanisms for funding their risks, rather
than buying insurance. Additional competitive pressures arise
from the entry of new market participants, such as banks,
accounting firms and insurance carriers themselves, offering
risk management or transfer services.
In 2005, we, along with Marsh & McLennan and Aon,
agreed to implement certain business reforms which included
codification of our voluntary termination of contingent
commission arrangements with insurers. However, most other
special, regional and local insurance brokers continued to
accept contingent compensation and did not disclose the
compensation received in connection with providing policy
placement services to its customers. In February 2010, we
entered into the Amended and Restated Assurance of
Discontinuance with the Attorney General of the State of New
York and the
Amended and Restated Stipulation with the Superintendent of
Insurance of the State of New York which ended many of the
requirements previously imposed upon us. The new agreement no
longer limits the type of compensation we will receive and
lowers the compensation disclosure requirements we must make to
our clients.
We continue to refuse to accept contingent commissions from
carriers in our retail brokerage business. To our knowledge, we
are the only insurance broker that takes this stance. We seek to
increase revenue through higher commissions and fees that we
disclose to our clients, and to generate
profitable revenue growth by focusing on the provision of
value-added risk advisory services beyond traditional brokerage
activities. Although we continue to believe in the success of
our strategy, we cannot be certain that such steps will help us
to continue to generate profitable organic revenue growth. If we
are unable to compete effectively against our competitors who
are accepting or may accept contingent commissions, we may
suffer lower revenue, reduced operating margins and loss of
market share which could materially and adversely affect our
business.
Dependence on Key
Personnel — The loss of our Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer or a number of our senior management or a
significant number of our brokers could significantly impede our
financial plans, growth, marketing and other
objectives.
The loss of our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer or a number
of our senior management or a significant number of our brokers
could significantly impede our financial plans, growth,
marketing and other objectives. Our success depends to a
substantial extent not only on the ability and experience of our
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Joseph J. Plumeri and
other members of our senior management, but also on the
individual brokers and teams that service our clients and
maintain client relationships. The insurance and
reinsurance brokerage industry has in the past experienced
intense competition for the services of leading individual
brokers and brokerage teams, and we have lost key individuals
and teams to competitors. We believe that our future success
will depend in part on our ability to attract and retain
additional highly skilled and qualified personnel and to expand,
train and manage our employee base. We may not continue to be
successful in doing so because the competition for qualified
personnel in our industry is intense.
Legal and
Regulatory Risks
Our compliance
systems and controls cannot guarantee that we are in compliance
with all applicable federal and state or foreign laws and
regulations, and actions by regulatory authorities or changes in
applicable laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we
operate may have an adverse effect on our business.
Our activities are subject to extensive regulation under the
laws of the United States, the United Kingdom and the European
Union and its member states, and the other jurisdictions in
which we operate. Indeed, over the last few years, there has
been a general increase in focus and developments in these laws
and regulations. Compliance with laws
and regulations that are applicable to our operations is complex
and may increase our cost of doing business. These laws and
regulations include insurance industry regulations, economic and
trade sanctions and laws against financial crimes such as money
laundering, bribery or other corruption, such as the
U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In most
jurisdictions, governmental and regulatory authorities have the
ability to interpret and amend these laws and regulations and
impose penalties for non-compliance, including sanctions, civil
remedies, fines, injunctions, revocation of licenses or
approvals, suspension of individuals, limitations on business
activities or redress to clients.
Given the increased interest expressed by UK and US regulators
in the effectiveness of compliance controls relating to
financial crime in our market sector in particular, we began a
voluntary internal review of our policies and controls four
years ago. This review includes analysis and advice from
external experts on best practices, review of public regulatory
decisions, and discussions with government regulators in the UK
and US. In
addition, the U.K. Financial Services Authority is conducting an
investigation of some of our compliance systems and controls
between 2005 and 2009. While we are fully cooperating with our
regulators, we are unable to predict at this time when these
matters will be concluded. We do not believe that such matters
will result in any material fines or sanctions from UK or US
regulators, but there can be no assurance that any resolution
will not have an adverse impact on our ability to conduct our
business in certain jurisdictions. While we believe that our
current systems and controls are adequate and in accordance with
all applicable laws and regulations, we cannot assure that such
systems and controls will prevent any violations of applicable
laws and regulations.
Our business,
results of operations, financial condition or liquidity may be
materially adversely affected by actual and potential claims,
lawsuits, investigations and proceedings.
We are subject to various actual and potential claims, lawsuits,
investigations and other proceedings relating principally to
alleged errors and omissions in connection with the placement of
insurance and reinsurance in the ordinary course of business.
Because we often assist our clients with matters, including the
placement of insurance coverage and the handling of related
claims, involving substantial amounts of money, errors and
omissions claims against us may arise which allege our potential
liability for all or part of the amounts in question.
Claimants can seek large damage awards and these claims can
involve potentially significant defense costs. Such claims,
lawsuits and other proceedings could, for example, include
allegations of damages for our employees or
sub-agents
improperly failing to place coverage or notify claims on behalf
of clients, to provide insurance carriers with complete and
accurate information relating to the risks being insured or to
appropriately apply funds that we hold for our clients on a
fiduciary basis. Errors and omissions claims, lawsuits and other
proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business are
covered in part by professional indemnity or other appropriate
insurance. The terms of this insurance vary by policy year and
self-insured risks have increased significantly in recent years.
In respect of
self-insured risks, we have established provisions against these
items which we believe to be adequate in the light of current
information and legal advice, and we adjust such provisions from
time to time according to developments. Our business, results of
operations, financial condition and liquidity may be adversely
affected if in the future our insurance coverage proves to be
inadequate or unavailable or there is an increase in liabilities
for which we self-insure. Our ability to obtain professional
indemnity insurance in the amounts and with the deductibles we
desire in the future may be adversely impacted by general
developments in the market for such insurance or our own claims
experience.
We are also subject to actual and potential claims, lawsuits,
investigations and proceedings outside of errors and omissions
claims. The material actual or potential claims, lawsuits and
proceedings to which we are currently subject, including but not
limited to errors and omissions claims, are: (1) potential
claims arising out of various legal proceedings between
reinsurers, reinsureds and their reinsurance brokers relating to
personal accident excess of loss reinsurance placements for the
years 1993 to 1998; and (2) claims relating to the collapse
of The Stanford Financial Group, for which we acted as brokers
of record on certain lines of insurance.
The ultimate outcome of these matters cannot be ascertained and
liabilities in indeterminate amounts may be imposed on us. It is
thus possible that future results of operations or cash flows
for any particular quarterly or annual period could be
materially affected by an unfavorable resolution of these
matters. In addition, these matters continue to divert
management and personnel resources away from
operating our business. Even if we do not experience significant
monetary costs, there may also be adverse publicity associated
with these matters that could result in reputational harm to the
insurance brokerage industry in general or to us in particular
that may adversely affect our business, client or employee
relationships.
Interruption to
or loss of our information processing capabilities or failure to
effectively maintain and upgrade our information processing
systems could cause material financial loss, loss of human
resources, regulatory actions, reputational harm or legal
liability.
Our business depends significantly on effective information
systems. Our capacity to service our clients relies on effective
storage, retrieval, processing and management of information.
Our information systems also rely on the commitment of
significant resources to maintain and enhance existing systems
and to develop new systems in order to keep pace with continuing
changes in information processing technology or evolving
industry and regulatory standards. The acquisition of HRH and
additional information systems has added
to this exposure. If the information we rely on to run our
business were found to be inaccurate or unreliable or if we fail
to maintain effective and efficient systems (including through a
telecommunications failure, failure to replace or update
redundant or obsolete computer applications or software systems
or if we experience other disruptions), this could result in
material financial loss, regulatory action, reputational harm or
legal liability.
Our inability to
successfully recover should we experience a disaster or other
significant disruption to business continuity could have a
material adverse effect on our operations.
Our ability to conduct business may be adversely affected, even
in the short-term, by a disruption in the infrastructure that
supports our business and the communities where we are located.
This may include a disruption caused by restricted physical site
access, terrorist activities, disease pandemics, or outages to
electrical, communications or other services used by our
company, our employees or third parties with whom we conduct
business. Although we have certain disaster recovery procedures
in place and insurance to protect against
such contingencies, such procedures may not be effective and any
insurance or recovery procedures may not continue to be
available at reasonable prices and may not address all such
losses or compensate us for the possible loss of clients
occurring during any period that we are unable to provide
services. Our inability to successfully recover should we
experience a disaster or other significant disruption to
business continuity could have a material adverse effect on our
operations.
Improper
disclosure of personal data could result in legal liability or
harm our reputation.
One of our significant responsibilities is to maintain the
security and privacy of our clients’ confidential
and proprietary information and the personal data of their
employees. We maintain policies, procedures
and technological safeguards designed to protect the security
and privacy of this information in our database. However, we
cannot entirely eliminate the risk of improper access to or
disclosure of personally identifiable information. Our
technology may fail to adequately secure the private information
we maintain in our databases and protect it from theft or
inadvertent loss. In such circumstances, we may be held liable
to our clients, which could result in legal liability or
impairment to
our reputation resulting in increased costs or loss of revenue.
Further database privacy, identity theft, and related computer
and internet issues are matters of growing public concern and
are subject to frequently changing rules and regulations. Our
failure to adhere to or successfully implement processes in
response to changing regulatory requirements in this area could
result in legal liability or impairment to our reputation in the
marketplace.
Financial
Risks
Our outstanding
debt could adversely affect our cash flows and financial
flexibility.
As of December 31, 2010, we had total consolidated debt
outstanding of approximately $2.3 billion and interest
expense was $166 million. Although management believes that
our cash flows will be more than adequate to service this debt,
there may be circumstances in which required payments of
principal
and/or
interest on this debt could adversely affect our cash flows and
this level of indebtedness may:
The terms of our current financings also include certain
limitations. For example, the agreements relating to the debt
arrangements and credit facilities contain numerous operating
and financial covenants, including requirements to maintain
minimum ratios of consolidated adjusted EBITDA to consolidated
fixed charges and maximum levels of consolidated funded
indebtedness in relation to consolidated EBITDA, in each case
subject to certain adjustments.
A failure to comply with the restrictions under our credit
facilities and outstanding notes could result in a default under
the financing obligations or could require us to obtain waivers
from our lenders for failure to comply with these restrictions.
The occurrence of a default that remains uncured or the
inability to secure a necessary consent or waiver could cause
our obligations with respect to our debt to be accelerated and
have a material adverse effect on our business, financial
condition or results of operations.
Our pension
liabilities may increase which could require us to make
additional cash contributions to our pension plans.
We have two principal defined benefit plans: one in the United
Kingdom and the other in the United States. Cash contributions
of approximately $119 million will be required in 2011 for these
pension plans, although we may elect to contribute more. Total
cash contributions to these defined benefit
pension plans in 2010 were $118 million. Future estimates are
based on certain assumptions, including discount rates, interest
rates, fair value of assets and expected return on plan assets.
In the UK, we are required to agree a funding strategy for our
UK defined benefit plan with the plan’s trustees.
In February 2009, we agreed to make full year contributions to
the UK plan of $39 million for 2009 through 2012, excluding
amounts in respect of the salary sacrifice scheme. In addition,
if certain funding targets were not met at the beginning of any
of the following years, 2010 through 2012, a further
contribution of $39 million would be required for that year. In
2010, the additional funding requirement was triggered and we
expect to make a similar additional contribution in 2011. A
similar, additional contribution may also be required for 2012,
depending on actual performance against funding targets at the
beginning of 2012. We have taken actions to manage our pension
liabilities, including closing our UK and US plans to new
participants and restricting final pensionable salaries. Future
benefit accruals in the US pension plan were also stopped, or
frozen, on May 15, 2009.
The determinations of pension expense and pension funding are
based on a variety of rules and regulations. Changes in these
rules and regulations could impact the calculation of pension
plan liabilities and the valuation of pension plan assets. They
may also result in higher pension costs, additional financial
statement disclosure, and accelerate and increase the need to
fully fund our pension plans. Our future required cash
contributions to our US and UK defined benefit pension plans may
increase based on the funding reform provisions that were
enacted into law. Further, a significant decline in the value of
investments that fund our pension plan, if not offset
or mitigated by a decline in our liabilities, may significantly
differ from or alter the values and actuarial assumptions used
to calculate our future pension expense and we could be required
to fund our plan with significant amounts of cash. In addition,
if the US Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation requires
additional contributions to such plans or if other actuarial
assumptions are modified, our future required cash contributions
could increase. The need to make these cash contributions may
reduce the cash available to meet our other obligations,
including the payment obligations under our credit facilities
and other long-term debt, or to meet the needs of our business.
In addition to the critical assumptions described above, our
plans use certain assumptions about the life expectancy of plan
participants and surviving spouses. Periodic revision of those
assumptions can materially change the present value of future
benefits and therefore the funded status of the plans and the
resulting periodic pension expense. Changes in our pension
benefit obligations and the related net periodic costs or
credits may occur in the future due to any variance of actual
results from our assumptions and changes in the number of
participating employees. As a result, there can be no assurance
that we will not experience future decreases in stockholders
equity, net income, cash flow and liquidity or that we will not
be required to make additional cash contributions in the future
beyond those which have been estimated.
We could incur
substantial losses if one of the financial institutions we use
in our operations failed.
The deterioration of the global credit and financial markets has
created challenging conditions for financial institutions,
including depositories. As the fallout from the credit crisis
persists, the financial strength of these institutions may
continue to decline. We maintain cash balances at various US
depository institutions that are significantly in excess of the
US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance
limits. We also maintain cash balances in foreign financial
institutions. If one or more of the institutions in which we
maintain significant cash balances were to fail, our ability to
access these funds might be temporarily or permanently limited,
and we could face a material liquidity problem and potentially
material financial losses.
A downgrade in
the credit ratings of our outstanding debt may adversely affect
our borrowing costs and financial flexibility.
A downgrade in our corporate credit rating or the credit ratings
of our debt would increase our borrowing costs including those
under our credit facilities, and reduce our financial
flexibility. In addition, certain downgrades would trigger a
step-up in
interest rates under the indentures for our
6.2% senior notes due 2017 and our 7.0% senior notes
due 2019, which would increase our interest expense. If
we need to raise capital in the future, any credit rating
downgrade could negatively affect our financing costs or access
to financing sources.
We face certain
risks associated with the acquisition or disposition of business
or reorganization of existing investments.
In pursuing our corporate strategy, we may acquire or dispose of
or exit businesses or reorganize existing investments. The
success of this strategy is dependent upon our ability to
identify appropriate opportunities, negotiate transactions on
favorable terms and ultimately complete such transactions. Once
we complete acquisitions or reorganizations there can be no
assurance that we will realize the anticipated benefits of any
transaction, including revenue growth, operational efficiencies
or expected synergies. For example, if we fail to recognize some
or all of the strategic benefits and synergies
expected from a transaction, goodwill and intangible assets may
be impaired in future periods. In addition, we may not be able
to integrate acquisitions successfully into our existing
business, and we could incur or assume unknown or unanticipated
liabilities or contingencies, which may impact our results of
operations. If we dispose of or otherwise exit certain
businesses, there can be no assurance that we will not incur
certain disposition related charges, or that we will be able to
reduce overheads related to the divested assets.
We are a holding
company and, therefore, may not be able to receive dividends or
other distributions in needed amounts from our
subsidiaries.
Willis Group Holdings is organized as a holding company that
conducts no business of its own. We are dependent upon dividends
and other payments from our operating subsidiaries to meet our
obligations for paying principal and interest on outstanding
debt obligations, for paying dividends to shareholders and for
corporate expenses. Legal and regulatory restrictions, foreign
exchange controls, as
well as operating requirements of our subsidiaries, may limit
our ability to obtain cash from these subsidiaries. In the event
our operating subsidiaries are unable to pay dividends and make
other payments to Willis Group Holdings, we may not be able to
service debt, pay obligations or pay dividends on ordinary
shares.
International
Risks
Our significant
non-US operations, particularly our London market operations,
expose us to exchange rate fluctuations and various risks that
could impact our business.
A significant portion of our operations is conducted outside the
United States. Accordingly, we are subject to legal, economic
and market risks
associated with operating in foreign countries, including
devaluations and fluctuations in currency exchange rates;
imposition of limitations on
conversion of foreign currencies into pounds sterling or dollars
or remittance of dividends and other payments by foreign
subsidiaries; hyperinflation in certain foreign countries;
imposition or increase of investment and other restrictions by
foreign governments; and the requirement of complying with a
wide variety of foreign laws.
We report our operating results and financial condition in US
dollars. Our US operations earn revenue and incur expenses
primarily in US dollars. In our London market operations,
however, we earn revenue in a number of different currencies,
but expenses are almost entirely incurred in pounds sterling.
Outside the United States and our London market operations, we
predominantly generate revenue and expenses in the local
currency. The table gives an approximate analysis of revenues
and expenses by currency in 2010.
Revenues
Expenses
Because of devaluations and fluctuations in currency exchange
rates or the imposition of limitations on conversion of foreign
currencies into US dollars, we are subject to currency
translation exposure on the
profits of our operations, in addition to economic exposure.
Furthermore, the mismatch between pounds sterling revenues and
expenses, together with any net sterling balance sheet position
we hold in our US dollar denominated London market operations,
creates an exchange exposure.
For example, as the pound sterling strengthens, the US dollars
required to be translated into pounds sterling to cover the net
sterling expenses increase, which then causes our results to be
negatively impacted. Our results may also be adversely impacted
if we are holding a net sterling position in our US dollar
denominated London market operations: if the pound sterling
weakens any net sterling asset we are holding will be less
valuable when translated into US dollars. Given these facts, the
strength of the pound sterling relative to the US dollar has in
the past had a material negative impact on our reported results.
This risk could have a material adverse effect on our business
financial condition, cash flow and results of operations in the
future.
Where possible, we hedge part of our operating exposure to
exchange rate movements, but such mitigating attempts may not be
successful.
In conducting our
businesses around the world, we are subject to political,
economic, legal, market, nationalization, operational and other
risks that are inherent in operating in many
countries.
In conducting our businesses and maintaining and supporting our
global operations, we are subject to political, economic, legal,
market, nationalization, operational and other risks. Our
businesses and operations are increasingly expanding into new
regions throughout the world, including emerging markets, and we
expect this trend to continue. The possible effects of economic
and financial disruptions throughout the world could have an
adverse impact on our businesses. These risks include:
Legislative and
regulatory action could materially and adversely affect us and
our effective tax rate may increase.
There is uncertainty regarding the tax policies of the
jurisdictions where we operate (which include the potential
legislative actions described below), and our effective tax rate
may increase and any such increase may be material.
Additionally, the tax laws of Ireland and other jurisdictions
could change in the future, and such changes could cause a
material change in our effective tax rate. For example,
legislative action may be taken by the US Congress which, if
ultimately enacted, could override tax treaties upon which we
rely or could broaden the circumstances under which we would be
considered
a US resident, each of which could materially and adversely
affect our effective tax rate and cash tax position. We cannot
predict the outcome of any specific legislative proposals.
However, if proposals were enacted that had the effect of
limiting our ability to take advantage of tax treaties between
Ireland and other jurisdictions (including the US), we could be
subjected to increased taxation. In addition, any future
amendments to the current income tax treaties between Ireland
and other jurisdictions could subject us to increased taxation.
Irish law differs
from the laws in effect in the United States and may afford less
protection to holders of our securities.
It may not be possible to enforce court judgments obtained in
the United States against us in Ireland based on the civil
liability provisions of the US federal or state securities laws.
In addition, there is some uncertainty as to whether the courts
of Ireland would recognize or enforce judgments of US courts
obtained against us or our directors or officers based on the
civil liabilities provisions of the US federal or state
securities laws or hear actions against us or those persons
based on those laws. We have been advised that the United States
currently does not have a treaty with Ireland providing for the
reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and
commercial matters. Therefore, a final judgment for the payment
of money rendered by any US federal or state court based on
civil liability, whether or not based solely on US federal or
state securities laws, would not be directly enforceable in
Ireland. While not directly enforceable, it is possible for a
final judgment for the payment of money rendered by any US
federal or state court based on civil liability to be enforced
in Ireland through common law rules. However, this
process is subject to numerous established principles and would
involve the commencement of a new set of proceedings in Ireland
to enforce the judgment.
As an Irish company, Willis Group Holdings is governed by the
Irish Companies Acts, which differ in some material respects
from laws generally applicable to US corporations and
shareholders, including, among others, differences relating to
interested director and officer transactions and shareholder
lawsuits. Likewise, the duties of directors and officers of an
Irish company generally are owed to the company only.
Shareholders of Irish companies generally do not have a personal
right of action against directors or officers of the company and
may exercise such rights of action on behalf of the Company only
in limited circumstances. Accordingly, holders of Willis Group
Holdings securities may have more difficulty protecting their
interests than would holders of securities of a corporation
incorporated in a jurisdiction of the United States.
Our non-core
operations pose certain underwriting, advisory or reputational
risks.
We provide a broad range of brokerage, reinsurance and risk
management consulting services to our clients worldwide. We also
engage in certain non-core operations. For example, our Willis
Capital Markets & Advisory business provides advice to
insurance and reinsurance companies on a broad array of mergers
and acquisition transactions as well
as capital markets products, including acting as underwriter or
agent for primary issuances, operating a secondary
insurance-linked securities trading desk and engaging in general
capital markets and strategic advisory work. These operations
may pose certain underwriting, advisory or reputational risks to
our core business.
The Company had no unresolved comments from the SEC’s staff.
Properties
We own and lease a number of properties for use as offices
throughout the world and believe that our properties are
generally suitable and adequate for the purposes for which they
are used. The principal properties are located in the United
Kingdom and the United States. Willis maintains over
4.1 million square feet of space worldwide.
London
In London we occupy a prime site comprising 491,000 square
feet spread over a 28 story tower and adjoining 10 story
building. We have a
25-year
lease on this property which expires June 2032 and we
sub-let the
10-story adjoining building.
North
America
In North America, outside of New York and Chicago, we lease
approximately 2.0 million square feet over 130 locations.
New
York
In New York, we occupy 205,000 square feet of office space
at One World Financial Center under a 20 year lease,
expiring September 2026.
Chicago
In Chicago, we occupy 140,000 square feet at the Willis Tower
(formerly the Sears Tower), under a lease expiring February 2025.
Nashville
In 2010 we renegotiated our lease and began a major restack of
our operations facility in Nashville. The first stage was
completed in December 2010 and the remainder will be complete by
May 2011. We reduced our square footage from 327,000 square
feet to 160,000 square feet eliminating sublet space.
Rest of
World
Outside of North America and London we lease approximately
1.3 million square feet of office space in over 190
locations.
Information regarding legal proceedings is set forth in
Note 20 ‘Commitments and Contingencies’ to the
Consolidated Financial Statements appearing under Part II,
Item 8 of this report.
Share
data and dividends
Share
data
Our shares have been traded on the New York Stock Exchange
(‘NYSE’) under the symbol ‘WSH’ since
June 11, 2001. The high and low sale prices of our shares,
as reported by the NYSE, are set forth below for the periods
indicated, including trading of the common shares of
Willis-Bermuda through December 31, 2009 and trading of the
ordinary shares of Willis Group Holdings after that date.
2009:
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
2010:
2011:
Through February 18, 2011
On February 18, 2011, the last reported sale price of our
shares as reported by the NYSE was $39.68 per share. As of
February 18, 2011 there were approximately
1,846 shareholders of record of our shares.
Dividends
We normally pay dividends on a quarterly basis to shareholders
of record on March 31, June 30, September 30 and
December 31. The dividend payment dates and amounts are as
follows:
January 16, 2009
April 13, 2009
July 13, 2009
October 12, 2009
January 15, 2010
April 16, 2010
July 16, 2010
October 15, 2010
January 14, 2011
There are no governmental laws, decrees or regulations in
Ireland which will restrict the remittance of dividends or other
payments to
non-resident
holders of the Company’s shares.
In circumstances where one of Ireland’s many exemptions
from dividend withholding tax (‘DWT’) does not apply,
dividends paid by the Company will be subject to Irish DWT
(currently 20 percent). Residents of the US should be
exempted from Irish
DWT provided relevant documentation supporting the exemption has
been put in place. While the US-Ireland Double Tax Treaty
contains provisions reducing the rate of Irish DWT in prescribed
circumstances, it should generally be unnecessary for US
residents to rely on the provisions of this treaty due to the
wide scope of exemptions from DWT available under Irish domestic
law. Irish income tax may also arise in respect of dividends
paid by the Company. However, US residents entitled to an
exemption from Irish DWT generally have no Irish income tax
liability on dividends. An exception to this position applies
where a shareholder holds shares in the Company through a branch
or agency in Ireland through which a trade is carried on.
With respect to non-corporate US shareholders, certain dividends
received before January 1, 2011 from a qualified foreign
corporation may be subject to reduced rates of taxation. A
foreign corporation is treated as a qualified foreign
corporation with respect to dividends received from that
corporation on shares that are readily tradable on an
established securities market in the United States, such as our
shares. Non-corporate US shareholders that do not
meet a minimum holding period requirement for our shares during
which they are not protected from the risk of loss or that elect
to treat the dividend income as ‘investment income’
pursuant to section 163(d)(4) of the Code will not be
eligible for the reduced rates of taxation regardless of our
status as a qualified foreign corporation. In addition, the rate
reduction will not apply to dividends if the
recipient of a dividend is obligated to make related payments
with respect to positions in substantially similar or related
property. This disallowance applies even if the minimum holding
period has been met. US shareholders should consult their own
tax advisors regarding the application of these rules given
their particular circumstances.
Total Shareholder
Return
The following graph demonstrates a five-year comparison of
cumulative total returns for the Company, the S&P 500 and a
peer group comprised of the Company, Aon Corporation, Arthur J.
Gallagher & Co., Brown & Brown Inc., and
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. The comparison charts
the performance of $100 invested in the Company, the S&P
500 and the peer group on December 31, 2005, assuming full
dividend reinvestment.
Unregistered
Sales of Equity Securities and Use Of Proceeds
During the quarter ended December 31, 2010, no shares were
issued by the Company without registration under the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended.
Purchases of
Equity Securities by the Issuer And Affiliated
Purchasers
Under a share buyback program approved by the Board of
Directors, the Company may purchase up to one billion shares,
from time to time in the open market. The authorization to make
purchases of Company shares on the open market will expire on
June 30, 2011 unless varied, revoked or renewed by a
resolution of the shareholders in accordance with Irish law. The
Company may also purchase shares through negotiated trades with
persons who are not affiliates of the Company. These negotiated
trade purchases are effected by way of share redemption and do
not require Shareholder approval. The authorization in
respect of open market purchases provides that the cost of the
acquisition of the Company’s shares (whether by redemption
or on the open market) may not exceed $925 million. During
the year ended December 31, 2010, there were no shares
repurchased.
The information under ‘Securities Authorized for Issuance
Under Equity Compensation Plans’ under Part III,
Item 12 ‘Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial
Owner and Management and Related Stockholder Matters’ is
incorporated herein by reference.
Financial
highlights
Selected
Historical Consolidated Financial Data
The selected consolidated financial data presented below should
be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial
statements of the Company and the related notes and
Item 7 — ‘Management’s Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations’
included elsewhere in this report.
The selected historical consolidated financial data presented
below as of and for each of the five years ended
December 31, 2010 have been derived from the audited
consolidated financial statements of the Company, which have
been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally
accepted in the United States of America (‘US GAAP’).
Statement of Operations Data
Total revenues
Operating income
Income from continuing operations before income taxes and
interest in earnings of associates
Income from continuing operations
Discontinued operations, net of tax
Net income attributable to Willis Group Holdings
Earnings per share on continuing operations — basic
Earnings per share on continuing operations — diluted
Average number of shares outstanding
— basic
— diluted
Balance Sheet Data (as of year end)
Goodwill
Other intangible assets, net
Total
assets(ii)
Net assets
Total long-term debt
Shares and additional paid-in capital
Total stockholders’ equity
Other Financial Data
Capital expenditures (excluding capital leases)
Cash dividends declared per share
Business
discussion
This discussion includes references to non-GAAP financial
measures as defined in Regulation G of the rules of the
Securities and Exchange Commission (‘SEC’). We present
such non-GAAP financial measures, as we believe such information
is of interest to the investment community because it provides
additional meaningful methods of evaluating certain aspects of
the Company’s operating performance from period to period
on a basis that may not be otherwise apparent on a GAAP basis.
Organic revenue growth and organic growth in commissions and
fees exclude the impact of acquisitions and disposals, year over
year movements in foreign currency translation, legacy
contingent commissions assumed as part of the HRH acquisition,
and investment and other income from reported revenues. We
believe organic revenue growth and organic growth in commissions
and fees provide measures that the investment community may find
helpful in assessing the performance of
operations that were part of our operations in both the
current and prior periods, and provide measures against which
our businesses may be assessed in the future. These financial
measures should be viewed in addition to, not in lieu of, the
consolidated financial statements for the year ended
December 31, 2010.
This discussion includes forward-looking statements,
including under the headings ‘Business Overview and Market
Outlook’, ‘Executive Summary’, ‘Operating
Results — Group’, ‘Operating
Results — Segment Information’ and
‘Liquidity and Capital Resources’. Please see
‘Forward-Looking Statements’ for certain cautionary
information regarding forward-looking statements and a list of
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those predicted in the forward-looking statements.
BUSINESS OVERVIEW
AND MARKET OUTLOOK
We provide a broad range of insurance broking, risk management
and consulting services to our clients worldwide. Our core
specialty businesses include Aerospace; Energy; Marine;
Construction; Financial and Executive Risks; Fine Art, Jewelry
and Specie; Special Contingency Risks; and Reinsurance. Our
retail operations provide services to small, medium and major
corporations and the employee benefits practice, our largest
product-based practice group, provides health, welfare and human
resources consulting and brokerage services.
In our capacity as advisor and insurance broker, we act as an
intermediary between our clients and insurance carriers by
advising our clients on their risk management requirements,
helping clients determine the best means of managing risk, and
negotiating and placing insurance risk with insurance carriers
through our global distribution network.
We derive most of our revenues from commissions and fees for
brokerage and consulting services and do not determine the
insurance premiums on which our commissions are generally based.
Fluctuations in these premiums charged by the insurance carriers
have a direct and potentially material impact on our results of
operations. Commission levels generally follow the same trend as
premium levels as they are derived from a percentage of the
premiums paid by the insureds. Due to the cyclical nature of the
insurance market and the impact of other market conditions on
insurance premiums, they may vary widely between accounting
periods. Reductions in premium rates, leading to downward
pressure on commission revenues (a ‘soft’ market), can
have a potentially material adverse impact on our commission
revenues and operating margin.
A ‘hard’ market occurs when premium uplifting factors,
including a greater than anticipated loss experience or capital
shortages, more than offset any downward pressures on premiums.
This usually has a favorable impact on our commission revenues
and operating margin.
From 2000 through 2003 we benefited from a hard market with
premium rates stable or increasing. During 2004, we saw a rapid
transition from a hard market to a soft market, with premium
rates falling in most markets. Rates continued to decline in
most sectors through 2005 and 2006, with the exception
of catastrophe-exposed markets. In 2007, the market softened
further with decreases in many of the market sectors in which we
operated and this continued into 2008 with further premium rate
declines across our markets. The soft market had an adverse
impact on our commission revenues and operating margin from 2005
through 2008.
In 2009, modest stabilization of rates in the reinsurance market
and some specialty markets was offset by the continuing soft
market in other sectors and the adverse impact of the weakened
economic environment across the globe.
In 2010, the soft market continued across many sectors including
the reinsurance market.
Our North America and UK and Irish retail operations have been
particularly impacted by the weakened economic climate and
continued soft market throughout both 2009 and 2010 with no
material improvement in rates across most sectors.
This resulted in declines in 2009 revenues in these operations
with only modest improvement in 2010, particularly amongst our
smaller clients who have been especially vulnerable to the
economic downturn.
In 2011, our main priorities will include:
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Overview
Despite the difficult market conditions during the year, we
reported total revenue growth of 2 percent in 2010 mainly
reflecting 4 percent organic growth in commissions and fees
partly offset by a negative 1 percent impact from foreign
currency translation.
Organic revenue growth was driven by our Global and
International operations which both reported 6 percent
organic growth, whilst revenues in our North America operations
were broadly in line with 2009, as this segment continued to be
adversely
impacted by the soft market and difficult economic conditions.
Operating margin was 23 percent in 2010, compared with
21 percent in 2009. The year on year improvement mainly
reflected the benefit of organic growth in commissions and fees,
continuing disciplined management of costs and a small favorable
effect from foreign currency movements, partly offset by
increased incentive costs.
Results from
continuing operations: 2010 compared with 2009
Net income from continuing operations in 2010 was
$455 million, or $2.66 per diluted share, compared with
$436 million, or $2.58 per diluted share, in 2009.
Total revenues from continuing operations at $3,339 million
for 2010 were $76 million, or 2 percent, higher than
in 2009, reflecting organic commissions and fees growth of
4 percent, partly offset by an adverse impact from foreign
currency translation, a $16 million decrease attributable
to the year over year reduction in contingent
commissions assumed as part of the HRH acquisition and a
$14 million decrease in investment and other income.
Organic commissions and fees growth of 4 percent comprised
6 percent net new business growth (which constitutes the
revenue growth from business won over the course of the year net
of the revenue from existing business lost) and a 2 percent
negative impact from declining premium rates and other market
factors.
Operating margin at 23 percent was 2 percentage points
higher than in 2009 with the increase mainly reflecting:
partly offset by
Interest expense in 2010 was $166 million, $8 million
lower than in 2009, as the benefit of the interest expense
savings arising from the year over year reduction in average
term loan and revolving credit facility balances was partly
offset by the effect of the higher coupon payable on the
$500 million of 12.875% senior unsecured notes issued
in March 2009.
Income tax expense for 2010 was $140 million compared with
$96 million in 2009. Both years benefited from a release of
provisions for uncertain tax positions and 2009 additionally
benefited from a $27 million tax credit following a change
to UK tax law.
Earnings from associates were $23 million in 2010 compared
with $33 million in 2009 with the decrease primarily
reflecting our reduced ownership of Gras Savoye.
Results from
continuing operations: 2009 compared with 2008
Net income from continuing operations in 2009 was
$436 million, or $2.58 per diluted share, compared with
$302 million, or $2.04 per diluted share, in 2008. This
increase included organic growth in commissions and fees, a
reduction in costs associated with our 2008 expense review from
$0.45 per diluted share in 2008 to $0.11 per diluted share for
severance costs in 2009 and a one-time tax release in 2009
relating to a change in UK tax law in 2009 equivalent to $0.16
per diluted share.
Total revenues from continuing operations at $3,263 million
for 2009 were $436 million, or 15 percent, higher than
in 2008. Organic revenue growth of 2 percent and a
19 percent benefit from net acquisitions and disposals in
2009, driven by the fourth quarter 2008 acquisition of HRH, were
partly offset by a negative 4 percent impact from foreign
currency translation and a $31 million decrease in
investment income compared to 2008.
Organic revenue growth of 2 percent comprised
5 percent net new business growth (which
constitutes the revenue growth from business won over the course
of the year net of the revenue from existing business lost) and
a 3 percent negative impact from declining premium rates
and other market factors.
Operating margin at 21 percent was 3 percentage points
higher than in 2008 with the increase mainly reflecting:
2011 Operational
review
Willis aims to be the broker and risk adviser of choice globally
by aligning our business model to the needs of each client
segment and maintaining a focus on growth: this is our value
proposition which we call the ‘Willis Cause’.
We expect 2011 salaries and benefits expense to include an
increase of approximately $100 million compared with 2010
as a result of the following:
We estimate that of those items noted above, approximately
$20 million to $25 million will continue through to
2012 as incremental expense: reflecting a further but
significantly lower increase in the amortization of cash
retention awards in 2012
compared with 2011, and the full year impact of the 2011 annual
salary review.
In addition to these costs, we will continue to invest in
technology, advanced analytics, product innovation, and industry
talent and expertise to support the growth strategy and
continued execution of the Willis Cause through 2011 and beyond.
In order to fund the higher anticipated salaries and benefits
expense and these investments, we are undertaking a review of
all our businesses to better align our resources with our growth
strategies. We expect to complete this review in the first
quarter of 2011.
In connection with this review, we anticipate that we will incur
pre-tax charges of approximately $110 million to
$130 million, primarily recorded in the first quarter of
2011. We also anticipate that the operational review will result
in cost savings of approximately $65 million to
$80 million in 2011, reaching annualized savings of
approximately $90 million to $100 million in 2012.
Outlook
As a result of the 2011 operational review and the continued
investment in our business model, we expect to deliver:
The statements under ‘2011 Operational Review’ and
‘Outlook’ constitute forward-looking statements.
Please see ‘Forward-Looking Statements’ for certain
cautionary information regarding forward-looking statements and
a list of factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those predicted in the forward-looking
statements.
Venezuela
currency devaluation
With effect from January 1, 2010 the Venezuelan economy was
designated as hyper-inflationary. The Venezuelan government also
devalued the Bolivar Fuerte in January 2010. As a result of
these actions,
we recorded a $12 million charge in other expenses in 2010
to reflect the re-measurement of our net assets denominated in
Venezuelan Bolivar Fuerte at January 1, 2010.
Acquisitions
During 2010, we acquired:
Cash and
financing
Cash at December 31, 2010 was $316 million,
$95 million higher than at December 31, 2009. This
increase in cash was partly attributable to additional cash
balances being held in our main UK regulated company.
Net cash generated from operating activities in 2010 was
$489 million compared with $419 million in 2009.
Net cash generated from operating activities in 2010 of
$489 million was used to fund debt repayments of
$209 million; dividends to stockholders of
$176 million; and fixed asset additions of $83 million.
In August 2010, we entered into a new revolving credit facility
agreement under which a further $200 million is available.
This facility is in addition to the remaining availability under
our previously existing $300 million revolving credit
facility.
In addition, in June 2010, we entered into an additional
facility solely for the use of our main UK
regulated entity under which a further $20 million would be
available in certain exceptional circumstances. This facility is
secured against the freehold of the UK regulated entity’s
freehold property in Ipswich.
At December 31, 2010, we have $nil outstanding under both
the $200 million and the $20 million facilities and
$90 million outstanding under our
pre-existing
$300 million facility.
Total debt, total equity and the capitalization ratio at
December 31, 2010 were as follows:
Long-term debt
Short-term debt and current portion of long-term debt
Total debt
Total equity
Capitalization ratio
Liquidity
Our principal sources of liquidity are cash from operations,
cash and cash equivalents of $316 million at
December 31, 2010 and
$430 million remaining availability under our revolving
credit facilities.
We remain committed to our previously stated goals of ongoing
debt repayment and returning capital to shareholders.
Consistent with this strategy, we are currently reviewing our
debt profile and, subject to prevailing market conditions, may
seek to take advantage of attractive financing rates to reduce
the cost and extend the maturity profile of our existing debt.
Such actions may include redemption of the entire
$500 million in aggregate principal amount of
12.875% senior notes due 2016. If the 2016 senior notes are
redeemed, we anticipate that we would incur a one-time pre-tax
charge of approximately $180 million relating to the
make-whole premium provided under the terms of the indenture
governing the notes, as calculated at December 31, 2010.
Based on current market conditions and information available to
us at this time, we believe that we have sufficient liquidity to
meet our cash needs for at least the next 12 months.
Management
structure
Effective January 1, 2011, we have changed our internal
reporting structure; Global Markets International, previously
reported within our International segment, is now reported in
our Global
division. In addition, Mexico, which was previously reported
within our International segment, is now reported in our North
America segment.
OPERATING
RESULTS — GROUP
Revenues
Total revenues for the Group and by operating segment for the
years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008 are shown
below:
2010 compared
with 2009
Global
North
America(c)
International
Commissions and fees
Investment income
Other income
Our methods of calculating these measures may differ from those
used by other companies and therefore comparability may be
limited.
Revenues for 2010 at $3,339 million were $76 million,
or 2 percent higher than in 2009, reflecting organic growth
in commissions and fees of 4 percent, offset by a
1 percent adverse year over year impact from foreign
currency translation and decreased investment and other income.
Investment income was $38 million for 2010,
$12 million lower than 2009 with the impact on investment
income of lower interest rates across the globe, particularly on
our Euro-denominated deposits, only partially mitigated by our
forward hedging program. While we expect this forward hedging
program to generate additional income in 2011 compared to
current LIBOR based rates, there will be a lower benefit than in
2010 as older, more beneficial hedges, continue to expire.
Consequently, we expect investment income to be closer to
$30 million in 2011.
Our International and Global operations earn a significant
portion of their revenues in currencies other than the US
dollar, including the Euro and Pound Sterling. For the year
ended December 31,
2010, reported revenues were adversely impacted by the year over
year effect of foreign currency translation: in particular due
to the strengthening of the US dollar against the Euro,
Venezuelan Bolivar Fuerte and Pound Sterling, partly offset by
its weakening against the Australian dollar.
Organic growth in commissions and fees was 4 percent for
2010. Global achieved 6 percent growth, driven by good
growth in our Reinsurance, Willis Capital Markets &
Advisory (WCMA) and Global Specialties businesses. International
also achieved 6 percent growth driven by double digit
organic growth in Latin America and Asia, together with solid
growth in Europe. North America organic revenue growth was flat,
as the benefits of double digit new business growth and a change
in accounting policy in an acquired specialty business, were
offset by the impact of the continued soft market and ongoing
weakened economic conditions.
Organic revenue growth by segment is discussed further in
‘Operating Results — Segment Information’
below.
2009 compared
with 2008
North America
Revenues for 2009 at $3,263 million were $436 million,
or 15 percent higher than in 2008, reflecting a
20 percent benefit from net acquisitions and disposals,
principally attributable to HRH, and organic growth in
commissions and fees of 2 percent, offset by a
4 percent adverse year over year impact from foreign
currency translation, a reduction in legacy HRH contingent
commissions and lower investment income.
Investment income was $50 million for 2009,
$31 million lower than 2008, with the decrease reflecting
significantly lower average interest rates in 2009. The impact
of rate decreases on our investment income was partially
mitigated by our forward hedging program.
Our International and Global operations earn a significant
portion of their revenues in currencies
other than the US dollar. For the year ended December 31,
2009, reported revenues were adversely impacted by the year over
year effect of foreign currency translation: in particular due
to the strengthening of the US dollar against the Pound Sterling
and against the Euro, compared with 2008.
Organic growth in commissions and fees was 2 percent for
2009, despite a negative 3 percent impact from declining
premium rates and other market factors. Our overall organic
growth comprised good growth in our Global operations and many
of our International operations, partly offset by declines in
our North America, UK and Irish retail operations reflecting the
weak economic environments and soft market conditions
experienced in these territories.
General and
administrative expenses
Salaries and benefits
Other
General and administrative expenses
Salaries and benefits as a percentage of revenues
Other as a percentage of revenues
Salaries and
benefits
Salaries and benefits were 56 percent of revenues for both
2010 and 2009, as the benefits of:
were offset by
Cash retention
awards
We have a cash retention award program in place. We started
making cash retention awards in 2005 to a small number of
employees. With the success of the program, we have expanded it
over time to include more staff and we believe it is a
contributing factor to the reduction in employee turnover we
have seen in recent years.
Salaries and benefits do not reflect the unamortized portion of
annual cash retention awards made to employees. Employees must
repay a proportionate amount of these cash retention awards if
they voluntarily leave our employ (other than in the event of
retirement or permanent disability) before a certain time
period, currently three years. We make cash payments to our
employees in the year we grant these retention awards and
recognize these payments ratably over the period they are
subject to repayment, beginning in the quarter in which the
award is made. A significant majority of the Company’s
incentive compensation for non-production compensation is paid
in the form of a retention payment versus bonus awards which
typically are made for prior service and accrued over the prior
service period.
During 2010, we made $196 million of cash retention
payments compared with $148 million in 2009. Salaries and
benefits in 2010 include $119 million of amortization of
cash retention payments made on or before December 31, 2010
compared with $88 million in 2009. As of December 31,
2010 and December 31, 2009, we included $173 million
and $98 million, respectively, in other assets on the
balance sheet, which represented the unamortized portion of cash
retention payments made on or before those dates.
Other
expenses
Other expenses were 17 percent of revenues in 2010,
compared with 18 percent in 2009, reflecting the benefits
of:
Salaries and benefits were 56 percent of revenues for 2009,
compared with 58 percent in 2008 reflecting the benefits of:
Effective May 15, 2009, we closed our US defined benefit
pension plan to future accrual and recognized a curtailment gain
of $12 million in second quarter 2009. As a result the full
year 2009 charge for the US plan was $7 million compared
with an expected $39 million charge had the plan not been
closed to future accrual.
We also suspended the company match for our US 401(k) plan which
benefited 2009 by $9 million compared with 2008.
UK salary
sacrifice scheme
With effect from April 2009, the Company offered UK employees an
alternative basis on which to fund contributions into the UK
pension plans. UK employees can now agree to sacrifice an amount
of their salary and in return the Company makes additional
pension contributions on their behalf, equivalent to the value
of the salary sacrificed.
From a payroll tax perspective, this is a more efficient method
of making pension contributions.
As a result of this change, the Company made additional pension
contributions of $10 million in 2010 and $8 million in
2009, with marginally higher savings in salaries and payroll
taxes.
Other expenses were 18 percent of revenues for 2009
compared with 21 percent in 2008, reflecting the benefit of:
We have a program that hedges our sterling cash outflows from
our London market operations, a part of which hedges the
sterling denominated cash contributions into the UK pension
plan. However, we do not hedge against the pension benefits
asset or liability recognized for accounting purposes.
The effects of the above increases were partly mitigated by the
benefits of our continued focus on cost controls.
Amortization of
intangible assets
Amortization of intangible assets of $82 million in 2010
was $18 million lower than in 2009.
The decrease primarily reflects: the year over year benefit of
the 2009 accelerated amortization of $7 million relating to
the HRH brand name; and the declining charge for the
amortization of the HRH customer relationship intangible, which
is being amortized in line with the underlying discounted cash
flows.
We expect the amortization of intangible assets expense in 2011
to further decrease to approximately $65 million.
Amortization of intangible assets of $100 million in 2009
was $64 million higher than in 2008. The
significant year over year increase was primarily attributable
to additional charges of $58 million in 2009 in respect of
intangible assets recognized on the HRH acquisition, including
$7 million of accelerated amortization relating to the HRH
brand name. Following the success of our integration of HRH into
our previously existing North America operations, we announced
on October 1, 2009 that we were changing the name of our
North America operations from Willis HRH to Willis North
America. Consequently the intangible asset recognized on the
acquisition of HRH relating to the HRH brand name was fully
amortized.
Operating income
and margin (operating income as a percentage of
revenues)
Revenues
Operating margin or operating income as a percentage of revenues
Operating margin was 23 percent for 2010, compared with
21 percent for 2009, reflecting the benefits of:
Operating margin was 21 percent for 2009 compared with
18 percent for 2008. This increase reflected the benefit of:
Interest
expense
Interest expense
Interest expense in 2010 of $166 million was $8 lower than
in 2009, as the benefit of the interest expense savings arising
from the year over year reduction in average term loan and
revolving credit facility balances was partly offset by the
effect of the higher coupon payable on the $500 million of
12.875% senior unsecured notes issued in March 2009.
We are reviewing our current debt profile to identify
opportunities to reduce our financing costs by taking advantage
of current low global interest rates.
Interest expense in 2009 of $174 million was
$69 million higher than in 2008. This increase primarily
reflects higher average debt levels following the HRH
acquisition, but also includes $5 million of premium and
costs relating to the early repurchase in September 2009 of
$160 million of our 5.125% senior notes due July 2010
at a premium of $27.50 per $1,000 face value.
Income
taxes
Income from continuing operations before taxes
Income tax charge
Effective tax rate
The effective tax rate for 2010 of 24 percent was impacted
by:
|
|
| • |
an adverse impact from the $12 million charge relating to
the devaluation of the Venezuelan currency for which no tax
credits are available; and
|
Excluding these items, the underlying effective tax rate for
2010 was broadly in line with 2009.
The effective tax rate in 2009 was 18 percent compared with
24 percent in 2008. The decrease in rate reflects:
Excluding the benefit of these items, the underlying effective
tax rate for 2009 was 26 percent.
Interest in
earnings of associates
Interest in earnings of associates, net of tax, in 2010 of
$23 million was $10 million lower than in 2009. This
fall is primarily driven by the reduction from 49 percent
to 31 percent in our ownership interest in Gras Savoye, as
part of the reorganization of their capital structure in
December 2009. Interest receivable on the vendor financing we
provided as part of the capital reorganization is also recorded
under this caption.
Interest in earnings of associates, net of tax, was
$33 million in 2009, $11 million higher than in 2008,
reflecting a year over year increased ownership share in Gras
Savoye. As described above, our interest in Gras Savoye
subsequently reduced in December 2009 following the
reorganization of that company’s capital.
Net income and
diluted earnings per share from continuing operations
Net income from continuing operations
Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations
Average diluted number of shares outstanding
Net income from continuing operations for 2010 was
$455 million compared with $436 million in 2009,
reflecting the benefits of:
Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations for 2010
increased to $2.66 compared to $2.58 in 2009.
Foreign currency translation, excluding the impact of the
Venezuelan currency devaluation, had a $0.04 favorable impact on
diluted earnings per share. This was more than offset by the
$0.07 per diluted share negative impact from the Venezuela
currency devaluation in January 2010.
Average share count for 2010 was 171 million compared with
169 million in 2009. The increased share count had a
negative $0.03 impact on diluted earnings per share.
Net income from continuing operations for 2009 was
$436 million compared with $302 million in 2008. The
$134 million increase primarily reflected the
$191 million increase in operating income, discussed above,
partly offset by the $69 million increase in interest
expense.
Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations for 2009
increased to $2.58 compared to $2.04 in 2008 as the benefit of
the increased net
income was partly offset by a 21 million increase in
average diluted shares outstanding due primarily to the shares
issued on October 1, 2008 for the HRH acquisition. The
additional shares issued had a negative $0.36 impact on earnings
per diluted share in 2009.
Foreign currency translation had a year over year $0.27 positive
impact on earnings per diluted share in 2009.
OPERATING
RESULTS — SEGMENT INFORMATION
We organize our business into three segments: Global, North
America and International. Our Global business provides
specialist brokerage and consulting services to clients
worldwide for risks arising from specific industries and
activities. North America and International comprise our retail
operations and provide services to small, medium and major
corporations.
The following table is a summary of our operating results by
segment for the three years ended December 31, 2010:
Global
North America
International
Total Retail
Corporate & Other
Total Consolidated
Our Global business comprise Global Specialties, Willis Re,
London Market Wholesale, and as of 2010, Willis Capital
Markets & Advisory (WCMA).
Faber & Dumas includes Glencairn, our London-based
wholesale brokerage operation and our Fine Art, Jewelry and
Specie; Special Contingency Risk and Hughes-Gibb units. WCMA
provides financial
advice on mergers and acquisitions and capital markets products
and may place or underwrite securities.
The following table sets out revenues, organic revenue growth
and operating income and margin for the three years ended
December 31, 2010:
Organic revenue
growth(a)
Operating margin
Commissions and fees of $873 million were $51 million,
or 6 percent, higher in 2010 compared with 2009 which was
driven by 6 percent organic revenue growth, with a
1 percent benefit from acquisitions and disposals offset by
the impact of foreign currency translation.
Our Reinsurance and Global Specialties businesses both reported
mid-single digit organic growth in 2010, driven by good net new
business generation despite the adverse impact of the continued
difficult rate environment and soft market in many of the
specialty classes.
Reinsurance reported strong new business growth across all
segments in 2010 and client retention levels remained high.
Despite high loss levels earlier in the year, rates remain soft
except for Marine and Energy.
Organic growth in Global Specialties was led by strong
contributions from Financial and Executive Risks, Construction
and Energy, reflecting strong new business, improved retention,
targeted hiring of producer talent and global connectivity.
However, the operating environment remains tough with depressed
world trade and transit volumes, industry
consolidation and pressure on financing of construction projects
still evident.
As a result of strong reinsurance underwriting profits in 2009,
with the exception of marine and energy, there has been a
general but disciplined softening of rates in 2010 which remain
a significant headwind for growth.
Our WCMA business also contributed to positive organic revenue
growth in 2010, substantially due to a $9 million fee on a
single capital markets transaction in the second quarter. WCMA
is a transaction oriented business and its results are more
variable than some of our other businesses.
Faber & Dumas revenues were slightly lower than 2009,
mainly reflecting the soft wholesale market, together with
continued pressure on the most economically sensitive lines such
as bloodstock, jewelry and fine arts.
Productivity in Global, measured in terms of revenue per FTE
employee, increased to $365,000 for 2010 compared with $358,000
for 2009.
Client retention levels remained high at 90 percent for
2010, in line with 2009.
Commissions and fees of $822 million were $38 million,
or 5 percent, higher in 2009 compared with 2008 of which
4 percent was attributable to the acquisition of the HRH UK
wholesale business, Glencairn and 4 percent to organic
revenue growth.
These were partly offset by a 3 percent negative impact
from foreign exchange movements.
Net new business growth was 5 percent and there was a
1 percent adverse impact from rates and other market
factors. Reinsurance led the growth in net new business. Global
Specialties organic revenues
were slightly higher than in 2008, as growth in Marine,
Aerospace and Financial and Executive Risks was offset by
reductions elsewhere. There was continued softness in most
specialty rates although there were some signs of stabilization
and firming in some areas, including Aerospace and Energy. The
Faber & Dumas businesses continue to be adversely
impacted by the weakening economic environment.
There was a sharp decline in investment income in 2009 compared
with 2008 as global interest rates fell markedly in the latter
half of 2008 and early 2009.
Operating
margin
Operating margin was 30 percent in 2010 compared with
31 percent in 2009. This decrease primarily reflected the
adverse impact of foreign currency translation, as the positive
effect on our Pound Sterling expense base of a strengthening US
dollar, was more than offset by the adverse impact of foreign
currency movements on sterling-denominated balances.
Operating margin in Global is impacted by foreign exchange
movements as the London Market businesses within our Global
operations earn
revenues in US dollars, Pounds Sterling and Euros and primarily
incur expenses in Pounds Sterling. In addition, they are exposed
to exchange risk on certain sterling-denominated balances.
Excluding the impact of this foreign currency translation,
Global’s operating margin remained flat as the benefits of
good organic revenue growth and disciplined cost control were
offset by the impact of costs associated with continued support
of current and future growth.
Operating margin was 31 percent in 2009 compared with
29 percent in 2008. This improvement reflected a
significant benefit from foreign currency translation, together
with organic revenue growth, particularly driven by our
Reinsurance business, and
good cost controls including a reduction in discretionary
expenses.
The benefit of these was partly offset by a significant increase
in the UK pension expense and a sharp reduction in investment
income.
Our North America business provides risk management, insurance
brokerage, related risk services and employee benefits brokerage
and consulting to a wide array of industry and client segments
in the United States and Canada.
Commissions and
fees(a)(b)
Organic revenue
growth(c)
Commissions and fees of $1,359 million were
$9 million, or 1 percent, lower for 2010 compared with
2009.
Excluding the $16 million decrease in legacy contingency
commissions assumed as part of the HRH acquisition, there was a
modest increase in commissions and fees.
Organic revenue growth was flat for 2010 as the benefits of:
Net new business growth includes the benefit of higher standard
commissions where these have been negotiated in lieu of
contingent commissions. These
higher standard commissions however may not have been negotiated
at the same level or be received in the same periods as the
related contingent commissions. Furthermore, the business to
which they related may not have been renewed.
Despite the small decline in revenues, productivity in North
America, measured in terms of revenue per FTE employee,
increased to $238,000 for 2010 compared with $227,000 for 2009.
Client retention levels increased to 92 percent for 2010,
compared with 91 percent for 2009.
Commissions and fees in North America were 51 percent
higher in 2009 compared with 2008 reflecting the uplift from the
additional revenues of HRH, partly offset by 3 percent
negative organic growth. Our North America operations were
significantly adversely impacted by soft market conditions, the
weakened US economy and a reduction in project based revenues
which more than offset a positive impact from net new business.
In particular, our Construction division saw significant
declines.
Our primary focus in North America in 2009 was the integration
of HRH into our existing operations and the improvement of
margin. Additionally, in the second half of the year we
refocused our efforts on revenue growth and we believe this led
to double digit new business generation in parts of the business
during that time period.
Despite the significant decline in revenues, our productivity
measured in terms of revenue per FTE employee remained high,
with a marginal increase to $227,000 for 2009 compared with
$225,000 for 2008.
Operating margin in North America was 23 percent in 2010
compared with 24 percent in 2009, as the benefits of:
were more than offset by
Operating margin in North America was 24 percent in 2009
compared with 15 percent in 2008. The higher margin
reflected:
Our International business comprises our retail operations in
Eastern and Western Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland,
Asia-Pacific, Russia, the Middle East, South Africa and Latin
America. The services provided are focused according to the
characteristics of each market and vary across offices, but
generally include direct risk
management and insurance brokerage and employee benefits
consulting.
Commissions and fees of $1,068 million were
$48 million, or 5 percent, higher for 2010 compared
with 2009, as the benefits of 6 percent organic revenue
growth and 1 percent from the net effect of acquisitions
and disposals was partly offset by a 2 percent adverse
impact from foreign currency translation. Net new business
growth was 9 percent and there was a negative
3 percent impact from rates and other market factors.
A significant part of International’s revenues are earned
in currencies other than the US dollar. The US dollar has
strengthened against a number of these currencies in 2010
compared with 2009, most notably the Euro, Venezuelan Bolivar
Fuerte, Danish Kroner and Pound Sterling. The adverse impact of
this strengthening was partly offset by the weakening of the US
dollar against the Australian dollar. The net impact of these
movements was a 2 percent reduction in 2010 revenues
compared to 2009.
There were strong contributions to our organic growth from most
regions, led by growth in Latin
America, Asia and Europe. In particular, there was good growth
in:
There was further positive growth in our Eastern Europe
operations in 2010, driven by a strong contribution from Russia.
Organic revenue growth was also positive in our UK and Irish
retail operations, driven by new business growth in the UK as we
begin to see signs of an improving economy. Our employee
benefits practice, which represents approximately
10 percent of International commissions and fees, continued
to perform well in 2010 with growth in the mid single digits.
Productivity in our International business, measured in terms of
revenue per FTE employee, increased to
$160,000 for 2010 compared with $156,000 for 2009.
Client retention levels remained high at 92 percent for
2010.
Commissions and fees in International were $35 million, or
3 percent, lower in 2009 compared with 2008 as double digit
new business generation in many of our International units was
more than offset by an adverse impact from foreign exchange of
8 percent, a 3 percent adverse impact from rates and
other market factors, and significantly lower revenues in our UK
and Irish retail operations.
A significant part of International’s revenues are earned
in currencies other than the US dollar which strengthened
significantly in 2009 on a year over year basis against a number
of these currencies, most notably the Euro, Pound Sterling,
Danish kroner and Australian dollar, consequently reducing
International revenues on a year over year basis when reported
in US dollars.
Despite the slowdown of the global economy, International
continued its organic growth. Excluding our UK and Irish retail
divisions, organic revenue growth was 8 percent in 2009,
with Latin America and Asia, led by Brazil, Columbia and China,
all reporting strong organic growth. However, our UK and Irish
retail division saw a 6 percent revenue decline, reflecting
weak local economic conditions.
Client retention levels remained high at approximately
90 percent for 2009.
Operating margin in International was 26 percent in both
2010 and 2009, as the benefits of:
Operating margin in International was 26 percent in 2009
compared with 28 percent in 2008, as the benefits of:
Corporate &
Other
Corporate & Other includes the following:
Amortization of intangible assets
Foreign exchange hedging
Foreign exchange on the UK pension plan asset
HRH integration costs
Net (loss) gain on disposal of operations
2008 expense review
Gain on disposal of London headquarters
Venezuela currency devaluation
Release of previously established legal provision
Redomicile of parent company costs
CRITICAL
ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES
Our accounting policies are described in Note 2 to the
Consolidated Financial Statements. Management considers that the
following accounting estimates or assumptions are the most
important to the
presentation of our financial condition or operating
performance. Management has discussed its critical accounting
estimates and associated disclosures with our Audit Committee.
Pension
expense
We maintain defined benefit pension plans for employees in the
US and UK. Both these plans are now closed to new entrants and,
with effect from May 15, 2009 we closed our US defined
benefit plan to future accrual. New entrants in the UK are
offered the opportunity to join a defined contribution plan and
in the United States are offered the opportunity to join a
401(k) plan. We also have smaller defined benefit schemes in
Ireland, Germany, Norway and the Netherlands. These
International schemes have combined total assets of
$125 million and a combined net liability for pension
benefits of $10 million as of December 31, 2010.
Elsewhere, pension benefits are typically provided through
defined contribution plans.
We make a number of assumptions when determining our pension
liabilities and pension expense which are reviewed annually by
senior management and changed where appropriate. The discount
rate will be changed annually if underlying rates have moved
whereas the expected long-term return on assets will be changed
less frequently as
longer term trends in asset returns emerge or long term target
asset allocations are revised. Other material assumptions
include rates of participant mortality, the expected long-term
rate of compensation and pension increases and rates of employee
termination.
We recorded a net pension charge on our UK and US defined
benefit pension plans in 2010 of $29 million, compared with
$32 million in 2009, a decrease of $3 million.
On our International defined benefit pension plans, we recorded
a net pension charge of $6 million in 2010, compared with
$10 million in 2009, a decrease of $4 million.
The UK plan charge was $3 million higher as the benefit of
higher asset returns from higher asset levels was more than
offset by:
The US pension charge was $6 million lower in 2010 compared
with 2009 reflecting:
Based on December 31, 2010 assumptions, we expect the net
pension charge in 2011 to decrease by: $20 million for the
UK plan; $1 million for the US plan; and a net
$2 million for the International plans.
UK plan
Estimated 2011 expense
Projected benefit obligation at December 31, 2010
Expected long-term rates of return on plan assets are developed
from the expected future returns of the various asset classes
using the target asset allocations. The expected long-term rate
of return used for determining the net UK pension expense in
2010 remained unchanged at 7.8 percent, equivalent to an
expected return in 2010 of $141 million.
Effective January 1, 2011, the expected long-term rate of
return was decreased to 7.50%, following a change in the
underlying target asset mix.
The expected and actual returns on UK plan assets for the three
years ended December 31, 2010 were as follows:
2010
2009
2008
During the latter half of 2008 the value of assets held by our
UK pension plan was significantly adversely affected by the
turmoil in worldwide markets. The holdings of equity securities
were particularly affected in 2008, but have recovered, to some
extent, in 2009 and 2010.
Rates used to discount pension plan liabilities at
December 31, 2010 were based on yields prevailing at that
date of high quality corporate bonds of appropriate maturity.
The selected rate used to discount UK plan liabilities was
5.5 percent compared with 5.8 percent at
December 31, 2009
with the decrease reflecting a reduction in UK long-term bond
rates in the latter part of 2010. This lower discount rate
generated an actuarial loss of $84 million at
December 31, 2010.
Mortality assumptions at December 31, 2010 were unchanged
from December 31, 2009. The mortality assumption is the
100 percent PNA00 table without an age adjustment. As an
indication of the longevity assumed, our calculations assume
that a UK male retiree aged 65 at December 31, 2010 would
have a life expectancy of 22 years.
US plan
The expected long-term rate of return used for determining the
net US pension scheme expense in 2010 was 8.0 percent,
consistent with 2009. Effective January 1, 2011, the
expected long-term rate of return was decreased to 7.50%,
following a change in the underlying target asset mix.
The rate used to discount US plan liabilities at
December 31, 2010 was 5.6 percent, determined
based on expected plan cash flows discounted using a corporate
bond yield curve, a small reduction from 6.1 percent at
December 31, 2009.
The expected and actual returns on US plan assets for the three
years ended December 31, 2010 were as follows:
As for the UK plan, the 2008 actual return on assets was
adversely impacted by the turmoil in worldwide markets.
The mortality assumption at December 31, 2010 is the
RP-2000 Mortality Table (blended for annuitants and
non-annuitants), projected to 2011 by Scale AA
(December 31, 2009: projected to 2010 by Scale AA). As an
indication of the longevity assumed, our calculations assume
that a US male retiree aged 65 at December 31, 2010, would
have a life expectancy of 19 years.
Intangible
assets
Intangible assets represent the excess of cost over the value of
net tangible assets of businesses acquired. We classify our
intangible assets into three categories:
Client relationships acquired on the HRH acquisition are
amortized over twenty years in line with the
pattern in which the economic benefits of the client
relationships are expected to be consumed. Over 80 percent
of the client relationships intangible will have been amortized
after 10 years. Non-compete agreements acquired in
connection with the HRH acquisition were amortized over two
years on a straight line basis. Intangible assets acquired in
connection with other acquisitions are amortized over their
estimated useful lives on a straight line basis. Goodwill is not
subject to amortization.
To determine the allocation of intangible assets between
goodwill and other intangible assets and the estimated useful
lives in respect of the HRH
acquisition we considered a report produced by a qualified
independent appraiser. The calculation of the allocation is
subject to a number of estimates and assumptions. We base our
allocation on
assumptions we believe to be reasonable. However, changes in
these estimates and assumptions could affect the allocation
between goodwill and other intangible assets.
Goodwill
impairment review
We review goodwill for impairment annually or whenever events or
circumstances indicate impairment may have occurred. Application
of the impairment test requires judgment, including:
The fair value of each reporting unit is estimated using a
discounted cash flow methodology and, in aggregate, validated
against our market capitalization. This analysis requires
significant judgments, including:
We base our fair value estimates on assumptions we believe to be
reasonable. However, changes in these estimates and assumptions
could materially affect the determination of fair value and
result in a goodwill impairment.
Our annual goodwill impairment analysis, which we performed
during the fourth quarter of 2010, showed the estimated fair
value of our reporting units was in excess of their carrying
values, and therefore did not result in an impairment charge
(2009: $nil, 2008: $nil).
We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities for the
estimated future tax consequences of events attributable to
differences between the financial statements carrying amounts of
existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases
and operating and capital loss and tax credit carry-forwards. We
estimate deferred tax assets and liabilities and assess the need
for any valuation allowances using tax rates in effect for the
year in which the differences are expected to be recovered or
settled taking into account our business plans and tax planning
strategies.
At December 31, 2010, we had gross deferred tax assets of
$294 million (2009: $390 million) against which a
valuation allowance of $87 million (2009: $92 million)
had been recognized. To the extent that:
we may adjust the deferred tax asset considered realizable in
future periods. Such adjustments could result in a significant
increase or decrease in the effective tax rate and have a
material impact on our net income.
Positions taken in our tax returns may be subject to challenge
by the taxing authorities upon examination. We recognize the
benefit of uncertain tax positions in the financial statements
when it is more likely than not that the position will be
sustained on examination by the tax authorities upon lapse of
the relevant statute of limitations, or when positions are
effectively settled. The benefit recognized is the largest
amount of tax benefit that has a greater than 50 percent
likelihood of being realized on settlement with the tax
authority, assuming full knowledge of the position and all
relevant facts. The Company adjusts its recognition of
these uncertain tax benefits in the period in which new
information is available impacting either the recognition or
measurement of its uncertain tax positions. In 2010,
$7 million was released relating to uncertain tax positions
due to the closure of the statute of limitations on assessments
for previously unrecognized tax benefits. There was a similar
$11 million release of uncertain tax positions in 2009. The
Company recognizes interest relating to unrecognized tax
benefits and penalties within income taxes. Accrued interest and
penalties are included within the related tax liability line in
the consolidated balance sheet.
Commitments,
contingencies and accrued liabilities
We purchase professional indemnity insurance for errors and
omissions claims. The terms of this insurance vary by policy
year and self-insured risks have increased significantly over
recent years. We have established provisions against various
actual and potential claims, lawsuits and other proceedings
relating principally to alleged errors and omissions in
connection with the placement of insurance and
reinsurance in the ordinary course of business. Such provisions
cover claims that have been reported but not paid and also
claims that have been incurred but not reported. These
provisions are established based on actuarial estimates together
with individual case reviews and are believed to be adequate in
the light of current information and legal advice.
NEW ACCOUNTING
STANDARDS
There were no new accounting standards issued during the year
that would have a significant impact on the Company’s
reporting.
LIQUIDITY AND
CAPITAL RESOURCES
Effective December 31, 2010, we changed the presentation
of certain items on our balance sheet. Uncollected premiums from
insureds and uncollected claims or refunds from insurers,
previously reported within accounts receivable, are now recorded
as fiduciary assets on the Company’s consolidated balance
sheets. Unremitted insurance premiums and
claims (‘fiduciary funds’) are also recorded within
fiduciary assets. The obligations to remit these funds,
previously reported within accounts payable, are now recorded as
fiduciary liabilities on the Company’s consolidated balance
sheets. Accordingly, prior year comparatives and commentary
below have been recast to reflect this revised presentation.
Consistent with this strategy, we are reviewing our current debt
profile and, subject to prevailing market conditions, may seek
to take advantage of attractive financing rates to reduce the
cost and extend the maturity profile of our existing debt.
Such actions may include redemption of the entire
$500 million in aggregate principal amount of
12.875 percent senior notes due 2016. If the 2016 senior
notes are redeemed, we anticipate that we would incur a one-time
pre-tax charge of approximately $180 million relating to
the make-whole premium provided under the terms of the
indenture governing the notes, as calculated at
December 31, 2010.
Total debt as of December 31, 2010 decreased to
$2.3 billion, compared with $2.4 billion at
December 31, 2009.
In 2010, we made $110 million of mandatory repayments
against the
5-year term
loan, thereby reducing the outstanding balance as at
December 31, 2010 to $411 million. We also repurchased
the remaining $90 million of 5.125% senior notes due
July 2010 and repaid in full a $9 million fixed rate loan
due 2010.
In August 2010, we entered into a new revolving credit facility
agreement under which a further $200 million is available.
This facility is in addition
to the remaining availability under our previously existing
$300 million revolving credit facility.
In addition, in June 2010, we entered into an additional
facility solely for the use of our main UK regulated entity
under which a further $20 million would be available in
certain exceptional circumstances. This facility is secured
against the freehold of the UK regulated entity’s freehold
property in Ipswich.
At December 31, 2010, we have $nil outstanding under both
the $200 million and the $20 million facilities and
$90 million outstanding under our pre-existing
$300 million facility, compared with $nil at
December 31, 2009.
At December 31, 2010 the only mandatory debt repayments
falling due over the next 12 months are scheduled
repayments on our $700 million
5-year term
loan totaling $110 million.
Our principal sources of liquidity are cash from operations,
cash and cash equivalents of $316 million at
December 31, 2010 and remaining availability of
$430 million under our revolving credit facilities.
As of December 31, 2010, our short-term liquidity
requirements consisted of:
Our long-term liquidity requirements consist of:
We continue to identify and implement further actions to control
costs and enhance our operating performance, including future
cash flow.
Fiduciary
funds
As an intermediary, we hold funds generally in a fiduciary
capacity for the account of third parties, typically as the
result of premiums received from clients that are in transit to
insurers and claims due to clients that are in transit from
insurers. We report premiums, which are held on account of, or
due from, clients as assets with a corresponding liability due
to the insurers. Claims held by, or due to, us which are due to
clients are also shown as both assets and liabilities.
Fiduciary funds are generally required to be kept in certain
regulated bank accounts subject to guidelines which emphasize
capital preservation and liquidity; such funds are not available
to service the Company’s debt or for other corporate
purposes. Notwithstanding the legal relationships with clients
and insurers, the Company is entitled to retain investment
income earned on fiduciary funds in accordance with industry
custom and practice and, in some cases, as supported by
agreements with insureds.
Own
funds
As of December 31, 2010, we had cash and cash equivalents
of $316 million, compared with $221 million at
December 31, 2009 and $430 million
of the total $520 million under our revolving credit
facilities remained available to draw.
Operating
activities
2010 compared to
2009
Net cash provided by operations was $489 million in 2010
compared with $419 million in 2009.
The $70 million increase in 2010 compared with 2009
primarily reflected the benefits of:
2009 compared to
2008
Net cash provided by operations was $419 million in 2009
compared with $253 million in 2008. The $166 million
increase between 2008 and 2009 mainly reflects:
Pension
contributions
UK Plan
We made total cash contributions to our UK defined benefit
pension plan of $88 million in 2010, (including amounts in
respect of the salary sacrifice contributions) compared with
$49 million in 2009 and $140 million in 2008.
The additional $39 million cash contribution in 2010
reflects an additional payment required under the UK plan’s
funding strategy which we are required to agree with the
plan’s trustees.
The funding strategy was agreed in February 2009 and requires
full year contributions to the UK plan of $39 million for
2009 through 2012, excluding
amounts in respect of the salary sacrifice scheme. In addition,
if certain funding targets were not met at the beginning of any
of the following years, 2010 through 2012, a further
contribution of $39 million would be required for that year.
In 2010, the additional funding requirement was triggered and we
expect to make a similar additional contribution in 2011. A
similar, additional contribution may also be required for 2012,
depending on actual performance against funding targets at the
beginning of 2012.
US Plan
We made total cash contributions to our US defined benefit
pension plan of $30 million in 2010, compared with
$27 million in 2009 and $8 million in 2008.
For the US plan, expected contributions are the contributions we
will be required to make under
US pension legislation based on our December 31, 2010
balance sheet position. We currently expect to contribute
$30 million in 2011.
International
Plans
We made cash contributions to our International defined benefit
pension plans of $12 million in 2010, compared with
$6 million in both 2009 and 2008.
In 2011, we expect to contribute approximately $6 million
to our International plans.
Investing
activities
Total net cash outflow from investing activities was
$94 million in 2010 compared with an inflow of
$102 million in 2009 mainly reflecting:
Total net cash inflow from investing activities was
$102 million in 2009 compared with an outflow of
$1,033 million in 2008, primarily reflecting:
Financing
activities
Net cash used in financing activities was $293 million in
2010 compared with $516 million in 2009.
The net decrease in cash used in financing activities of
$223 million was mainly attributable to:
Net cash used in financing activities was $516 million in
2009 compared with an inflow of $808 million in 2008.
In March 2009, we issued $500 million of senior unsecured
notes due 2016 at 12.875%.
We used the $482 million net proceeds of the notes,
together with $208 million cash generated from operating
activities and $60 million cash in hand, to
pay down the $750 million outstanding on our interim credit
facility as of December 31, 2008.
In September 2009, we issued $300 million of
7.0% senior notes due 2019. We then launched a tender offer
on September 22, 2009 to repurchase any and all of our
$250 million 5.125% senior notes due July 2010 at a
premium of $27.50 per $1,000 face value. Notes totaling
approximately $160 million were tendered and repurchased on
September 29, 2009.
In December 2009, we applied the net cash proceeds of
$155 million from the Gras Savoye transaction, together
with other cash in hand, to reduce the balance outstanding on
the 5-year term loan by approximately $180 million to
$521 million, of which $27 million related to our
first mandatory debt repayment.
As of December 31, 2009, there were no amounts outstanding
under our $300 million revolving credit facility (2008:
$nil).
Share
buybacks
We did not buyback any shares in 2010 or 2009. There remains
$925 million under the current buyback authorization.
In 2008, we repurchased 2.3 million shares at a cost of
$75 million.
In 2009, the Company filed a Tender Offer Statement with the SEC
to repurchase for cash options to purchase Company shares. The
tender offer expired on August 6, 2009. Approximately
1.6 million options to purchase Company shares were
repurchased at an average per share price of $2.04.
Cash dividends paid in 2010 were $176 million compared with
$174 million in 2009 and $146 million in 2008.
The $2 million increase in 2010, compared with 2009 is
driven by the small increase in share count during the year.
The $28 million increase in 2009, compared with 2008,
primarily reflects dividend payments on the 24 million
additional shares issued in connection with the fourth quarter
2008 acquisition of HRH.
In February 2011, we declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.26
per share, an annual rate of $1.04 per share.
CONTRACTUAL
OBLIGATIONS
The Company’s contractual obligations as at
December 31, 2010 are presented below:
5-year term
loan facility expires 2013
Interest on term loan
Revolving $300 million credit facility
6.000% loan notes due 2012
5.625% senior notes due 2015
Fair value adjustments on 5.625% senior notes due 2015
12.875% senior notes due 2016
6.200% senior notes due 2017
7.000% senior notes due 2019
Interest on senior notes
Total debt and related interest
Operating
leases(i)
Pensions
Other contractual
obligations(ii)
Total contractual obligations
Debt obligations
and facilities
The Company’s debt and related interest obligations at
December 31, 2010 are shown in the above table.
During 2010, the Company entered into a new revolving credit
facility agreement under which a further $200 million is
available and a new UK facility under which a further
$20 million is available. As at December 31, 2010 no
drawings had been made on either facility.
These facilities are in addition to the remaining availability
of $210 million (2009: $300 million)
under the Company’s previously existing $300 million
revolving credit facility.
The only mandatory repayment of debt over the next
12 months is the scheduled repayment of $110 million
current portion of the Company’s
5-year term
loan. We also have the right, at our option, to prepay
indebtedness under the credit facility without further penalty
and to redeem the senior notes at our option by paying a
‘make whole’ premium as provided under the applicable
debt instrument.
Operating
leases
The Company leases certain land, buildings and equipment under
various operating lease arrangements. Original non-cancellable
lease terms typically are between 10 and 20 years and may
contain escalation clauses, along with options that permit early
withdrawal. The total amount of the minimum rent is expensed on
a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.
As of December 31, 2010, the aggregate future minimum
rental commitments under all non-cancellable operating lease
agreements are as follows:
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Thereafter
Total
The Company leases its London headquarters building under a
25-year
operating lease, which expires in 2032. The Company’s
contractual obligations in relation to this commitment included
in the table above total $744 million (2009:
$785 million). Annual rentals are $31 million per year
and the Company has subleased approximately 25 percent of
the premises under leases up to 15 years. The amounts
receivable from subleases, included in the table above, total
$87 million (2009: $100 million; 2008:
$106 million).
Rent expense amounted to $131 million for the year ended
December 31, 2010 (2009: $154 million; 2008:
$151 million). The Company’s rental income from
subleases was $22 million for the year ended
December 31, 2010 (2009: $21 million; 2008:
$22 million).
Pensions
Contractual obligations for our pension plans reflect the
contributions we expect to make over the next five years into
our US and UK plans. These contributions are based on current
funding positions and may increase or decrease dependent on the
future performance of the two plans.
In the UK, we are required to agree a funding strategy for our
UK defined benefit plan with the
plan’s trustees. In February 2009, we agreed to make full
year contributions to the UK plan of $39 million for 2009
through 2012, excluding amounts in respect of the salary
sacrifice scheme. In addition, if certain funding targets were
not met at the beginning of any of the following years, 2010
through 2012, a further contribution of $39 million would
be required for that year. In 2010, the
additional funding requirement was triggered and we expect to
make a similar additional contribution in 2011. A similar,
additional contribution may also be required for 2012, depending
on actual performance against funding targets at the beginning
of 2012.
The total contributions for all plans are currently estimated to
be approximately $125 million in 2011, including amounts in
respect of the salary sacrifice scheme.
Guarantees
Guarantees issued by certain of Willis Group Holdings’
subsidiaries with respect to the senior notes and revolving
credit facilities are discussed in Note 18 — Debt
in these consolidated financial statements.
Certain of Willis Group Holdings’ subsidiaries have given
the landlords of some leasehold properties occupied by the
Company in the United Kingdom and the United States guarantees
in respect of the performance of the lease obligations of the
subsidiary holding the lease. The operating lease
obligations subject to such guarantees amounted to
$855 million and $903 million at December 31,
2010 and 2009, respectively.
In addition, the Company has given guarantees to bankers and
other third parties relating principally to letters of credit
amounting to $11 million and $5 million at
December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively. Willis Group
Holdings also guarantees certain of its UK and Irish
subsidiaries’ obligations to fund the UK and Irish defined
benefit pension plans.
Other contractual
obligations
For certain subsidiaries and associates, the Company has the
right to purchase shares (a call option) from co-shareholders at
various dates in the future. In addition, the co-shareholders of
certain subsidiaries and associates have the right to sell (a
put option) their shares to the Company at various dates in the
future. Generally, the exercise price of such put options and
call options is formula-based (using revenues and earnings) and
is designed to reflect fair value. Based on current projections
of profitability and exchange rates, the potential amount
payable from these options is not expected to exceed
$40 million (2009: $49 million).
In December 2009, the Company made a capital commitment of
$25 million to Trident V, LP, an investment fund
managed by Stone Point Capital. In July 2010, we withdrew from
Trident V, LP and subscribed to Trident V Parallel Fund, LP
(with the total capital commitment remaining the same). As at
December 31, 2010 there had been approximately
$1 million of capital contributions.
Other contractual obligations at December 31, 2010 also
include the capital lease on the Company’s Nashville
property of $63 million, payable from 2012 onwards.
OFF BALANCE SHEET
TRANSACTIONS
Apart from commitments, guarantees and contingencies, as
disclosed in Note 20 to the Consolidated Financial
Statements, the Company has no off-balance sheet arrangements
that have, or
are reasonably likely to have, a material effect on the
Company’s financial condition, results of operations or
liquidity.
Financial Risk
Management
We are exposed to market risk from changes in foreign currency
exchange rates and interest rates. In order to manage the risk
arising from these exposures, we enter into a variety of
interest rate and foreign currency derivatives. We do not hold
financial or derivative instruments for trading purposes.
A discussion of our accounting policies for financial and
derivative instruments is included in Note 2 —
Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies of
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, and further
disclosure is provided in Note 24 — Derivative
Financial Instruments and Hedging Activities.
Foreign exchange
risk management
Because of the large number of countries and currencies we
operate in, movements in currency exchange rates may affect our
results.
We report our operating results and financial condition in US
dollars. Our US operations earn revenue and incur expenses
primarily in US dollars. Outside the United States, we
predominantly generate revenues and expenses in the local
currency with the exception of our London market operations
which earns revenues in several currencies but incurs expenses
predominantly in pounds sterling.
The table below gives an approximate analysis of revenues and
expenses by currency in 2010.
Expenses
Our principal exposures to foreign exchange risk arise from:
London market
operations
In our London market operations, we earn revenue in a number of
different currencies, principally US dollars, pounds sterling,
euros and Japanese yen, but incur expenses almost entirely in
pounds sterling.
We hedge this risk as follows:
Generally, it is our policy to hedge at least 25 percent of
the next 12 months’ exposure in significant
currencies. We do not hedge exposures beyond three years.
In addition, we are also exposed to foreign exchange risk on any
net sterling asset or liability position in our London market
operations. Where this risk relates to short-term cash flows, we
hedge all or part of the risk by forward purchases or sales.
However, where the foreign exchange risk relates to any sterling
pension assets benefit or liability for pensions benefit, we do
not hedge the risk. Consequently, if our London market
operations have a significant pension asset or liability, we may
be exposed to accounting gains and losses if the US dollar and
pounds sterling exchange rate changes. We do, however, hedge the
pounds sterling contributions into the pension plan.
Market
risk
Translation
risk
Outside our US and London market operations, we predominantly
earn revenues and incur expenses in the local currency. When we
translate the results and net assets of these operations into US
dollars for reporting purposes, movements in exchange rates will
affect reported results and net assets. For example, if the US
dollar strengthens against the euro, the reported results of our
Eurozone operations in US dollar terms will be lower.
We do not hedge translation risk.
The table below provides information about our foreign currency
forward exchange contracts, which are sensitive to exchange rate
risk. The table summarizes the US dollar equivalent amounts of
each currency bought and sold forward and the weighted average
contractual exchange rates. All forward exchange contracts
mature within three years.
Foreign currency sold
US dollars sold for sterling
Euro sold for US dollars
Japanese yen sold for US dollars
Total
Fair
Value(1)
Foreign currency sold
US dollars sold for sterling
Euro sold for US dollars
Japanese yen sold for US dollars
Total
Fair
Value(1)
Income earned within foreign subsidiaries outside of the UK is
generally offset by expenses in the same local currency but the
Company does have exposure to foreign exchange movements on the
net income
of these entities. The Company does not hedge net income earned
within foreign subsidiaries outside of the UK.
Interest rate
risk management
Our operations are financed principally by $1,750 million
fixed rate senior notes issued by subsidiaries and
$411 million under a
5-year term
loan facility. Of the fixed rate senior notes,
$350 million are due 2015, $500 million are due 2016,
$600 million are due 2017 and $300 million are due
2019. The
5-year term
loan facility amortizes at the rate of $27 million per
quarter. As of
December 31, 2010 we had access to, $520 million under
revolving credit facilities of which $90 million has been
drawn. The interest rate applicable to the bank borrowing is
variable according to the period of each individual drawdown.
We are also subject to market risk from exposure to changes in
interest rates based on our investing activities where our
primary interest rate risk arises from changes in short-term
interest rates in both US dollars and pounds sterling.
As a consequence of our insurance and reinsurance broking
activities, there is a delay between the time we receive cash
for premiums and claims and the time the cash needs to be paid.
We earn interest on this float, which is included in our
consolidated financial statements as investment income.
This float is regulated in terms of access and the instruments
in which it may be invested, most of which are short-term in
maturity. We manage the interest rate risk arising from this
exposure primarily through the use of interest rate swaps. It is
our policy that, for currencies with significant balances, a
minimum of 25 percent of forecast income arising is hedged
for each of the next three years.
During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company
entered into a series of interest rate swaps
for a total notional amount of $350 million to receive a
fixed rate and pay a variable rate on a semi-annual basis, with
a maturity date of July 15, 2015. The Company has
designated and accounts for these instruments as fair value
hedges against its $350 million 5.625% senior notes
due 2015. The fair values of the interest rate swaps are
included within other assets or other liabilities and the fair
value of the hedged element of the senior notes is included
within the principal amount of the debt.
The table below provides information about our derivative
instruments and other financial instruments that are sensitive
to changes in interest rates. For interest rate swaps, the table
presents notional principal amounts and average interest rates
analyzed by expected maturity dates. Notional principal amounts
are used to calculate the contractual payments to be exchanged
under the contracts. The duration of interest rate swaps varies
between one and five years, with re-fixing periods of three to
six months. Average fixed and variable rates are, respectively,
the weighted-average actual and market rates for the interest
hedges in place. Market rates are the rates prevailing at
December 31, 2010 or 2009, as appropriate.
Fixed rate debt
Principal ($)
Fixed rate payable
Floating rate debt
Variable rate payable
Interest rate swaps
Variable to
Fixed(ii)
Fixed rate receivable
Principal (£)
Principal (€)
Fixed to
Variable(iii)
Variable rate receivable
Interest rate
swaps(ii)
Index to
Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary
Data
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of Willis Group
Holdings Public Limited Company
Dublin, Ireland
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of
Willis Group Holdings Public Limited Company and subsidiaries
(the ‘Company’) as of December 31, 2010 and 2009,
and the related consolidated statements of operations, changes
in equity and comprehensive income, and cash flows for each of
the three years in the period ended December 31, 2010.
These financial statements are the responsibility of the
Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an
opinion on the financial statements based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those
standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain
reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are
free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a
test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in
the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the
accounting principles used and significant estimates made by
management, as well as evaluating the overall financial
statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a
reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, such consolidated financial statements present
fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of
Willis Group Holdings Public Limited Company and subsidiaries as
of December 31, 2010 and 2009, and the results of their
operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in
the period ended December 31, 2010, in conformity with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of
America.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the
Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of
December 31, 2010, based on the criteria established in
Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued
by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission and our report dated February 25, 2011 expressed
an unqualified opinion on the Company’s internal control
over financial reporting.
Deloitte LLP
London, United Kingdom
February 25, 2011
REVENUES
Commissions and fees
Investment income
Other income
Total revenues
EXPENSES
Salaries and benefits
Other operating expenses
Gain on disposal of London headquarters
Depreciation expense
Amortization of intangible assets
Net (loss) gain on disposal of operations
Total expenses
OPERATING INCOME
Interest expense
INCOME FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS BEFORE INCOME TAXES AND
INTEREST IN EARNINGS OF ASSOCIATES
Income taxes
INCOME FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS BEFORE INTEREST IN EARNINGS OF
ASSOCIATES
Interest in earnings of associates, net of tax
INCOME FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS
Discontinued operations, net of tax
NET INCOME
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO WILLIS GROUP HOLDINGS
AMOUNTS ATTRIBUTABLE TO WILLIS GROUP HOLDINGS SHAREHOLDERS
Income from continuing operations, net of tax
Income from discontinued operations, net of tax
EARNINGS PER SHARE — BASIC AND DILUTED
BASIC EARNINGS PER SHARE
— Continuing operations
DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE
CASH DIVIDENDS DECLARED PER SHARE
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these
consolidated financial statements.
Financial
statements
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents
Accounts receivable, net
Fiduciary assets
Deferred tax assets
Other current assets
Total current assets
NON-CURRENT ASSETS
Fixed assets, net
Goodwill
Other intangible assets, net
Investments in associates
Pension benefits asset
Other non-current assets
Total non-current assets
TOTAL ASSETS
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Fiduciary liabilities
Deferred revenue and accrued expenses
Income taxes payable
Short-term debt and current portion of long-term debt
Deferred tax liabilities
Other current liabilities
Total current liabilities
NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES
Long-term debt
Liability for pension benefits
Provisions for liabilities
Other non-current liabilities
Total non-current liabilities
Total Liabilities
(Continued on next
page)
CONSOLIDATED
BALANCE SHEETS (Continued)
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
EQUITY
Shares, $0.000115 nominal value; Authorized: 4,000,000,000;
Issued and outstanding, 170,883,865 Shares in 2010 and
168,661,172 Shares in 2009. Shares, €1 nominal value;
Authorized: 40,000; Issued and outstanding, 40,000 shares
in 2010 and 2009
Additional paid-in capital
Retained earnings
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax
Treasury shares, at cost, 46,408 Shares in 2010 and
54,310 Shares in 2009 and 40,000 shares, €1
nominal value, in 2010 and 2009
Total Willis Group Holdings stockholders’ equity
Noncontrolling interests
Total Equity
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net income
Adjustments to reconcile net income to total net cash provided
by operating activities:
Income from discontinued operations
Net loss (gain) on disposal of operations, fixed and intangible
assets and short-term investments
Gain on disposal of London headquarters
Depreciation expense
Amortization of intangible assets
Release of provision for doubtful accounts
Provision for deferred income taxes
Excess tax benefits from share-based payment arrangements
Share-based compensation
Undistributed earnings of associates
Non-cash Venezuela currency devaluation
Effect of exchange rate changes on net income
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects from
purchase of subsidiaries:
Fiduciary assets
Fiduciary liabilities
Other assets
Other liabilities
Movement on provisions
Net cash provided by continuing operating activities
Net cash used in discontinued operating activities
Total net cash provided by operating activities
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Proceeds on disposal of fixed and intangible assets
Additions to fixed assets
Acquisitions of subsidiaries, net of cash acquired
Acquisition of investments in associates
Investment in Trident V Parallel Fund, LP
Proceeds from reorganization of investments in associates
Proceeds from sale of continuing operations, net of cash disposed
Proceeds from sale of discontinued operations, net of cash
disposed
Proceeds on sale of short-term investments
Total net cash (used in) provided by investing activities
(continued on next page)
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Continued)
INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS FROM OPERATING
AND INVESTING ACTIVITIES
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Proceeds from draw down of revolving credit facility
Proceeds from issue of short-term debt, net of debt issuance
costs
Proceeds from issue of long-term debt, net of debt issuance costs
Repayments of debt
Senior notes issued, net of debt issuance costs
Repurchase of shares
Proceeds from issue of shares
Excess tax benefits from share-based payment arrangements
Dividends paid
Acquisition of noncontrolling interests
Dividends paid to noncontrolling interests
Total net cash (used in) provided by financing activities
INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, BEGINNING OF YEAR
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, END OF YEAR
SHARES OUTSTANDING (thousands)
Balance, beginning of year
Shares issued
Repurchase of shares
Exercise of stock options and release of non-vested shares
Balance, end of year
ADDITIONAL PAID-IN CAPITAL
Issue of shares under employee stock compensation plans and
related tax benefits
Issue of shares for acquisitions
Share-based compensation
Acquisition of noncontrolling interests
Repurchase of out of the money options
RETAINED EARNINGS
Net income attributable to Willis Group
Holdings(a)
Dividends
ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE LOSS, NET OF TAX
Foreign currency translation
adjustment(b)
Unrealized holding gain
(loss)(c)
Pension funding
adjustment(d)
Net gain (loss) on derivative
instruments(e)
TREASURY SHARES
Shares reissued under stock compensation plans
TOTAL WILLIS GROUP HOLDINGS SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
NONCONTROLLING INTERESTS
Net income
Purchase of subsidiary shares from noncontrolling interests, net
Additional noncontrolling interests
Foreign currency translation
TOTAL EQUITY
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) ATTRIBUTABLE TO WILLIS GROUP
HOLDINGS
(a+b+c+d+e)
Willis
Group Holdings plc
Willis Group Holdings plc (‘Willis Group Holdings’)
and subsidiaries (collectively, the ‘Company’ or the
‘Group’) provide a broad range of insurance and
reinsurance broking and risk management consulting services to
its clients worldwide, both directly and indirectly through its
associates. The Company provides both specialized risk
management advisory and consulting services on a global basis to
clients engaged in specific industrial and commercial
activities, and services to small, medium and major corporates
through its retail operations.
In its capacity as an advisor and insurance broker, the Company
acts as an intermediary between clients and insurance carriers
by advising clients on risk management requirements, helping
clients determine the best means of managing risk, and
negotiating and placing insurance risk with insurance carriers
through the Company’s global distribution network.
Redomicile to
Ireland
On September 24, 2009, Willis Group Holdings was
incorporated in Ireland, in order to effectuate the change of
the place of incorporation of the parent company of the Group.
Willis Group Holdings operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Willis-Bermuda until December 31, 2009, when the
outstanding common shares of Willis-Bermuda were canceled and
Willis Group Holdings issued ordinary shares with substantially
the same rights and preferences on a
one-for-one
basis to the holders of the Willis-Bermuda common shares that
were canceled. Upon completion of this transaction, Willis Group
Holdings replaced Willis-Bermuda as the ultimate parent company
and Willis-Bermuda became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Willis
Group Holdings. On July 29, 2010 Willis-Bermuda was
liquidated.
This transaction was accounted for as a merger between entities
under common control; accordingly, the historical financial
statements of Willis-Bermuda for periods prior to this
transaction are considered to be the historical financial
statements of Willis Group Holdings. No changes in capital
structure, assets or liabilities resulted from this transaction,
other than Willis Group Holdings has provided a guarantee of
amounts due under certain borrowing arrangements of one of its
subsidiaries as described in Note 28.
Balance sheet
presentation
Further to the Company’s redomiciliation to Ireland at the
end of 2009, the Group is required to file consolidated
financial statements for fiscal year 2010 with the Irish
regulator. These consolidated financial statements are prepared
under US GAAP and also incorporate additional Irish Companies
Act disclosures. To facilitate this process, the Group has
decided to incorporate these requirements within its US filings
and consequently has recast the presentation of its 2010 and
2009 consolidated balance sheets. In addition, the company has
taken the opportunity to provide additional disclosure within
the consolidated balance sheet of the Group’s non-fiduciary
balances and the further distinction between those assets and
liabilities that are expected to be realized within or later
than twelve months of the balance sheet date. The Company
believes this amended presentation better reflects the
Company’s liquidity position and exposures to credit risk.
The 2009 and 2008 consolidated statements of cash flows have
been recast to conform with the new balance sheet presentation.
Significant
Accounting Policies
These consolidated financial statements conform to accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America
(‘US GAAP’). Presented below are summaries of
significant accounting policies followed in the preparation of
the consolidated financial statements.
Notes
to the financial statements
Principles of
Consolidation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the
accounts of Willis Group Holdings and its subsidiaries, which
are controlled through the ownership of a majority voting
interest. Intercompany balances and transactions have been
eliminated on consolidation.
Foreign
Currency Translation
Transactions in currencies other than the functional currency of
the entity are recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing at
the date of the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities in
currencies other than the functional currency are translated at
the rates of exchange prevailing at the balance sheet date and
the related transaction gains and losses are reported in the
statements of operations. Certain intercompany loans are
determined to be of a long-term investment nature. The Company
records transaction gains and losses from remeasuring such loans
as a component of other comprehensive income.
Upon consolidation, the results of operations of subsidiaries
and associates whose functional currency is other than the US
dollar are translated into US dollars at the average exchange
rate and assets and liabilities are translated at year-end
exchange rates. Translation adjustments are presented as a
separate component of other comprehensive income in the
financial statements and are included in net income only upon
sale or liquidation of the underlying foreign subsidiary or
associated company.
Use of
Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with US
GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that
affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and
disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities as of the dates
of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues
and expenses during the year. In the preparation of these
consolidated financial statements, estimates and assumptions
have been made by management concerning: the valuation of
intangible assets and goodwill (including those acquired through
business combinations); the selection of useful lives of fixed
and intangible assets; impairment testing; provisions necessary
for accounts receivable, commitments and contingencies and
accrued liabilities; long-term asset returns, discount rates and
mortality rates in order to estimate pension liabilities and
pension expense; income tax valuation allowances; and other
similar evaluations. Actual results could differ from the
estimates underlying these consolidated financial statements.
Cash and Cash
Equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents primarily consist of time deposits
with original maturities of three months or less.
Fiduciary
Assets and Fiduciary Liabilities
In its capacity as an insurance agent or broker, the Company
collects premiums from insureds and, after deducting its
commissions, remits the premiums to the respective insurers; the
Company also collects claims or refunds from insurers on behalf
of insureds.
Fiduciary
Assets
Effective December 31, 2010, the Company changed the
presentation of its fiduciary balances. Uncollected premiums
from insureds and uncollected claims or refunds from insurers,
previously held within accounts receivable, are now recorded as
fiduciary assets on the Company’s consolidated balance
sheets. Unremitted insurance premiums and claims
(‘fiduciary funds’) are also recorded within fiduciary
assets.
Fiduciary
Liabilities
The obligations to remit these funds to insurers or insureds are
recorded as fiduciary liabilities on the Company’s
consolidated balance sheets. The period for which the Company
holds such funds is dependent upon the date the insured remits
the payment of the premium to the Company and the date the
Company is required to forward such payment to the insurer.
Balances arising from insurance brokerage transactions are
reported as separate assets or liabilities unless such balances
are due to or from the same party and a right of offset exists,
in which case the balances are recorded net.
Fiduciary
Funds
Fiduciary funds represent unremitted premiums received from
insureds and unremitted claims received from insurers. Fiduciary
funds are generally required to be kept in certain regulated
bank accounts subject to guidelines which emphasize capital
preservation and liquidity; such funds are not available to
service the Company’s debt or for other corporate purposes.
Notwithstanding the legal relationships with clients and
insurers, the Company is entitled to retain investment income
earned on fiduciary funds in accordance with industry custom and
practice and, in some cases, as supported by agreements with
insureds.
Included in fiduciary funds are cash and cash equivalents
consisting primarily of time deposits. The debt securities are
classified as
available-for-sale.
Accordingly, they are recorded at fair market value with
unrealized holding gains and losses reported, net of tax, as a
component of other comprehensive income.
In certain instances, the Company advances premiums, refunds or
claims to insurance underwriters or insureds prior to
collection. Such advances are made from fiduciary funds and are
reflected in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets as
fiduciary assets.
Accounts
Receivable
Accounts receivable are stated at estimated net realizable
values. Allowances are recorded, when necessary, in an amount
considered by management to be sufficient to meet probable
future losses related to uncollectible accounts.
Fixed
Assets
Fixed assets are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation.
Expenditures for improvements are capitalized; repairs and
maintenance are charged to expenses as incurred. Depreciation is
computed using the straight-line method based on the estimated
useful lives of assets.
Depreciation on buildings and long leaseholds is calculated over
the lesser of 50 years or the lease term. Depreciation on
leasehold improvements is calculated over the lesser of the
useful life of the assets or the remaining lease term.
Depreciation on furniture and equipment is calculated based on a
range of 3 to 10 years.
Recoverability
of Fixed Assets
Long-lived assets are tested for recoverability whenever events
or changes in circumstance indicate that their carrying amounts
may not be recoverable. An impairment loss is recognized if the
carrying amount of a long-lived asset is not recoverable and
exceeds its fair value. Recoverability is determined based on
the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use and
eventual disposition of the asset or asset group. Long-lived
assets and certain identifiable intangible assets to be disposed
of are reported at the lower of carrying amount or fair value
less cost to sell.
Operating
Leases
Rentals payable on operating leases are charged straight line to
expenses over the lease term as the rentals become payable.
Goodwill and
Other Intangible Assets
Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of businesses
acquired over the fair market value of identifiable net assets
at the dates of acquisition. The Company reviews goodwill for
impairment annually and whenever facts or circumstances indicate
that the carrying amounts may not be recoverable. In testing for
impairment, the fair value of each reporting unit is compared
with its carrying value, including goodwill. If the carrying
amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the amount of
an impairment loss, if any, is calculated by comparing the
implied fair value of reporting unit goodwill with the carrying
amount of that goodwill.
Acquired intangible assets are amortized over the following
periods:
Acquired intangible assets
Acquired HRH customer relationships
Acquired HRH non-compete agreements
Acquired HRH trade names
Amortizable intangible assets are reviewed for impairment
whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that their
carrying amounts may not be recoverable.
Investments in
Associates
Investments are accounted for using the equity method of
accounting if the Company has the ability to exercise
significant influence, but not control, over the investee.
Significant influence is generally deemed to exist if the
Company has an equity ownership in the voting stock of the
investee between 20 and 50 percent, although other factors,
such as representation on the Board of Directors and the impact
of commercial arrangements, are considered in determining
whether the equity method of accounting is appropriate. Under
the equity method of accounting the investment is carried at
cost of acquisition, plus the Company’s equity in
undistributed net income since acquisition, less any dividends
received since acquisition.
The Company periodically reviews its investments in associates
for which fair value is less than cost to determine if the
decline in value is other than temporary. If the decline in
value is judged to be other than temporary, the cost basis of
the investment is written down to fair value. The amount of any
write-down is included in the statements of operations as a
realized loss.
All other equity investments where the Company does not have the
ability to exercise significant influence are accounted for by
the cost method. Such investments are not publicly traded.
Derivative
Financial Instruments
The Company uses derivative financial instruments for other than
trading purposes to alter the risk profile of an existing
underlying exposure. Interest rate swaps are used to manage
interest risk exposures. Forward foreign currency exchange
contracts are used to manage currency exposures arising from
future income and expenses. The fair values of derivative
contracts are recorded in other assets and other liabilities.
The effective portions of changes in the fair value of
derivatives that qualify for hedge accounting as cash flow
hedges are recorded in other comprehensive income. Amounts are
reclassified from other comprehensive income into earnings when
the hedged exposure affects earnings. If the derivative is
designated as and qualifies as an
effective fair value hedge, the changes in the fair value of the
derivative and of the hedged item attributable to the hedged
risk are recognized in earnings. Changes in fair value of
derivatives that do not qualify for hedge accounting, together
with any hedge ineffectiveness on those that do qualify, are
recorded in other operating expenses or interest expense as
appropriate.
Income
Taxes
The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities for
the estimated future tax consequences of events attributable to
differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of
existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases
and operating and capital loss and tax credit carry forwards.
Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted
rates in effect for the year in which the differences are
expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax
assets and liabilities of changes in tax rates is recognized in
the statement of operations in the period in which the enactment
date changes. Deferred tax assets are reduced through the
establishment of a valuation allowance at such time as, based on
available evidence, it is more likely than not that the deferred
tax assets will not be realized. The Company adjusts valuation
allowances to measure deferred tax assets at the amount
considered realizable in future periods if the Company’s
facts and assumptions change. In making such determination, the
Company considers all available positive and negative evidence,
including future reversals of existing taxable temporary
differences, projected future taxable income, tax planning
strategies and recent financial operations.
Positions taken in the Company’s tax returns may be subject
to challenge by the taxing authorities upon examination. The
Company recognizes the benefit of uncertain tax positions in the
financial statements when it is more likely than not that the
position will be sustained on examination by the tax authorities
upon lapse of the relevant statute of limitations, or when
positions are effectively settled. The benefit recognized is the
largest amount of tax benefit that is greater than
50 percent likely to be realized on settlement with the tax
authorities, assuming full knowledge of the position and all
relevant facts. The Company adjusts its recognition of these
uncertain tax benefits in the period in which new information is
available impacting either the recognition or measurement of its
uncertain tax positions. These differences will be reflected as
increases or decreases to income tax expense in the period in
which they are determined.
Changes in tax laws and rates could also affect recorded
deferred tax assets and liabilities in the future. Management is
not aware of any such changes that would have a material effect
on the Company’s results of operations, cash flows or
financial position.
The Company recognizes interest and penalties relating to
unrecognized tax benefits within income taxes.
Provisions for
Liabilities
The Company is subject to various actual and potential claims,
lawsuits and other proceedings. The Company records liabilities
for such contingencies including legal costs when it is probable
that a liability has been incurred before the balance sheet date
and the amount can be reasonably estimated. To the extent such
losses can be recovered under the Company’s insurance
programs, estimated recoveries are recorded when losses for
insured events are recognized and the recoveries are likely to
be realized. Significant management judgment is required to
estimate the amounts of such contingent liabilities and the
related insurance recoveries. The Company analyzes its
litigation exposure based on available information, including
consultation with outside counsel handling the defense of these
matters, to assess its potential liability. Contingent
liabilities are not discounted.
Pensions
The Company has two principal defined benefit pension plans
which cover the majority of employees in the United States and
United Kingdom. Both these plans are now closed to new entrants.
New entrants in the
United Kingdom are offered the opportunity to join a defined
contribution plan and in the United States are offered the
opportunity to join a 401(k) plan. In addition, there are
smaller plans in certain other countries in which the Company
operates. Elsewhere, pension benefits are typically provided
through defined contribution plans.
Defined benefit
plans
The net periodic cost of the Company’s defined benefit
plans are measured on an actuarial basis using the projected
unit credit method and several actuarial assumptions. The most
significant of which are the discount rate and the expected
long-term rate of return on plan assets. Other material
assumptions include rates of participant mortality, the expected
long-term rate of compensation and pension increases and rates
of employee termination. Gains and losses occur when actual
experience differs from actuarial assumptions. If such gains or
losses exceed ten percent of the greater of plan assets or plan
liabilities the Company amortizes those gains or losses over the
average remaining service period of the employees.
In accordance with US GAAP the Company records on the balance
sheet the funded status of its pension plans based on the
projected benefit obligation.
Defined
contribution plans
Contributions to the Company’s defined contribution plans
are recognized as they fall due. Differences between
contributions payable in the year and contributions actually
paid are shown as either other assets or other liabilities in
the consolidated balance sheets.
Share-Based
Compensation
The Company accounts for share-based compensation as follows:
Revenue
Recognition
Revenue includes insurance commissions, fees for services
rendered, certain commissions receivable from insurance
carriers, investment income and other income.
Brokerage income and fees negotiated instead of brokerage are
recognized at the later of policy inception date or when the
policy placement is complete. Commissions on additional premiums
and adjustments are recognized as and when advised.
Fees for risk management and other services are recognized as
the services are provided. Negotiated fee arrangements for an
agreed period covering multiple insurance placements, the
provision of risk management
and/or other
services are determined, contract by contract, on the basis of
the relative fair value of the services completed and the
services yet to be rendered. The Company establishes contract
cancellation reserves where appropriate: at December 31,
2010, 2009 and 2008, such amounts were not material.
Investment income is recognized as earned.
Other income comprises gains on disposal of intangible assets,
which primarily arise on the disposal of books of business.
Although the Company is not in the business of selling
intangible assets (mainly books of business), from time to time
the Company will dispose of a book of business (a customer list)
or other intangible assets that do not produce adequate margins
or fit with the Company’s strategy.
The average number of persons, including Executive Directors,
employed by the Company is as follows:
North America
International
Total Retail
Total average number of employees for the year
Salaries and benefits expense comprises the following:
Salaries and other compensation awards including amortization of
cash retention awards of $119 million, $88 million and
$58 million (see below)
Share-based compensation
Severance costs
Social security costs
Retirement benefits — defined benefit plan expense
(income)
Retirement benefits — defined contribution plan expense
Total salaries and benefits expense
Severance
Costs
The Company incurred severance costs of $15 million in the
year ended December 31, 2010 (2009: $24 million; 2008:
$26 million) relating to approximately 550 positions (2009:
450 positions; 2008: 100 positions) that have been, or are in
the process of being, eliminated as part of the Company’s
continuing focus on managing expense. Severance costs for these
employees were recognized pursuant to the terms of their
existing benefit arrangements or employment agreements.
Cash Retention
Awards
The Company makes annual cash retention awards to its employees.
Employees must repay a proportionate amount of these awards if
they voluntarily leave the Company’s employ (other than in
the event of retirement or permanent disability) before a
certain time period, currently up to three years. The Company
makes cash payments to its employees in the year it grants these
retention awards and recognizes these payments ratably over the
period they are subject to repayment, beginning in the quarter
in which the award is made. The unamortized portion of cash
retention awards is recorded within other assets.
The following table sets out the amount of cash retention awards
made and the related amortization of those awards for the years
ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008:
Cash retention awards made
Amortization of cash retention awards included in salaries and
benefits
Unamortized cash retention awards totaled $173 million as
of December 31, 2010 (2009: $98 million; 2008:
$41 million).
On December 31, 2010, the Company had a number of open
share-based compensation plans, which provide for the grant of
time-based and performance-based options, restricted stock units
and various other share-based grants to employees. All of the
Company’s share-based compensation plans under which any
options, restricted stock units or other share-based grants are
outstanding as at December 31, 2010 are described below.
The compensation cost that has been charged against income for
those plans for the year ended December 31, 2010 was
$47 million (2009: $39 million; 2008:
$40 million). The total income tax benefit recognized in
the statement of operations for share-based compensation
arrangements for the year ended December 31, 2010 was
$14 million (2009: $12 million; 2008:
$12 million).
2001 Share
Purchase and Option Plan
This plan, which was established on May 3, 2001, provides
for the granting of time-based options, restricted stock units
and various other share-based grants at fair market value to
employees of the Company. There are 25,000,000 shares
available for grant under this plan. Options are exercisable on
a variety of dates, including from the first, second, third,
sixth or eighth anniversary of grant, although for certain
options the exercisable date may accelerate depending on the
achievement of certain performance goals. The Board of Directors
has adopted several
sub-plans
under the 2001 plan to provide employee sharesave schemes in the
UK, Ireland and internationally. Unless terminated sooner by the
Board of Directors, the 2001 Plan (and all
sub-plans)
will expire 10 years after the date of its adoption. That
termination will not affect the validity of any grant
outstanding at that date.
2008 Share
Purchase and Option Plan
This plan, which was established on April 23, 2008,
provides for the granting of time and performance-based options,
restricted stock units and various other share-based grants at
fair market value to employees of the Company. There are
8,000,000 shares available for grant under this plan.
Options are exercisable on a variety of dates, including from
the third, fourth or fifth anniversary of grant. Unless
terminated sooner by the Board of Directors, the 2008 Plan will
expire 10 years after the date of its adoption. That
termination will not affect the validity of any grant
outstanding at that date.
HRH Option
Plans
Options granted under the Hilb Rogal and Hamilton Company 2000
Stock Incentive Plan (‘HRH 2000 Plan’) and the Hilb
Rogal & Hobbs Company 2007 Stock Incentive Plan (the
‘HRH 2007 Plan’) were converted into options to
acquire shares of Willis Group Holdings. No further grants are
to be made under the HRH 2000 Plan. Willis is authorized to
grant equity awards under the HRH 2007 Plan until 2017 to
employees who were formerly employed by HRH and to new employees
who have joined Willis or one of its subsidiaries since
October 1, 2008, the date that the acquisition of HRH was
completed.
Employee Stock
Purchase Plans
The Company has adopted the Willis Group Holdings 2001 North
America Employee Share Purchase Plan, expiring May 31, 2011
and the Willis Group Holdings 2010 North America Employee Stock
Purchase Plan. They provide certain eligible employees to the
Company’s subsidiaries in the US and Canada the ability to
contribute payroll deductions to the purchase of Willis Shares
at the end of each offering period.
The Company may also issue 245,000 Shares to directors upon
exercise of options.
Option
Valuation Assumptions
The fair value of each option is estimated on the date of grant
using the Black-Scholes option pricing model that uses the
assumptions noted in the following table. Expected volatility is
based on historical volatility of the Company’s stock. With
effect from January 1, 2006, the Company uses the
simplified method set out in Accounting Standard Codification
(‘ASC’)
718-10-S99
to derive the expected term of options granted. The risk-free
rate for periods within the expected life of the option is based
on the US Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant.
Expected volatility
Expected dividends
Expected life (years)
Risk-free interest rate
A summary of option activity under the plans at
December 31, 2010, and changes during the year then ended
is presented below:
Time-based stock options
Balance, beginning of year
Granted
Exercised
Forfeited
Expired
Balance, end of year
Options vested or expected to vest at December 31, 2010
Options exercisable at December 31, 2010
Performance-based stock options
The weighted average grant-date fair value of time-based options
granted during the year ended December 31, 2010 was $5.25
(2009: $5.87; 2008: $6.20). The total intrinsic value of options
exercised during the year ended December 31, 2010 was
$8 million (2009: $3 million; 2008: $7 million).
At December 31, 2010 there was $17 million of total
unrecognized compensation cost related to nonvested share-based
compensation arrangements under time-based stock option plans;
that cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted average
period of 1 year.
The weighted average grant-date fair value of performance-based
options granted during the year ended December 31, 2010 was
$7.11 (2009: $5.89; 2008: $9.37). The total intrinsic value of
options exercised during the year ended December 31, 2010
was $nil (2009: $1 million; 2008: $3 million). At
December 31, 2010 there was $37 million of total
unrecognized compensation cost related to nonvested share-based
compensation arrangements under performance-based stock option
plans; that cost is expected to be recognized over a
weighted-average period of 2 years.
A summary of restricted stock unit activity under the Plans at
December 31, 2010, and changes during the year then ended
is presented below:
Nonvested shares (restricted stock units)
Vested
The total number of restricted stock units vested during the
year ended December 31, 2010, was 744,633 shares at an
average share price of $32.17 (2009: 550,224 shares at an
average share price of $24.53). At December 31, 2010 there
was $15 million of total unrecognized compensation cost
related to nonvested share-based compensation arrangements under
the plan: that cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted
average period of 1 year.
Cash received from option exercises under all share-based
payment arrangements for the year ended December 31, 2010
was $37 million (2009: $19 million; 2008:
$11 million). The actual tax benefit realized for the tax
deductions from option exercises of the share-based payment
arrangements totaled $10 million for the year ended
December 31, 2010 (2009: $5 million; 2008:
$7 million).
An analysis of auditors’ remuneration is as follows:
Audit
fees(i)
Audit related
fees(ii)
Tax
fees(iii)
Other services provided by Group
auditors(iv)
Total auditors’ remuneration
Total proceeds for 2010 were $4 million, comprising
$2 million relating to 2010 disposals of operations and
$2 million of deferred proceeds relating to prior year. A
loss on disposal of $2 million is recorded in the
consolidated statements of operations for the year ended
December 31, 2010.
Total proceeds from the disposal of operations for 2009 were
$315 million, including $281 million for
18 percent of the Group’s 49 percent interest in
Gras Savoye and $39 million for 100 percent of
Bliss & Glennon. A gain on disposal of
$13 million is recorded in the statement of consolidated
operations for the year ended December 31, 2009, of which
$10 million relates to Gras Savoye as shown below.
On December 17, 2009, the Company completed a leveraged
transaction with the original family shareholders of Gras Savoye
and Astorg Partners, a private equity fund, to reorganize the
capital of Gras Savoye (‘December 2009 leveraged
transaction’), its principal investment in associates. The
Company, the family shareholders and Astorg now own equal stakes
of 31 percent in Gras Savoye and have equal representation
of one third of the voting rights on its board. The remaining
shareholding is held by a large pool of Gras Savoye managers and
minority shareholders.
As a result of the December 2009 leveraged transaction the
Company recognized a gain of $10 million in the
consolidated statement of operations from the reduction of its
interest in Gras Savoye from 49 percent to 31 percent.
The Company received total proceeds of $281 million,
comprising cash and interest bearing vendor loans and
convertible bonds issued by Gras Savoye. An analysis of the
proceeds and the calculation of the gain is as follows:
Proceeds:
Cash
Vendor Loans
Convertible Bonds
Net proceeds
Less net assets disposed of
Less interest in new liabilities of Gras Savoye
Gain on disposal
Total proceeds for 2008 were $11 million, comprising
$7 million relating to 2008 disposal of operations and
$4 million of deferred proceeds relating to prior years.
There was no net gain on disposal in the consolidated statement
of operations.
An analysis of income from continuing operations before income
taxes and interest in earnings of associates by location of the
taxing jurisdiction is as follows:
Ireland
US
UK
Other jurisdictions
Income from continuing operations before incomes taxes and
interest in earnings of associates
The provision for income taxes by location of the taxing
jurisdiction consisted of the following:
Current income taxes:
Irish corporation tax
US federal tax
US state and local taxes
UK corporation tax
Other jurisdictions
Total current taxes
Non-current taxes:
Total non-current taxes
Deferred taxes:
Total deferred taxes
Total income taxes
The reconciliation between US federal income taxes at the
statutory rate and the Company’s provision for income taxes
on continuing operations is as follows:
US federal statutory income tax rate
Income tax expense at US federal tax rate
Adjustments to derive effective rate:
Non-deductible expenditure
Movement in provision for non-current taxes
Release of provision for unremitted earnings
Impact of change in tax rate on deferred tax balances
Adjustment in respect of prior periods
Non-deductible Venezuelan foreign exchange loss
Non-taxable profit on disposal of Gras Savoye
Effect of foreign exchange and other differences
Other
Tax differentials of foreign earnings:
UK earnings
Other jurisdictions and US state taxes
Provision for income taxes
The significant components of deferred income tax assets and
liabilities and their balance sheet classifications are as
follows:
Deferred tax assets:
Accrued expenses not currently deductible
US state net operating losses
UK net operating losses
Other net operating losses
UK capital losses
Accrued retirement benefits
Deferred compensation
Stock options
Gross deferred tax assets
Less: valuation allowance
Net Deferred tax assets
Deferred tax liabilities:
Cost of intangible assets, net of related amortization
Cost of tangible assets, net of related depreciation
Prepaid retirement benefits
Accrued revenue not currently taxable
Cash retention award
Tax-leasing transactions
Financial derivative transactions
Other
Deferred tax liabilities
Net deferred tax (liabilities) assets
Balance sheet classifications:
Current:
Deferred tax assets
Deferred tax liabilities
Net current deferred tax assets
Non-current:
Net non-current deferred tax liabilities
Net deferred tax (liability) asset
At December 31, 2010, the Company had valuation allowances
of $87 million (2009: $92 million) to reduce its
deferred tax assets to estimated realizable value. The valuation
allowances at December 31, 2010 relate to the deferred tax
assets arising from UK capital loss carryforwards
($49 million) and other net operating losses
($1 million), which have no expiration date and to the
deferred tax assets arising from US State net operating losses
($37 million). Capital loss carryforwards can only be
offset against future UK capital gains.
Year ended December 31, 2010
Deferred tax valuation allowance
Year ended December 31, 2009
Year ended December 31, 2008
At December 31, 2010, the Company had deferred tax assets
of $207 million (2009: $298 million), net of the
valuation allowance. Management believes, based upon the level
of historical taxable income and projections for future taxable
income, it is more likely than not that the Company will realize
the benefits of these deductible differences, net of the
valuation allowance. However, the amount of the deferred tax
asset considered realizable could be adjusted in the future if
estimates of taxable income are revised.
The Company recognizes deferred tax balances related to the
undistributed earnings of subsidiaries when the Company expects
that it will recover those undistributed earnings in a taxable
manner, such as through receipt of dividends or sale of the
investments. The Company does not, however, provide for income
taxes on the unremitted earnings of certain other subsidiaries
where, in management’s opinion, such earnings have been
indefinitely reinvested in those operations, or will be remitted
either in a tax free liquidation or as dividends
with taxes substantially offset by foreign tax credits. It is
not practical to determine the amount of unrecognized deferred
tax liabilities for temporary differences related to these
investments.
Unrecognized tax
benefits
Total unrecognized tax benefits as at December 31, 2010,
totaled $13 million. During the next 12 months it is
reasonably possible that the Company will recognize
approximately $1 million of tax benefits related to the
release of provisions no longer required due to either
settlement through negotiation or closure of the statute of
limitations on assessment.
A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amounts of
unrecognized tax benefits is as follows:
Balance at January 1
Reductions due to a lapse of the applicable statute of limitation
Adjustment to assessment of acquired HRH balances
Increase of HRH opening balances
Other movements
Balance at December 31
All of the unrecognized tax benefits at December 31, 2010
would, if recognized, favorably affect the effective tax rate in
future periods.
The Company files tax returns in the various tax jurisdictions
in which it operates. The 2006 US tax year closed in 2010 upon
the expiration of the statute of limitations on assessment. US
tax returns have been filed timely. The Company has received
notice that the IRS will be examining the 2009 tax return. The
Company has not extended the federal statute of limitations for
assessment in the US.
All UK tax returns have been filed timely and are in the normal
process of being reviewed, with HM Revenue & Customs
making enquiries to obtain additional information. There are no
material ongoing enquiries in relation to filed UK returns other
than in relation to the quantification of foreign tax reliefs
available on the remittance of foreign earnings.
Basic and diluted earnings per share are calculated by dividing
net income attributable to Willis Group Holdings by the average
number of shares outstanding during each period. The computation
of diluted earnings per share reflects the potential dilution
that could occur if dilutive securities and other contracts to
issue shares were exercised or converted into shares or resulted
in the issue of shares that then shared in the net income of the
Company.
For the year ended December 31, 2010, time-based and
performance-based options to purchase 11.5 million and
9.4 million (2009: 13.4 million and 8.9 million;
2008: 16.9 million and 5.8 million) shares,
respectively, and 1.8 million restricted stock units (2009:
2.2 million; 2008: 1.4 million), respectively, were
outstanding.
Basic and diluted earnings per share are as follows:
Basic average number of shares outstanding
Dilutive effect of potentially issuable shares
Diluted average number of shares outstanding
Basic earnings per share:
Continued operations
Discontinued operations
Net income attributable to Willis Group Holdings shareholders
Dilutive effect of potentially issuable shares
Diluted earnings per share:
Options to purchase 13.9 million shares for the year ended
December 31, 2010 were not included in the computation of
the dilutive effect of stock options because the effect was
antidilutive (2009: 16.1 million shares; 2008:
22.1 million shares).
The Company collects premiums from insureds and, after deducting
its commissions, remits the premiums to the respective insurers;
the Company also collects claims or refunds from insurers on
behalf of insureds. Uncollected premiums from insureds and
uncollected claims or refunds from insurers (‘fiduciary
receivables’) are recorded as fiduciary assets on the
Company’s consolidated balance sheets. Unremitted insurance
premiums and claims (‘fiduciary funds’) are also
recorded within fiduciary assets.
Fiduciary assets therefore comprise both receivables and funds
held in a fiduciary capacity.
Fiduciary funds, consisting primarily of time deposits with
original maturities of less than or equal to three months, were
$1,764 million as of December 31, 2010 (2009:
$1,683 million). Accrued interest on funds is recorded as
other assets.
Consolidation
of fiduciary funds
The financial statements as at December 31, 2010 and 2009
reflect the consolidation of one Variable Interest Entity
(‘VIE’), a UK non-statutory trust that was established
in January 2005 following the introduction of statutory
regulation of insurance in the UK by the Financial Services
Authority. The regulation requires that all fiduciary funds
collected by an insurance broker such as the Company be paid
into a non-statutory trust designed to give additional credit
protection to the clients and insurance carriers of the Company.
This trust restricts the financial instruments in which such
funds may be invested and affects the timing of transferring
commission from fiduciary funds to own funds.
As of December 31, 2010, the fair value of the fiduciary
funds in the VIE was $976 million (2009: $903 million)
and the fair value of the associated liabilities was
$976 million (2009: $903 million). There are no assets
of the Company that serve as collateral for the VIE.
An analysis of fixed asset activity for the years ended
December 31, 2010 and 2009 are as follows:
Cost: at January 1, 2009
Additions
Disposals
Foreign exchange
Cost: at December 31, 2009
Cost: at December 31, 2010
Depreciation: at January 1, 2009
Depreciation expense provided
Depreciation: at December 31, 2009
Depreciation: at December 31, 2010
Net book value:
At December 31, 2009
At December 31, 2010
Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of businesses
acquired over the fair market value of identifiable net assets
at the dates of acquisition. Goodwill is not amortized but is
subject to impairment testing annually and whenever facts or
circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts may not be
recoverable.
The Company’s annual goodwill impairment tests for 2010 and
prior years have not resulted in an impairment charge (2009:
$nil; 2008: $nil).
When a business entity is sold, goodwill is allocated to the
disposed entity based on the fair value of that entity compared
to the fair value of the reporting unit in which it is included.
The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill by operating
segment for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009 are
as follows:
Balance at January 1, 2009
Goodwill acquired during 2009
Purchase price allocation adjustments
Goodwill disposed of during 2009
Balance at December 31, 2009
Other
movements(i)
Balance at December 31, 2010
Other intangible assets are classified into the following
categories:
The major classes of amortizable intangible assets are as
follows:
Customer and Marketing Related:
Client Relationships
Client Lists
Non-compete Agreements
Trade Names
Total Customer and Marketing Related
Contract based, Technology and Other
Total amortizable intangible assets
The aggregate amortization of intangible assets for the year
ended December 31, 2010 was $82 million (2009:
$100 million; 2008: $36 million). The estimated
aggregate amortization of intangible assets for each of the next
five years ended December 31 is as follows:
The Company holds a number of investments which it accounts for
using the equity method. The Company’s approximate interest
in the outstanding stock of the more significant associates is
as follows:
Al-Futtaim Willis Co. L.L.C.
GS & Cie Groupe
The Company’s principal investment as of December 31,
2010 and 2009 is GS & Cie Groupe (‘Gras
Savoye’), France’s leading insurance broker.
The Company’s original investment in Gras Savoye was made
in 1997, when it acquired a 33 percent ownership interest.
Between 1997 and December 2009 this interest was increased by a
series of incremental investments to 49 percent.
On December 17, 2009, the Company completed a leveraged
transaction with the original family shareholders of Gras Savoye
and Astorg Partners, a private equity fund, to reorganize the
capital of Gras Savoye (‘December 2009 leveraged
transaction’). The Company, the original family
shareholders and Astorg now own equal stakes of 31 percent
in Gras Savoye and have equal representation of one third of the
voting rights on its board. The remaining shareholding is held
by a large pool of Gras Savoye managers and minority
shareholders.
A put option that was in place prior to the December 2009
leveraged transaction, and which could have increased the
Company’s interest to 90 percent, has been canceled
and the Company now has a new call option to purchase
100 percent of the capital of Gras Savoye. If the Company
does not waive the new call option before April 30, 2014,
then it must exercise the new call option in 2015 or the other
shareholders may initiate procedures to sell Gras Savoye. Except
with the unanimous consent of the supervisory board and other
customary exceptions, the parties are prohibited from
transferring any shares of Gras Savoye until 2015. At the end of
this period, shareholders are entitled to pre-emptive and
tag-along rights.
As a result of the December 2009 leveraged transaction the
Company recognized a gain of $10 million in the
consolidated statement of operations for the year ended
December 31, 2009 from the reduction of its interest in
Gras Savoye from 49 percent to 31 percent. The Company
received total proceeds of $281 million, comprising cash
and interest bearing vendor loans and convertible bonds issued
by Gras Savoye. See Note 6 — Net (Loss) Gain on
Disposal of Operations for an analysis of the proceeds and the
calculation of the gain.
The carrying amount of the Gras Savoye investment as of
December 31, 2010 includes goodwill of $88 million
(2009: $94 million) and interest bearing vendor loans and
convertible bonds issued by Gras Savoye of $44 million and
$78 million respectively (2009: $46 million and
$78 million, respectively).
As of December 31, 2010 and 2009, the Company’s other
investments in associates, individually and in the aggregate,
were not material to the Company’s operations.
Unaudited condensed financial information for associates, in the
aggregate, as of and for the three years ended December 31,
2010, is presented below. For convenience purposes:
(i) balance sheet data has been translated to US dollars at
the relevant year-end exchange rate, and (ii) condensed
statements of operations data has been translated to US dollars
at the relevant average exchange rate.
Condensed statements of operations
data(i):
Total revenues
Income before income taxes
Net income
Condensed balance sheets
data(i):
Total assets
Total liabilities
Stockholders’ equity
For the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company
recognized $5 million (2009: $12 million; 2008:
$9 million) in respect of dividends received from
associates.
An analysis of other assets is as follows:
Other current assets
Unamortized cash retention awards
Prepayments and accrued income
Income taxes receivable
Derivatives
Debt issuance costs
Other receivables
Total other current assets
Other non-current assets
Deferred compensation plan assets
Total other non-current assets
Total other assets
An analysis of other liabilities is as follows:
Other current liabilities
Accrued dividends payable
Other taxes payable
Accounts payable
Accrued interest payable
Other payables
Total other current liabilities
Other non-current liabilities
Incentives from lessors
Deferred compensation plan liability
Capital lease obligation
Total other non-current liabilities
Total other liabilities
Accounts receivable are stated at estimated net realizable
values. The allowances shown below as at the end of each period
are recorded as the amounts considered by management to be
sufficient to meet probable future losses related to
uncollectible accounts.
Allowance for doubtful accounts
The Company maintains two principal defined benefit pension
plans that cover the majority of our employees in the United
States and United Kingdom. Both of these plans are now closed to
new entrants. New entrants in the United Kingdom are offered the
opportunity to join a defined contribution plan and in the
United States are offered the opportunity to join a 401(k) plan.
In addition to the Company’s UK and US defined benefit
pension plans, the Company has several smaller defined benefit
pension plans in certain other countries in
which it operates. Elsewhere, pension benefits are typically
provided through defined contribution plans. It is the
Company’s policy to fund pension costs as required by
applicable laws and regulations.
Effective May 15, 2009, the Company closed the US defined
benefit plan to future accrual. Consequently, a curtailment gain
of $12 million was recognized during the year ended
December 31, 2009.
At December 31, 2010, the Company recorded, on the
Consolidated Balance Sheets:
UK and US
defined benefit plans
The following schedules provide information concerning the
Company’s UK and US defined benefit pension plans as of and
for the years ended December 31:
Change in benefit obligation:
Benefit obligation, beginning of year
Service cost
Interest cost
Employee contributions
Actuarial loss
Benefits paid
Foreign currency changes
Curtailment
Benefit obligations, end of year
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets, beginning of year
Actual return on plan assets
Employer contributions
Fair value of plan assets, end of year
Funded status at end of year
Components on the Consolidated Balance Sheets:
Pension benefits asset
Liability for pension benefits
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss
consist of:
Net actuarial loss
Prior service gain
The accumulated benefit obligations for the Company’s UK
and US defined benefit pension plans were $1,906 million
and $756 million, respectively (2009: $1,811 million
and $686 million, respectively).
The components of the net periodic benefit cost and other
amounts recognized in other comprehensive loss for the UK and US
defined benefit plans are as follows:
Components of net periodic benefit cost:
Service cost
Interest cost
Expected return on plan assets
Amortization of unrecognized prior service gain
Amortization of unrecognized actuarial loss
Curtailment gain
Net periodic benefit cost (income)
Other changes in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized
in other comprehensive income (loss):
Net actuarial (gain) loss
Amortization of unrecognized actuarial
loss(i)
Prior service gain
Total recognized in other comprehensive (loss) income
Total recognized in net periodic benefit cost and other
comprehensive income
The estimated net loss and prior service cost for the UK and US
defined benefit plans that will be amortized from accumulated
other comprehensive loss into net periodic benefit cost over the
next fiscal year are:
Estimated net loss
The following schedule provides other information concerning the
Company’s UK and US defined benefit pension plans:
Weighted-average assumptions to determine benefit obligations:
Discount rate
Rate of compensation increase
Weighted-average assumptions to determine net periodic benefit
cost:
Expected return on plan assets
The expected return on plan assets was determined on the basis
of the weighted-average of the expected future returns of the
various asset classes, using the target allocations shown below.
The expected returns on UK plan assets are: UK and foreign
equities 8.85 percent, debt securities 5.10 percent
and real estate 5.80 percent. The expected returns on US
plan assets are: US and foreign equities 10.25 percent and
debt securities 4.75 percent.
The Company’s pension plan asset allocations based on fair
values were as follows:
Equity securities
Debt securities
Hedge funds
Real estate
Cash
The Company’s investment policy includes a mandate to
diversify assets and the Company invests in a variety of asset
classes to achieve that goal. The UK plan’s assets are
divided into 10 separate portfolios according to asset class and
managed by 11 investment managers. The broad target allocations
are UK and foreign equities (59 percent), debt securities
(20 percent), hedge funds (16 percent) and real estate
(5 percent). The US plan’s assets are currently
invested in 17 funds representing most standard equity and debt
security classes. The broad target allocations are US and
foreign equities (61 percent) and debt securities
(39 percent).
Fair Value
Hierarchy
The fair value hierarchy has three levels based on the
reliability of the inputs used to determine fair value:
The following tables present, at December 31, 2010 and
2009, for each of the fair value hierarchy levels, the
Company’s UK pension plan assets that are measured at fair
value on a recurring basis.
Equity securities:
US equities
UK equities
Other equities
Fixed income securities:
US Government bonds
UK Government bonds
Other Government bonds
UK corporate bonds
Other corporate bonds
Other investments:
Hedge funds
Total
The UK plan’s real estate investment comprises UK property
and infrastructure investments which are valued by the fund
manager taking into account cost, independent appraisals and
market based comparable data. The UK plan’s hedge fund
investments are primarily invested in various ‘fund of
funds’ and are valued based on net asset values calculated
by the fund and are not publicly available. Liquidity is
typically monthly and is subject to liquidity of the underlying
funds.
The following tables present, at December 31, 2010 and
2009, for each of the fair value hierarchy levels, the
Company’s US pension plan assets that are measured at fair
value on a recurring basis.
Non US equities
US corporate bonds
Non US Government bonds
Equity securities comprise:
Fixed income securities comprise US, UK and other Government
Treasury Bills, loan stock, index linked loan stock and UK and
other corporate bonds which are typically valued using quoted
market prices.
As a result of the inherent limitations related to the
valuations of the Level 3 investments, due to the
unobservable inputs of the underlying funds, the estimated fair
value may differ significantly from the values that would have
been used had a market for those investments existed.
The following table summarizes the changes in the UK pension
plan’s Level 3 assets for the years ended
December 31, 2010 and 2009:
Purchases, sales, issuances and settlements, net
Unrealized gains relating to instruments still held at end of
year
Realized losses relating to investments disposed of during the
year
Foreign exchange
In 2011, the Company expects to contribute $89 million to
the UK plan, of which $11 million is in respect of salary
sacrifice contributions, and $30 million to the US plan.
The following benefit payments, which reflect expected future
service, as appropriate, are estimated to be paid by the UK and
US defined benefit pension plans:
2016-2020
Willis North America has a 401(k) plan covering all eligible
employees of Willis North America and its subsidiaries. The plan
allows participants to make pre-tax contributions which the
Company, at its discretion may match. During 2009, the Company
has decided not to make any matching contributions other than
for former HRH employees whose contributions were matched up to
75 percent under the terms of the acquisition. All
investment assets of the plan are held in a trust account
administered by independent trustees. The Company’s 401(k)
matching contributions for 2010 were $nil million (2009:
$5 million; 2008: $8 million).
International
defined benefit pension plans
In addition to the Company’s UK and US defined benefit
pension plans, the Company has several smaller defined benefit
pension plans in certain other countries in which it operates.
A $10 million pension benefit liability (2009:
$30 million) has been recognized in respect of these
schemes.
The following schedules provide information concerning the
Company’s international defined benefit pension plans:
Actuarial (gain) loss
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss
consist of a net actuarial loss of $10 million (2009:
$24 million).
The accumulated benefit obligation for the Company’s
international defined benefit pension plans was
$131 million (2009: $133 million).
The components of the net periodic benefit cost and other
amounts recognized in other comprehensive loss for the
international defined benefit plans are as follows:
Components of net periodic benefit cost:
Amortization of unrecognized actuarial loss
Curtailment loss
Net periodic benefit cost
Other changes in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized
in other comprehensive income (loss):
Net actuarial gain
Total recognized in other comprehensive loss
Total recognized in net periodic benefit cost and other
comprehensive (loss) income
The estimated net loss for the international defined benefit
plans that will be amortized from accumulated other
comprehensive loss into net periodic benefit cost over the next
fiscal year is $nil million.
The following schedule provides other information concerning the
Company’s international defined benefit pension plans:
The determination of the expected long-term rate of return on
the international plan assets is dependent upon the specific
circumstances of each individual plan. The assessment may
include analyzing historical investment performance, investment
community forecasts and current market conditions to develop
expected returns for each asset class used by the plans.
The Company’s international pension plan asset allocations
at December 31, 2010 based on fair values were as follows:
The investment policies for the international plans vary by
jurisdiction but are typically established by the local pension
plan trustees, where applicable, and seek to maintain the
plans’ ability to meet liabilities of the plans as they
fall due and to comply with local minimum funding requirements.
Fair Value
Hierarchy
The following tables present, at December 31, 2010 and
2009, for each of the fair value hierarchy levels, the
Company’s international pension plan assets that are
measured at fair value on a recurring basis.
Overseas equities
Unit linked funds
Derivative instruments
Fixed income securities comprise overseas Government loan stock
which is typically valued using quoted market prices. Real
estate investment comprises overseas property and infrastructure
investments which are valued by the fund manager taking into
account cost, independent appraisals and market based comparable
data. Derivative instruments are valued using an income approach
typically using swap curves as an input.
Assets classified as Level 3 investments did not materially
change during the year ended December 31, 2010. In 2011,
the Company expects to contribute $7 million to the
international plans.
The following benefit payments, which reflect expected future
service, as appropriate, are estimated to be paid by the
international defined benefit pension plans:
Short-term debt and current portion of the long-term debt
consists of the following:
Current portion of
5-year term
loan facility
5.125% senior notes due 2010
6.000% loan notes due 2010
Long-term debt consists of the following:
5-year term
loan facility
Revolving $300 million credit facility
6.000% loan notes due 2012
5.625% senior notes due 2015
Fair value adjustment on 5.625% senior notes due 2015
12.875% senior notes due 2016
6.200% senior notes due 2017
7.000% senior notes due 2019
Until December 22, 2010, all direct obligations under the
12.875% senior notes listed above were guaranteed by Willis
Group Holdings, Willis Netherlands Holdings B.V., Willis
Investment UK Holdings Limited, TA I Limited, TA II Limited, TA
III Limited, TA IV Limited, Willis Group Limited and Willis
North America Inc., and all direct obligations under the 5.625%,
6.200% and 7.000% senior notes were guaranteed by Willis Group
Holdings, Willis Netherland Holdings B.V., Willis Investment UK
Holdings Limited, TA I Limited, TA II Limited, TA III
Limited, Trinity Acquisition plc, TA IV Limited and Willis Group
Limited.
On that date and in connection with a group reorganization, TA
II Limited, TA III Limited and TA IV Limited transferred their
obligations as guarantors to the other Guarantor Companies. TA
II Limited, TA III Limited and TA IV Limited entered
member’s voluntary liquidation on December 31, 2010.
Debt
issuance
During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company
entered into a series of interest rate swaps for a total
notional amount of $350 million to receive a fixed rate and
pay a variable rate on a semi-annual basis, with a maturity date
of July 15, 2015. The Company has designated and accounts
for these instruments as fair value hedges against its
$350 million 5.625% senior notes due 2015. The fair
values of the interest rate swaps are included within other
assets or other liabilities and the fair value of the hedged
element of the senior notes is included within long-term debt.
The 5-year
term loan facility bears interest at LIBOR plus 2.250% and is
repayable at $27 million per quarter, with a final payment
of $115 million due in the fourth quarter of 2013. Drawings
under the revolving $300 million credit facility bear
interest at LIBOR plus 2.250% and the facility expires on
October 1, 2013. On August 9, 2010, Willis North
America, Inc. agreed an additional revolving credit facility for
$200 million. Drawings on this facility bear interest at
LIBOR plus a margin of either 1.750% or 2.750% depending upon
the currency of the loan. This margin applies while the
Company’s debt rating remains
BBB-/Baa3.
This facility expires on October 1, 2013. As at
December 31, 2010 no drawings had been made on the facility.
On June 22, 2010, a further revolving credit facility of
$20 million was put in place which bears interest at LIBOR
plus 1.700% until 2012 and LIBOR plus 1.850% thereafter. The
facility expires on December 22, 2012. As at
December 31, 2010 no drawings had been made on the facility.
The $20 million revolving credit facility put in place on
June 22, 2010 is solely for the use of our main UK
regulated entity and would be available in certain exceptional
circumstances. This facility is secured against the freehold of
the UK regulated entity’s freehold property in Ipswich.
In March 2009, Trinity Acquisition plc issued
12.875% senior notes due 2016 in an aggregate principal
amount of $500 million to Goldman Sachs Mezzanine Partners
which generated net proceeds of $482 million. These
proceeds were used to refinance part of an interim credit
facility.
In September 2009, Willis North America, Inc. issued
$300 million of 7.000% senior notes due 2019. A tender
offer was launched on September 22, 2009, to repurchase any
and all of the $250 million 5.125% senior notes due
July 2010 at a premium of $27.50 per $1,000 face value. Notes
totaling approximately $160 million were tendered and
repurchased.
The agreements relating to our 5-year term loan facility and the
Willis North America, Inc. revolving credit facility contain
requirements to maintain maximum levels of consolidated funded
indebtedness in relation to consolidated EBITDA and minimum
levels of consolidated EBITDA to consolidated fixed charges,
subject to certain adjustments. In addition, the agreements
relating to our credit facilities and senior notes include, in
the aggregate, covenants relating to the delivery of financial
statements, reports and notices, limitations on liens,
limitations on sales and other disposals of assets, limitations
on indebtedness and other liabilities, limitations on sale and
leaseback transactions, limitations on mergers and other
fundamental changes, maintenance of property, maintenance of
insurance, nature of business, compliance with applicable laws,
maintenance of corporate existence and rights, payment of taxes
and access to information and properties. At December 31,
2010, the Company was in compliance with all covenants.
Lines of
credit
The Company also has available $2 million (2009:
$7 million) in lines of credit, of which $nil was drawn as
of December 31, 2010 (2009: $nil).
Analysis of
interest expense
The following table shows an analysis of the interest expense
for the years ended December 31:
Interim credit facility
Total interest expense
An analysis of movements on provisions for liabilities is as
follows:
Net provisions made during the year
Utilised in the year
Foreign currency translation adjustment
Debt
obligations and facilities
These facilities are in addition to the remaining availability
of $210 million (2009: $300 million) under the
Company’s previously existing $300 million revolving
credit facility.
Operating
leases
In the UK, we are required to agree a funding strategy for our
UK defined benefit plan with the plan’s trustees. In
February 2009, we agreed to make full year contributions to the
UK plan of $39 million for 2009 through 2012, excluding
amounts in respect of the salary sacrifice scheme. In addition,
if certain funding targets were not met at the beginning of any
of the following years, 2010 through 2012, a further
contribution of $39 million would be required for that
year. In 2010, the additional funding requirement was triggered
and we expect to make a similar additional contribution in
2011. A similar, additional contribution may also be required
for 2012, depending on actual performance against funding
targets at the beginning of 2012.
Guarantees
Certain of Willis Group Holdings’ subsidiaries have given
the landlords of some leasehold properties occupied by the
Company in the United Kingdom and the United States guarantees
in respect of the performance of the lease obligations of the
subsidiary holding the lease. The operating lease obligations
subject to such guarantees amounted to $855 million and
$903 million at December 31, 2010 and 2009,
respectively.
Other
contractual obligations
Claims,
Lawsuits and Other Proceedings
In the ordinary course of business, the Company is subject to
various actual and potential claims, lawsuits, and other
proceedings relating principally to alleged errors and omissions
in connection with the placement of insurance and reinsurance.
Similar to other corporations, the Company is also subject to a
variety of other claims, including those relating to the
Company’s employment practices. Some of the claims,
lawsuits and other proceedings seek damages in amounts which
could, if assessed, be significant.
Errors and omissions claims, lawsuits, and other proceedings
arising in the ordinary course of business are covered in part
by professional indemnity or other appropriate insurance. The
terms of this insurance vary by policy year and self-insured
risks have increased significantly in recent years. In respect
of self-insured risks, the Company has established provisions
which are believed to be adequate in the light of current
information and legal advice, and the Company adjusts such
provisions from time to time according to developments.
On the basis of current information, the Company does not expect
that the actual claims, lawsuits and other proceedings, to which
the Company is subject, or potential claims, lawsuits, and other
proceedings relating to matters of which it is aware will
ultimately have a material adverse effect on the Company’s
financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.
Nonetheless, given the large or indeterminate amounts sought in
certain of these actions, and the inherent unpredictability of
litigation and disputes with insurance companies, it is possible
that an adverse outcome in certain matters could, from time to
time, have a material adverse effect on the Company’s
results of operations or cash flows in particular quarterly or
annual periods.
The material actual or potential claims, lawsuits and other
proceedings, of which the Company is currently aware, are:
Inquiries and
Investigations
In connection with the investigation launched by the New York
State Attorney General in April 2004 concerning, among other
things, contingent commissions paid by insurers to insurance
brokers, in April 2005, the Company entered into an Assurance of
Discontinuance (‘Original AOD’) with the New York
State Attorney General and the Superintendent of the New York
Insurance Department and paid $50 million to
eligible clients. As part of the Original AOD, the Company also
agreed not to accept contingent compensation and to disclose to
customers any compensation the Company will receive in
connection with providing policy placement services to the
customer. The Company also resolved similar investigations
launched by the Minnesota Attorney General, the Florida Attorney
General, the Florida Department of Financial Services, and the
Florida Office of Insurance Regulation for amounts that were not
material to the Company.
Similarly, in August 2005 HRH entered into an agreement with the
Attorney General of the State of Connecticut (the ‘CT
Attorney General’) and the Insurance Commissioner of the
State of Connecticut to resolve all issues related to their
investigations into certain insurance brokerage and insurance
agency practices and to settle a lawsuit brought in August 2005
by the CT Attorney General alleging violations of the
Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act and the Connecticut
Unfair Insurance Practices Act. As part of this settlement, HRH
agreed to take certain actions including establishing a
$30 million national fund for distribution to certain
clients; enhancing disclosure practices for agency and broker
clients; and declining to accept contingent compensation on
brokerage business. The Company has cooperated fully with other
similar investigations by the regulators
and/or
attorneys general of other jurisdictions, some of which have
been concluded with no indication of any finding of wrongdoing.
On February 16, 2010, the Company entered into the Amended
and Restated Assurance of Discontinuance with the Attorney
General of the State of New York and the Amended and Restated
Stipulation with the Superintendent of Insurance of the State of
New York (the ‘Amended and Restated AOD’) on behalf of
itself and its subsidiaries named therein. The Amended and
Restated AOD was effective February 11, 2010 and supersedes
and replaces the Original AOD.
The Amended and Restated AOD specifically recognizes that the
Company has substantially met its obligations under the Original
AOD and ends many of the requirements previously imposed. It
relieves the Company of a number of technical compliance
obligations that have imposed significant administrative and
financial burdens on its operations. The Amended and Restated
AOD no longer limits the types of compensation the Company can
receive and has lowered the compensation disclosure requirements.
The Amended and Restated AOD requires the Company
to: (i) in New York, and each of the other
49 states of the United States, the District of Columbia
and U.S. territories, provide compensation disclosure that
will, at a minimum, comply with the terms of the applicable
regulations, as may be amended from time to time, or the
provisions of the AOD that existed prior to the adoption of the
Amended and Restated AOD; and (ii) maintain its compliance
programs and continue to provide appropriate training to
relevant employees in business ethics, professional obligations,
conflicts of interest, and antitrust and trade practices
compliance. In addition, in placing, renewing, consulting on or
servicing any insurance policy, it prohibits the Company from
directly or indirectly (a) accepting from or requesting of
any insurer any promise or commitment to use any of the
Company’s brokerage, agency, producing or consulting
services in exchange for production of business to such insurer
or (b) knowingly place, renew or consult on or service a
client’s insurance business through a wholesale broker in a
manner that is contrary to the client’s best interest.
In 2006, the European Commission issued questionnaires pursuant
to its Sector Inquiry or, in respect of Norway, the European
Free Trade Association Surveillance Authority, related to
insurance business practices, including compensation
arrangements for brokers, to at least 150 European brokers
including our operations in nine European countries. The Company
filed responses to the European Commission and the European Free
Trade Association Surveillance Authority questionnaires. The
European Commission reported on a final basis on
September 25, 2007, expressing concerns over potential
conflicts of interest in the industry relating to remuneration
and binding authorities and also over the nature of the
coinsurance market. The Company co-operated with both the
European Free Trade Association Surveillance Authority and the
European Commission to resolve issues raised in its final report
regarding coinsurance as required of the industry by the
European Commission.
Since August 2004, the Company and HRH (along with various other
brokers and insurers) have been named as defendants in purported
class actions in various courts across the United States. All of
these actions have been consolidated into a single action in the
US District Court for the District of New Jersey
(‘MDL’). There are two amended complaints within the
MDL, one that addresses employee benefits (‘EB
Complaint’) and one that addresses all other lines of
insurance (‘Commercial Complaint’). HRH was a named
defendant in the EB Complaint, but has since been voluntarily
dismissed. HRH is a named defendant in the Commercial Complaint.
The Company is a named defendant in both MDL complaints. Each of
the EB Complaint and the Commercial Complaint seeks monetary
damages, including punitive damages, and equitable relief and
makes allegations regarding the practices and conduct that have
been the subject of the investigation of state attorneys general
and insurance commissioners, including allegations that the
brokers have breached their duties to their clients by entering
into contingent compensation agreements with either no
disclosure or limited disclosure to clients and participated in
other improper activities. The complaints also allege the
existence of a conspiracy among insurance carriers and brokers
and allege violations of federal antitrust laws, the federal
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations
(‘RICO’) statute and the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 (‘ERISA’). In separate decisions
issued in August and September 2007, the antitrust and RICO Act
claims were dismissed with prejudice and the state claims were
dismissed without prejudice from the Commercial Complaint. In
January 2008, the Judge dismissed the ERISA claims with
prejudice from the EB Complaint and the state law claims without
prejudice.
Plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal regarding the dismissal of
the antitrust and RICO claims and oral arguments on this appeal
were heard in April 2009. In August 2010, the United States
Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued its decision on
plaintiffs’ appeal. The Court upheld the dismissal of all
claims against HRH and the Company, with the exception of one
RICO related claim. The Court remanded the RICO claim to the
District Court for further consideration. The District Judge is
allowing HRH and the Company (and the other affected defendants)
to submit new motions to dismiss the remanded RICO claim. The
motion has been filed, but a decision is not expected until
sometime in 2011. Additional actions could be brought in the
future by individual policyholders. The Company disputes the
allegations in all of these suits and has been and intends to
continue to defend itself vigorously against these actions. The
outcomes of these lawsuits, however, including any losses or
other payments that may occur as a result, cannot be predicted
at this time.
Reinsurance
Market Dispute
Various legal proceedings are pending, have concluded or may
commence between reinsurers, reinsureds and in some cases their
intermediaries, including reinsurance brokers, relating to
personal accident excess of loss reinsurance for the years 1993
to 1998. The proceedings principally concern allegations by
reinsurers that they have sustained substantial losses due to an
alleged abnormal ‘spiral’ in the market in which the
reinsurance contracts were placed, the existence and nature of
which, as well as other information, was not disclosed to them
by the reinsureds or their reinsurance broker.
A ‘spiral’ is a market term for a situation in which
reinsureds and reinsurers reinsure each other with the effect
that the same loss or portion of that loss moves through the
market multiple times.
The reinsurers concerned have taken the position that, despite
their decisions to underwrite risks or a group of risks, they
are no longer bound by their reinsurance contracts. As a result,
they have stopped settling claims and are seeking to recover
claims already paid. The Company also understands that there
have been arbitration awards in relation to a
‘spiral’, among other things, in which the reinsurer
successfully argued that it was no longer bound by parts of its
reinsurance program. Willis Limited, the Company’s
principal insurance brokerage subsidiary in the United Kingdom,
acted as the reinsurance broker or otherwise as intermediary,
but not as an underwriter, for numerous personal accident
reinsurance contracts. Due to the small number of reinsurance
brokers generally, Willis Limited also utilized other brokers
active in this market as
sub-agents,
including brokers who are parties to the legal proceedings
described above, for certain contracts and may be
responsible for any errors and omissions they may have made. In
July 2003, one of the reinsurers received a judgment in the
English High Court against certain parties, including a
sub-broker
Willis Limited used to place two of the contracts involved in
this trial. Although neither the Company nor any of its
subsidiaries were a party to this proceeding or any arbitration,
Willis Limited entered into tolling agreements with certain of
the principals to the reinsurance contracts tolling the statute
of limitations pending the outcome of proceedings between the
reinsureds and reinsurers.
Two former clients of Willis Limited, American Reliable
Insurance Company and one of its associated companies
(collectively, ‘ARIC’), and CNA Insurance Company
Limited and two of its associated companies (‘CNA’)
terminated their respective tolling agreements with Willis
Limited and commenced litigation in September 2007 and January
2008, respectively, in the English Commercial Court against
Willis Limited. ARIC alleged conspiracy between a former Willis
Limited employee and the ARIC underwriter as well as negligence
and CNA alleged deceit and negligence by the same Willis Limited
employee both in connection with placements of personal accident
reinsurance in the excess of loss market in London and
elsewhere. On June 9, 2009, Willis Limited entered into a
settlement agreement under which Willis Limited paid a total of
$139 million to ARIC, which was covered by errors and
omissions insurance. On September 11, 2009, Willis Limited
entered into a settlement agreement under which Willis Limited
paid a total of $130 million to CNA. The Company has
substantially collected and believes it will collect in full the
$130 million required under the CNA settlement agreement
from errors and omissions insurers. The settlements include no
admission of wrongdoing by any party. Each party also realized
and waived all claims it may have against any of the other
parties arising out of or in connection with the subject matter
of the litigation.
Various arbitrations relating to reinsurance continue and, from
time to time, the principals request co-operation from the
Company and suggest that claims may be asserted against the
Company. Such claims may be made against the Company if
reinsurers do not pay claims on policies issued by them. The
Company cannot predict at this time whether any such claims will
be made or the damages that may be alleged.
Gender
Discrimination Class Action
In March 2008, the Company settled an action in the United
States District Court for the Southern District of New York
commenced against the Company in 2001 on behalf of an alleged
nationwide class of present and former female officer and
officer equivalent employees alleging that the Company
discriminated against them on the basis of their gender and
seeking injunctive relief, money damages, attorneys’ fees
and costs. Although the Court had denied plaintiffs’
motions to certify a nationwide class or to grant nationwide
discovery, it certified a class of approximately 200 female
officers and officer equivalent employees based in the
Company’s offices in New York, New Jersey and
Massachusetts. The settlement agreement provides for injunctive
relief and a monetary payment, including the amount of attorney
fees plaintiffs’ counsel are entitled to receive, which was
not material to the Company. In December 2006, a former female
employee, whose motion to intervene in the class action was
denied, filed a purported class action in the United States
District Court, Southern District of New York, with almost
identical allegations as those contained in the suit that was
settled in 2008, except seeking a class period of 1998 to the
time of trial (the class period in the settled suit was 1998 to
the end of 2001). The Company’s motion to dismiss this suit
was denied and the Court did not grant the Company permission to
immediately file an appeal from the denial of its motion to
dismiss. The parties are in the discovery phase of the
litigation. The suit was amended to include one additional
plaintiff and another filed an arbitration demand that includes
a class allegation.
In January 2011, the Company reached an agreement with
plaintiffs on a monetary settlement to settle all class claims
and the claims of the individual named plaintiffs as well as the
plaintiff that filed an arbitration demand. The amount of this
settlement is not material. However, before this matter can be
settled in its entirety, the parties must reach agreement on any
injunctive measures the Company will implement and the Court
must approve all terms of the settlement.
World Trade
Center
The Company acted as the insurance broker, but not as an
underwriter, for the placement of both property and casualty
insurance for a number of entities which were directly impacted
by the September 11, 2001, destruction of the World Trade
Center complex, including Silverstein Properties LLC, which
acquired a
99-year
leasehold interest in the twin towers and related facilities
from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in July 2001.
Although the World Trade Center complex insurance was bound at
or before the July 2001 closing of the leasehold acquisition,
consistent with standard industry practice, the final policy
wording for the placements was still in the process of being
finalized when the twin towers and other buildings in the
complex were destroyed on September 11, 2001. There have
been a number of lawsuits in the United States between the
insured parties and the insurers for several placements and
other disputes may arise in respect of insurance placed by us
which could affect the Company including claims by one or more
of the insureds that the Company made culpable errors or
omissions in connection with our brokerage activities. However,
the Company does not believe that our role as broker will lead
to liabilities which in the aggregate would have a material
adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition
or liquidity.
Stanford
Financial Group
On July 2, 2009, a putative class action complaint,
captioned Troice, et al. v. Willis of Colorado, Inc., et
al., C.A.
No. 3:09-CV-01274-N,
was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern
District of Texas against Willis Group Holdings, Willis of
Colorado, Inc. and a Willis associate, among others, relating to
the collapse of The Stanford Financial Group
(’Stanford’), for which Willis of Colorado, Inc. acted
as broker of record on certain lines of insurance. The complaint
generally alleged that the defendants actively and materially
aided Stanford’s alleged fraud by providing Stanford with
certain letters regarding coverage that they knew would be used
to help retain or attract actual or prospective Stanford client
investors. The complaint alleged that these letters, which
contain statements about Stanford and the insurance policies
that the defendants placed for Stanford, contained untruths and
omitted material facts and were drafted in this manner to help
Stanford promote and sell its allegedly fraudulent certificates
of deposit. The putative class consisted of Stanford investors
in Mexico and the complaint asserted various claims under Texas
statutory and common law and sought actual damages in excess of
$1 billion, punitive damages and costs. On August 12,
2009, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint, which,
notwithstanding the addition of certain factual allegations and
Texas common law claims, largely mirrored the original and
sought the same relief.
On July 17, 2009, a putative class action complaint,
captioned Ranni v. Willis of Colorado, Inc., et al.,
C.A.
No. 09-22085,
was filed against Willis Group Holdings and Willis of Colorado,
Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District
of Florida, relating to the same alleged course of conduct as
the Troice complaint described above. Based on substantially the
same allegations as the Troice complaint, but on behalf of a
putative class of Venezuelan and other South American Stanford
investors, the Ranni complaint asserts a claim under
Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and
Rule 10b-5
thereunder, as well as various claims under Florida statutory
and common law, and seeks damages in an amount to be determined
at trial and costs.
On or about July 24, 2009, a motion was filed by certain
individuals (collectively, the ‘Movants’) with the
U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (the
‘JPML’) to consolidate and coordinate in the Northern
District of Texas nine separate putative class
actions — including the Troice and Ranni actions
described above, as well as other actions against various
Stanford-related entities and individuals and the Commonwealth
of Antigua and Barbuda — relating to Stanford and its
allegedly fraudulent certificates of deposit.
On August 6, 2009, a putative class action complaint,
captioned Canabal, et al. v. Willis of Colorado, Inc.,
et al., C.A.
No. 3:09-CV-01474-D,
was filed against Willis Group Holdings, Willis of Colorado,
Inc. and the same Willis associate, among others, also in the
Northern District of Texas, relating to the same alleged course
of conduct as the Troice complaint described above. Based on
substantially the same allegations as the Troice complaint, but
on behalf of a putative class of Venezuelan investors, the
Canabal complaint asserted various claims under Texas statutory
and common law and sought actual damages in excess of
$1 billion, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and
costs.
On or about August 10, 2009, the Movants filed with the
JPML a Notice of Related Action that referred the Canabal action
to the JPML. On October 6, 2009, the JPML ruled on the
transfer motion, transferring seven of the subject actions
(including the Troice and Ranni actions) — i.e., the
original nine actions minus two that had since been
dismissed — for consolidation or coordination in the
Northern District of Texas. On October 27, 2009, the
parties to the Canabal action stipulated to the designation of
that action as a related case and properly part of the new
Stanford MDL proceeding in the Northern District of Texas.
On September 14, 2009, a complaint, captioned Rupert, et
al. v. Winter, et al., Case No. 2009C115137, was
filed on behalf of 97 Stanford investors against Willis Group
Holdings, Willis of Colorado, Inc. and the same Willis
associate, among others, in Texas state court (Bexar County).
Based on substantially the same allegations as the Troice
complaint, the Rupert complaint asserts claims under the
Securities Act of 1933, as well as various Texas statutory and
common law claims, and seeks rescission, damages, special
damages and consequential damages of $79.1 million, treble
damages of $237.4 million under the Texas Insurance Code,
attorneys’ fees and costs. On October 20, 2009,
certain defendants, including Willis of Colorado, Inc.,
(i) removed the Rupert action to the U.S. District
Court for the Western District of Texas, (ii) notified the
JPML of the pendency of this additional ‘tag-along’
action and (iii) moved to stay the action pending a
determination by the JPML as to whether it should be transferred
to the Northern District of Texas for consolidation or
coordination with the other Stanford-related actions. In
November 2009, the JPML issued a conditional transfer order (the
‘CTO’) for the transfer of the Rupert action to the
Northern District of Texas. On December 22, 2009, the
plaintiffs filed a motion to vacate, or alternatively stay, the
CTO, to which Willis of Colorado, Inc. responded on
January 4, 2010. On April 1, 2010, the JPML denied the
plaintiffs’ motion to vacate the CTO and issued a final
transfer order for the transfer of the Rupert action to the
Northern District of Texas.
On December 18, 2009, the parties to the Troice and Canabal
actions stipulated to the consolidation of those actions and, on
December 31, 2009, the plaintiffs therein, collectively,
filed a Second Amended Class Action Complaint, which
largely mirrors the Troice and Canabal predecessor complaints,
but seeks relief on behalf of a worldwide class of Stanford
investors. Also on December 31, 2009, the plaintiffs in the
Canabal action filed a Notice of Dismissal, dismissing the
Canabal action without prejudice. On February 25, 2010, the
defendants filed motions to dismiss the Second Amended
Class Action Complaint in the consolidated Troice/Canabal
action. Those motions are currently pending. On May 24,
2010, the plaintiffs in the consolidated Troice/Canabal action
filed a motion for leave to file a Third Amended
Class Action Complaint, which, among other things, adds
several Texas statutory claims. That motion is also currently
pending.
On September 16, 2010, a complaint, captioned Casanova,
et al. v. Willis of Colorado, Inc., et al., C.A.
No. 3:10-CV-01862-O,
was filed on behalf of seven Stanford investors against Willis
Group Holdings, Willis Limited, Willis of Colorado, Inc. and the
same Willis associate, among others, also in the Northern
District of Texas. Although this is not a class action, the
Casanova complaint is based on substantially the same
allegations as the Second Amended Class Action Complaint in
the consolidated Troice/Canabal action. The Casanova complaint
asserts various claims under Texas statutory and common law and
seeks actual damages in excess of $5 million, punitive
damages, attorneys’ fees and costs.
The defendants have not yet responded to the Ranni or Rupert or
Casanova complaints.
Additional actions could be brought in the future by other
investors in certificates of deposit issued by Stanford and its
affiliates. The Company disputes these allegations and intends
to defend itself vigorously
against these actions. The outcomes of these actions, however,
including any losses or other payments that may occur as a
result, cannot be predicted at this time.
St.
Jude
In January 2009, Willis of Minnesota, Inc. was named as a third
party defendant in a lawsuit between American Insurance Company
(‘AIC’) and St. Jude Medical, Inc. (‘St.
Jude’) pending in the United States District Court,
District of Minnesota, that arose out of a products liability
insurance program for St. Jude in which AIC provided one layer
of insurance and the Company acted as the broker. St. Jude
sought a judgment against AIC requiring AIC to pay its policy
limits of $50 million plus interest and costs for certain
personal injury claims filed against St. Jude and denied by AIC.
To the extent there was a finding that AIC does not have to
provide coverage for these claims, St. Jude alternatively
alleged standard errors and omissions claims against the Company
for the same amount.
On December 22, 2010, the parties to this suit entered into
a settlement agreement that fully resolves all claims in the
lawsuit. Under the settlement agreement, the Company agreed to
make and has already made an immaterial one-time payment to St.
Jude. As part of the settlement agreement, each party has also
fully and completely released and waived all claims it may have
against any of the other parties arising out of or in connection
with the subject matter of the litigation. The settlement
includes no admissions of wrongdoing by any party. The lawsuit
was dismissed with prejudice on January 3, 2011.
The components of comprehensive income (loss) are as follows:
Net income
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax:
Foreign currency translation adjustment (net of tax of $nil in
2010, 2009 and 2008)
Unrealized holding gain (loss) (net of tax of $nil in 2010, 2009
and 2008)
Pension funding adjustment (net of tax of $(12) million in
2010, $6 million in 2009 and $160 million in 2008)
Net gain (loss) on derivative instruments (net of tax of
$(3) million in 2010, $(16) million in 2009 and
$13 million in 2008)
Other comprehensive income (loss) (net of tax of
$(15) million in 2010, $(10) million in 2009 and
$173 million in 2008)
Comprehensive income (loss)
Noncontrolling interests
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to Willis Group Holdings
The components of accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of
tax, are as follows:
Net foreign currency translation adjustment
Net unrealized holding loss
Pension funding adjustment
Net unrealized gain (loss) on derivative instruments
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, attributable to Willis
Group Holdings, net of tax
The components of equity and noncontrolling interests are as
follows:
Balance at beginning of period
Comprehensive income:
Net income
Other comprehensive income, net of tax
Comprehensive income
Dividends
Additional paid-in capital
Shares reissued under stock compensation plans
Repurchase of shares
Purchase of subsidiary shares from noncontrolling interests
Additional noncontrolling interests
Foreign currency translation
Balance at end of period
The effects on equity of changes in Willis Group Holdings
ownership interest in its subsidiaries are as follows:
Net income attributable to Willis Group Holdings
Transfers from noncontrolling interest:
Decrease in Willis Group Holdings’ paid-in capital for
purchase of noncontrolling interest
Increase in Willis Group Holdings’ paid-in capital for sale
of noncontrolling interest
Net transfers from noncontrolling interest
Change from net income attributable to Willis Group Holdings and
transfers from noncontrolling interests
Supplemental disclosures regarding cash flow information and
non-cash flow investing and financing activities are as follows:
Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:
Cash payments for income taxes, net of cash received
Cash payments for interest
Supplemental disclosures of non-cash flow investing and
financing activities:
Assets acquired under capital leases
Non cash proceeds from reorganization of investments in
associates (Note 6)
Issue of stock on acquisitions of subsidiaries
Issue of loan notes on acquisitions of noncontrolling interests
Issue of stock on acquisitions of noncontrolling interests
Deferred payments on acquisitions of subsidiaries
Deferred payments on acquisitions of noncontrolling interests
Acquisitions:
Fair value of assets acquired
Less:
Liabilities assumed
Cash acquired
Net (liabilities) assets assumed, net of cash acquired
Fair value of
derivative financial instruments
In addition to the note below, see Note 25 for information
about the fair value hierarchy of derivatives.
Primary risks
managed by derivative financial instruments
The main risks arising from the Company’s financial
instruments are interest rate risk, liquidity risk, foreign
currency risk and credit risk. The Company’s board of
directors reviews and agrees policies for managing each of these
risks as summarized below.
The Company enters into derivative transactions (principally
interest rate swaps and forward foreign currency contracts) in
order to manage interest rate and currency risks arising from
the Company’s operations and its sources of finance. The
Company does not hold financial or derivative instruments for
trading purposes.
Interest Rate
Risk
As a result of the Company’s operating activities, the
Company receives cash for premiums and claims which it deposits
in short-term investments denominated in US dollars and other
currencies. The Company earns interest on these funds, which is
included in the Company’s financial statements as
investment income. These funds are regulated in terms of access
and the instruments in which they may be invested, most of which
are short-term in maturity. In order to manage interest rate
risk arising from these financial assets, the Company enters
into interest rate swaps to receive a fixed rate of interest and
pay a variable rate of interest fixed in the various currencies
related to the short-term investments. The use of interest rate
contracts essentially converts groups of short-term variable
rate investments to fixed rates.
The fair value of these contracts is recorded in other assets
and other liabilities. For contracts that qualify as cash flow
hedges for accounting purposes, the effective portions of
changes in fair value are recorded as a component of other
comprehensive income.
At December 31, 2010 and 2009, the company had the
following derivative financial instruments that were designated
as cash flow hedges of interest rate risk:
2010
US dollar
Pounds sterling
Euro
2009
The Company’s operations are financed principally by
$1,750 million fixed rate senior notes and
$411 million under a
5-year term
loan facility. Of the fixed rate senior notes $350 million
are due 2015, $500 million are due 2016, $600 million
are due 2017 and $300 million are due 2019. The Company
also has access to $520 million under three revolving
credit facilities; as of December 31, 2010 $90 million
was drawn from the
5-year
$300 million revolving credit facility. All debt is issued
by subsidiaries of the Company.
The interest rates applicable to the borrowings under the
5-year term
loan and the revolving credit facilities vary according to LIBOR
on the date of individual drawdowns.
During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company
entered into a series of interest rate swaps for a total
notional amount of $350 million to receive a fixed rate and
pay a variable rate on a semi-annual basis, with a maturity date
of July 15, 2015. At the year end the weighted average
fixed rate payable was 2.71% and variable rate receivable was
2.04%. The Company has designated and accounts for these
instruments as fair value hedges against its $350 million
5.625% senior notes due 2015. The fair values of the
interest rate swaps are included within other assets or other
liabilities and the fair value of the hedged element of the
senior notes is included within long-term debt.
At December 31, 2010 and 2009, the Company’s interest
rate swaps were all designated as hedging instruments.
Liquidity
Risk
The Company’s objective is to ensure that it has the
ability to generate sufficient cash either from internal or
external sources, in a timely and cost-effective manner, to meet
its commitments as they fall due. The Company’s management
of liquidity risk is embedded within its overall risk management
framework. Scenario analysis is continually undertaken to ensure
that the Company’s resources can meet its liquidity
requirements. These resources are supplemented by access to
$520 million under three revolving credit facilities.
Foreign
Currency Risk
The Company’s primary foreign exchange risks arise:
The foreign exchange risks in its London market operations are
hedged as follows:
The Company does not hedge net income earned within foreign
subsidiaries outside of the UK.
The fair value of foreign currency contracts is recorded in
other assets and other liabilities. For contracts that qualify
as accounting hedges, changes in fair value resulting from
movements in the spot exchange rate are recorded as a component
of other comprehensive income whilst changes resulting from a
movement in the time value are recorded in interest expense. For
contracts that do not qualify for hedge accounting, the total
change in fair value is recorded in interest expense. Amounts
held in comprehensive income are reclassified into earnings when
the hedged exposure affects earnings.
At December 31, 2010 and 2009, the Company’s foreign
currency contracts were all designated as hedging instruments.
The table below summarizes by major currency the contractual
amounts of the Company’s forward contracts to exchange
foreign currencies for pounds sterling in the case of US dollars
and US dollars for Euro and Japanese yen. Foreign currency
notional amounts are reported in US dollars translated at
contracted exchange rates.
US dollar
Euro
Japanese yen
Credit Risk
and Concentrations of Credit Risk
Credit risk represents the loss that would be recognized at the
reporting date if counterparties failed to perform as contracted
and from movements in interest rates and foreign exchange rates.
The Company does not anticipate non-performance by
counterparties. The Company generally does not require
collateral or other security to support financial instruments
with credit risk; however, it is the Company’s policy to
enter into master netting arrangements with counterparties as
practical.
Concentrations of credit risk that arise from financial
instruments exist for groups of customers or counterparties when
they have similar economic characteristics that would cause
their ability to meet contractual obligations to be similarly
affected by changes in economic or other conditions. Financial
instruments on the balance sheet that potentially subject the
Company to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of
cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable and derivatives
which are recorded at fair value.
The Company maintains a policy providing for the diversification
of cash and cash equivalent investments and places such
investments in an extensive number of financial institutions to
limit the amount of credit risk exposure. These financial
institutions are monitored on an ongoing basis for credit
quality predominantly using information provided by credit
agencies.
Concentrations of credit risk with respect to receivables are
limited due to the large number of clients and markets in which
the Company does business, as well as the dispersion across many
geographic areas. Management does not believe significant risk
exists in connection with the Company’s concentrations of
credit as of December 31, 2010.
Derivative
financial instruments
The table below presents the fair value of the Company’s
derivative financial instruments and their balance sheet
classification at December 31:
Assets:
Interest rate swaps (cash flow
hedges)(i)
Interest rate swaps (fair value
hedges)(ii)
Forward exchange contracts
Total derivatives designated as hedging instruments
Liabilities:
Interest rate swaps (cash flow hedges)
Cashflow
Hedges
The table below presents the effects of derivative financial
instruments in cash flow hedging relationships on the
consolidated statements of operations and the consolidated
statements of equity for years ended December 31, 2010,
2009 and 2008:
Year ended December 31, 2010
Interest rate swaps
Forward exchange contracts
Total
Year ended December 31, 2009
Year ended December 31, 2008
For interest rate swaps all components of each derivative’s
gain or loss were included in the assessment of hedge
effectiveness. For foreign exchange contracts only the changes
in fair value resulting from movements in the spot exchange rate
are included in this assessment.
At December 31, 2010 the Company estimates there will be
$7 million of net derivative gains reclassified from
accumulated comprehensive income into earnings within the next
twelve months.
Fair Value
Hedges
The table below presents the effects of derivative financial
instruments in fair value hedging relationships on the
consolidated statements of operations for the year ended
December 31, 2010. The Company did not have any derivative
financial instruments in fair value hedging relationships during
2009 and 2008.
Year ended December 31, 2010
Interest rate swaps
All components of each derivative’s gain or loss were
included in the assessment of hedge effectiveness.
The Company’s principal financial instruments, other than
derivatives, comprise the fixed rate senior notes, the
5-year term
loan, a revolving credit facility, fiduciary assets and
liabilities, and cash deposits.
The following table presents, for each of the fair-value
hierarchy levels, the Company’s assets and liabilities that
are measured at fair value on a recurring basis:
Assets at fair value:
Cash and cash equivalents
Fiduciary funds — restricted (included within
Fiduciary assets)
Derivative financial
instruments(i)
Total assets
Liabilities at fair value:
Derivative financial instruments
Changes in fair value of hedged
debt(ii)
Total liabilities
The estimated fair value of the Company’s financial
instruments held or issued to finance the Company’s
operations is summarized below. Certain estimates and judgments
were required to develop the fair value amounts. The fair value
amounts shown below are not necessarily indicative of the
amounts that the Company would realize upon disposition nor do
they indicate the Company’s intent or ability to dispose of
the financial instrument.
Cash and cash equivalents
Fiduciary funds — restricted (included within
Fiduciary assets)
Derivative financial
instruments(i)
Short-term debt
Long-term debt
Derivative financial instruments
The following methods and assumptions were used by the Company
in estimating its fair value disclosure for financial
instruments:
Cash and Cash Equivalents — The estimated fair
value of these financial instruments approximates their carrying
values due to their short maturities.
Fiduciary Funds — Restricted — Fair
values are based on quoted market values
Long-Term Debt excluding the fair value hedge —
Fair values are based on quoted market values.
Derivative Financial Instruments — Market
values have been used to determine the fair value of interest
rate swaps and forward foreign exchange contracts based on
estimated amounts the Company would receive or have to pay to
terminate the agreements, taking into account the current
interest rate environment or current foreign currency forward
rates.
During the periods presented, the Company operated through three
segments: Global; North America and International. Global
provides specialist brokerage and consulting services to clients
worldwide for specific industrial and commercial activities and
is organized by specialism. North America and International
predominantly comprise our retail operations which provide
services to small, medium and major corporates, accessing
Global’s specialist expertise when required.
The Company evaluates the performance of its operating segments
based on organic revenue growth and operating income. For
internal reporting and segmental reporting, the following items
for which segmental management are not held accountable are
excluded from segmental expenses:
The accounting policies of the operating segments are consistent
with those described in Note 2 — Basis of
Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies. There are no
inter-segment revenues, with segments operating on a
revenue-sharing basis equivalent to that used when sharing
business with other third-party brokers.
Selected information regarding the Company’s operating
segments is as follows:
Year ended December 31, 2010
Total Operating Segments
Corporate and
Other(i)
Total Consolidated
Year ended December 31, 2009
Year ended December 31, 2008
Total corporate and other
The following table reconciles total consolidated operating
income, as disclosed in the operating segment tables above, to
consolidated income from continuing operations before income
taxes and interest in earnings of associates.
Total consolidated operating income
The Company does not routinely evaluate the total asset position
by segment, and the following allocations have been made based
on reasonable estimates and assumptions:
Total assets:
Corporate and Eliminations
Operating segment revenue by product is as follows:
Commissions and fees:
Retail insurance services
Specialty insurance services
Total commissions and fees
Investment income
Other income
Total Revenues
None of the Company’s customers represented more than
10 percent of the Company’s consolidated commissions
and fees for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and
2008.
Information regarding the Company’s geographic locations is
as follows:
Commissions and
fees(i)
UK
US
Other(ii)
Total
Fixed assets
The Company has investments in the following subsidiary
undertakings which principally affect the net income or net
assets of the Group.
A full list of the Group’s subsidiary undertakings is
included within the Company’s annual return.
Holding companies
TAI Limited
Trinity Acquisition plc
Willis Faber Limited
Willis Group Limited
Willis Investment UK Holdings Limited
Willis Netherlands Holdings B.V.
Willis Europe B.V.
Insurance broking companies
Willis HRH, Inc.
Willis Limited
Willis North America, Inc.
Willis Re, Inc
On July 1, 2005, Willis North America Inc. (‘Willis
North America’) issued senior notes totaling
$600 million under its February 2004 registration
statement. On March 28, 2007, Willis North America issued
further senior notes totaling $600 million under its June
2006 registration statement. On September 29, 2009, Willis
North America issued senior notes totaling
$300 million under its June 2009 registration statement
(Note 18 — Debt).
Until December 22, 2010, all direct obligations under the
senior notes were jointly and severally, irrevocably and fully
and unconditionally guaranteed by Willis Group Holdings, Willis
Netherlands Holdings B.V., Willis Investment UK Holdings
Limited, TA I Limited, TA II Limited, Trinity Acquisition plc,
TA III Limited, TA IV Limited, and Willis Group Limited, the
Guarantor Companies. On that date and in connection with an
internal group reorganisation, TA II Limited, TA III Limited and
TA IV Limited transferred their obligations
as guarantors to the other Guarantor Companies. TA II Limited,
TA III Limited and TA IV Limited entered member’s voluntary
liquidation on December 31, 2010. The assets of these
companies were distributed to the other Guarantor Companies,
either directly or indirectly, as a final distribution paid
prior to their entering member’s voluntary liquidation.
These final distributions have been excluded from the 2010
results and cash flows of the Other Guarantors. The final
distributions comprise: a $4.3 billion dividend from TA IV
Limited to Trinity Acquisition plc; a $5.1 billion
distribution from TA III Limited to TA II Limited and a
$4.7 billion distribution from TA II Limited to TA I
Limited. Since all of the liquidated guarantors were ultimately
liquidated into another guarantor, these transactions did not
have a material impact on the guarantees of the senior notes and
did not require the consent of the noteholders under the
applicable indentures.
Willis Group Holdings was incorporated on September 24,
2009 and, as discussed in Note 2, replaced Willis-Bermuda
as the ultimate parent company on December 31, 2009. Willis
Netherlands Holdings B.V. was incorporated on November 27,
2009.
The debt securities that were issued by Willis North America and
guaranteed by the entities described above, and for which the
disclosures set forth below relate and are required under
applicable SEC rules, were issued under a “shelf”
registration statements on Form S-3, including our current
June 2009 registration statement (the “Willis Shelf”).
The Willis Shelf also covers and contemplates possible issuances
of securities by, and guarantees by, other Willis group
entities, including Willis Group Holdings. One possible
structure originally contemplated by the Willis Shelf was for
debt securities issued by Trinity Acquisition plc and guaranteed
by certain of its direct and indirect parent entities, but not
guaranteed by its direct and indirect subsidiaries, including
Willis North America, and the financial statements included in
our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2009 included a footnote (Note 25) that
corresponded to this possible issuance structure. We have
determined that we will not utilize the Willis Shelf to issue
debt securities using such a structure, and we therefore have
not included a corresponding footnote in these financial
statements.
Presented below is condensed consolidating financial information
for:
The equity method has been used for investments in subsidiaries
in the condensed consolidating balance sheets for the year ended
December 31, 2010 of Willis Group Holdings, the Other
Guarantors and the Issuer. Investments in subsidiaries in the
condensed consolidating balance sheet for Other, represents the
cost of investment in subsidiaries recorded in the parent
companies of the non-guarantor subsidiaries.
The entities included in the Other Guarantors column for the
year ended December 31, 2010 are Willis Netherlands
Holdings B.V., Willis Investment UK Holdings Limited, Trinity
Acquisition plc, TA I Limited, TA II Limited, TA III Limited, TA
IV Limited and Willis Group Limited. See the discussion above
describing the liquidation of certain of these entities.
Condensed
Consolidating Statement of Operations
REVENUES
Commissions and fees
Investment income
Other income
Total revenues
EXPENSES
Salaries and benefits
Other operating expenses
Depreciation expense
Amortization of intangible assets
Net (loss) gain on disposal of operations
Total expenses
OPERATING (LOSS) INCOME
Investment income from Group undertakings
Interest expense
(LOSS) INCOME FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS BEFORE INCOME TAXES AND
INTEREST IN EARNINGS OF ASSOCIATES
Income taxes
(LOSS) INCOME FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS BEFORE INTEREST IN
EARNINGS OF ASSOCIATES
Interest in earnings of associates, net of tax
(LOSS) INCOME FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS
NET (LOSS) INCOME
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests
EQUITY ACCOUNT FOR SUBSIDIARIES
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO WILLIS GROUP HOLDINGS
Net gain on disposal of operations
OPERATING INCOME (LOSS)
INCOME FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS BEFORE INCOME TAXES AND
INTEREST IN EARNINGS OF ASSOCIATES
INCOME FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS BEFORE INTEREST IN EARNINGS OF
ASSOCIATES
INCOME FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS
Discontinued operations, net of tax
NET INCOME
Gain on disposal of London headquarters
Net loss on disposal of operations
Condensed
Consolidating Balance Sheet
Accounts receivable
Fiduciary assets
Deferred tax assets
Other current assets
Total current assets
Investments in subsidiaries
Amounts owed by (to) Group undertakings
Fixed assets
Goodwill
Other intangible assets
Investments in associates
Pension benefits asset
Other non-current assets
Total non-current assets
Fiduciary liabilities
Deferred revenue and accrued expenses
Income taxes payable
Short-term debt
Deferred tax liabilities
Other current liabilities
Total current liabilities
Long-term debt
Liabilities for pension benefits
Provisions for liabilities
Other non-current liabilities
Total non-current liabilities
TOTAL LIABILITIES
EQUITY
Total Willis Group Holdings stockholders’ equity
Noncontrolling interests
Total equity
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Provisions for liabilities and charges
Condensed
Consolidating Statement of Cash Flows
NET CASH (USED IN) PROVIDED BY OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Proceeds on disposal of fixed and intangible assets
Additions to fixed assets
Acquisitions of subsidiaries, net of cash acquired
Acquisitions of investments in associates
Investment in Trident V Parallel Fund, LP
Proceeds from sale of continuing operations, net of cash disposed
Net cash used in investing activities
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Proceeds from draw down of revolving credit facility
Repayments of debt
Proceeds from issue of shares
Excess tax benefits from share-based payment arrangement
Dividends paid
Acquisition of noncontrolling interests
Dividends paid to noncontrolling interests
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities
(DECREASE) INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, BEGINNING OF YEAR
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, END OF YEAR
NET CASH PROVIDED BY OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Proceeds from reorganization of investments in associates
Proceeds from sale of discontinued operations, net of cash
disposed
Proceeds on sale of short-term investments
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities
Senior notes issued, net of debt issuance costs
Excess tax benefits from share-based payment arrangements
Net cash used in financing activities
INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
Proceeds from issue of short-term debt, net of debt issuance
costs
Proceeds from issue of long-term debt, net of debt issuance costs
Repurchase of shares
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities
Quarterly financial data for 2010 and 2009 were as follows:
2010
Total expenses
Earnings per share — continuing operations
— Basic
— Diluted
Earnings per share — discontinued operations
2009
None.
Evaluation of
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
As of December 31, 2010, the Company carried out an
evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of
the Company’s management, including the Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer and the Group Chief Financial Officer, of the
effectiveness of the design and operation of the Company’s
disclosure controls and procedures
pursuant to Exchange Act
Rule 13a-15(e).
Based upon that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and the
Group Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of that date,
the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures as defined
in
Rule 13a-15(e)
are effective.
Management’s
Report on Internal Control over Financial
Reporting
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining
adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in
Rule 13a-15(f)
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Under the supervision and with the participation of our
management, including our principal executive officer and
principal financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of the
effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting
as of December 31, 2010, based on the criteria related to
internal control over financial reporting described in
Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued
by the
Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission. Based on our evaluation, management concluded that
our internal control over financial reporting was effective as
of December 31, 2010.
Our independent registered public accountants, Deloitte LLP, who
have audited and reported on our financial statements, have
undertaken an assessment of the Company’s internal control
over financial reporting. Deloitte’s report is presented
below.
February 25, 2011.
REPORT OF
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of Willis Group
Holdings Public Limited Company,
We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of
Willis Group Holdings Public Limited Company and subsidiaries
(the ‘Company’) as of December 31, 2010, based on
criteria established in Internal Control —
Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring
Organizations of the Treadway Commission. The Company’s
management is responsible for maintaining effective internal
control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the
effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting,
included in the accompanying Management’s Report on
Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is
to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control
over financial reporting based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those
standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain
reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control
over financial reporting was maintained in all material
respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of
internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk
that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the
design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on
the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we
considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our
audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a
process designed by, or under the supervision of, the
company’s principal executive and principal financial
officers, or persons performing similar functions, and effected
by the company’s board of directors, management, and other
personnel to provide reasonable assurance regarding the
reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of
financial statements for external purposes in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s
internal control over financial reporting includes those
policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance
of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly
reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the
company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions
are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial
statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company
are being made only in accordance with authorizations of
management and directors of the company; and (3) provide
reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of
unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the
company’s assets that could have a material effect on the
financial statements.
Because of the inherent limitations of internal control over
financial reporting, including the possibility of collusion or
improper management override of controls, material misstatements
due to error or fraud may not be prevented or detected on a
timely basis. Also, projections of any evaluation of the
effectiveness of the internal control over financial reporting
to future periods are subject to the risk that the controls may
become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the
degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may
deteriorate.
In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material
respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as
of December 31, 2010, based on the criteria established in
Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued
by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the
consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended
December 31, 2010 of the Company and our report dated
February 25, 2011 expressed an unqualified opinion on those
financial statements.
Deloitte LLP
Changes in
Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There has been no change in the Company’s internal controls
over financial reporting during the three months ended
December 31, 2010 that has materially affected, or is
reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s
internal control over financial reporting.
As discussed in our
Form 8-K
furnished on February 10, 2011 and in Management’s
Discussion & Analysis, we anticipate that we will
incur pre-tax charges of approximately $110 million to
$130 million, primarily recorded in the first quarter of
2011, in connection with our operational review, certain of
which charges will be costs associated with exit or disposal
activities under Item 2.05 of
Form 8-K.
The Board of Directors authorized senior management to implement
such plan on February 3, 2011.
Directors
and officers
Except for the information regarding executive officers (other
than Joseph J. Plumeri) required by Item 401 of
Regulation S-K
which is set forth below, as of February 21, 2011, we
incorporate the information required by this item by reference
to the headings ‘Election of Directors’,
’Corporate Governance’, ‘Section 16
Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance’ and
‘Ethical Code’ in our 2011 Proxy Statement.
Adam G.
Ciongoli — Mr. Ciongoli, age 42,
was appointed an executive officer and Group General Counsel on
March 26, 2007. He was appointed Group Secretary on
August 1, 2009. Prior to joining the Willis Group, he
served as a counselor and law clerk to US Supreme Court Justice
Samuel A. Alito, Jr. during the Justice’s first Term
on the Court. Previously, Mr. Ciongoli was Senior Vice
President and General Counsel for TimeWarner Europe, and the
Counselor to United States Attorney General John Ashcroft.
Mr. Ciongoli also serves as a special consultant to the New
York City Police Department, and as an adjunct professor of law
at Columbia University Law School.
Peter
Hearn — Mr. Hearn, age 55, was
appointed an executive officer on April 10, 2007.
Mr. Hearn joined the Willis Group in January 1994 as a
Senior Vice President to open and manage the Philadelphia office
and was appointed Eastern Region Manager in October 1994 and
Executive Vice President in 1997. Most recently, Mr. Hearn
was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Willis Re in November
2006 and will be appointed Chairman of Willis Re. Prior to
joining Willis, Mr. Hearn served as Vice President and
Principal of Towers Perrin Reinsurance. Mr. Hearn has
31 years of experience in the insurance brokerage industry.
Victor P.
Krauze — Mr. Krauze, age 51, was
appointed an executive officer on December 3, 2010 and
named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Willis North
America. Previously, Mr. Krauze was President and Chief
Operating Officer for Willis North America, a position in which
he had served since 2009. Mr. Krauze has also served as
President/CEO for Willis’ Minnesota operations, National
Partner of the Great Lakes region and Regional Executive Officer
(National Partner) of Willis’ Central Region. Prior to
joining Willis in 1997, Mr. Krauze gained experience as a
casualty marketing specialist with another major global broker
where his early roles included Producer and Account Executive.
Mr. Krauze has over 20 years of experience in the
insurance industry.
David B.
Margrett — Mr. Margrett, age 57,
was appointed an executive officer on January 25, 2005.
Mr. Margrett joined the Willis Group in September 2004 as a
Managing Director of Global Markets. He was appointed Chief
Executive Officer, Global Specialties in January 2005 and
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Willis Limited on
April 1, 2007. Prior to joining the Willis Group,
Mr. Margrett had been with Heath Lambert Group, or its
predecessors, since 1973, holding a number of senior positions,
including Chief Executive from 1996 to 2004. Mr. Margrett
has 37 years experience of the insurance industry.
Grahame J.
Millwater — Mr. Millwater,
age 47, was appointed an executive officer on
December 18, 2001. He was appointed Group President on
February 29, 2008, having been Chief Operating Officer
since November 29, 2006. He has held several other senior
positions since joining the Willis Group in September 1985,
including Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Willis Re.
Mr. Millwater has 24 years of experience in the
insurance brokerage industry, all of which have been with the
Willis Group.
Michael K.
Neborak — Mr. Neborak, age 54,
was appointed an executive officer and Group Chief Financial
Officer on July 6, 2010. Mr. Neborak joined Willis
from MSCI Inc., a NYSE listed company, where he was Chief
Financial Officer. With more than 30 years of experience in
finance and accounting, Mr. Neborak also held senior
positions with Citigroup, including divisional CFO and co-head
of Corporate Strategy & Business Development, from
2000 — 2006, and prior to that, in the investment
banking group at Salomon Smith Barney from 1982 —
2000. He began his career as an accountant with Arthur
Andersen & Co.
Martin J.
Sullivan — Mr. Sullivan, age 56,
was appointed an executive officer on September 7, 2010.
Mr. Sullivan joined Willis as Deputy Chairman, Willis Group
Holdings plc, and Chairman and CEO of Willis Global Solutions,
which oversees the brokerage and risk management advisory
services for Willis’ multinational and global accounts.
Mr. Sullivan previously served as President and Chief
Executive Officer of American International Group, Inc.
(‘AIG’), from
2005-2008
and was Vice Chairman and Co-Chief Operating Officer from May
2002 until March 2005. He first joined AIG in the UK in 1971 and
in the intervening years served in a number of positions of
increasing responsibility, culminating in his election as Senior
Vice President, Foreign General Insurance in 1996 and Executive
Vice President, Foreign General Insurance in 1998. In 1996, he
was appointed Chief Operating Officer of AIU in New York and
named President in 1997.
Sarah J.
Turvill — Ms. Turvill, age 57,
was appointed an executive officer on July 1, 2001.
Ms. Turvill joined the Willis Group in May 1978 and has
held a number of senior management roles in our international
business, particularly in Europe where she was Managing Director
from 1995 to 2001. Ms. Turvill is currently Chief Executive
Officer of Willis International, a position she has held since
July 2001, and was additionally appointed Chairman in November
2006. She has 31 years of experience in the insurance
brokerage industry, all of which have been with the Willis Group.
Timothy D.
Wright — Mr. Wright, age 49, was
appointed an executive officer and Group Chief Operating Officer
on September 1, 2008. Prior to joining the Willis Group, he
was a Partner of Bain & Company where he led their
Financial Services practice in London. Mr. Wright was
previously UK Managing Partner of Booz Allen &
Hamilton and led their insurance work globally. He has more than
20 years of experience in the insurance and financial
service industries internationally.
Directors’
and auditors’ remuneration
The information under the heading ‘Executive
Compensation’ in the 2011 Proxy Statement is incorporated
herein by reference. Nothing in this report shall be construed
to incorporate by reference the Board Compensation Committee
Report on Executive Compensation which is contained in the 2011
Proxy Statement.
The information under the heading ‘Security
Ownership-Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and
Management’ in the 2011 Proxy Statement is incorporated
herein by reference.
Securities
Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation
Plans
The following table provides information, as of
December 31, 2010, about the securities authorized for
issuance under our equity compensation plans, and is categorized
according to whether or not the equity plan was previously
approved by shareholders:
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders
The information under the headings ‘Certain Relationships
and Related Transactions’ and ‘Corporate
Governance’ in the 2011 Proxy Statement is incorporated
herein by reference.
The information under the headings ‘Fees Paid to
Independent Auditors’ in the 2011 Proxy Statement is
incorporated herein by reference and as disclosed in Note 5
to the consolidated financial statements.
The following documents are filed as a part of this report:
(1) Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company
consisting of:
(a) Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.
(d) Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31,
2010 and 2009.
(g) Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
All other schedules are omitted because they are not applicable,
or not required, or because the required information is included
in the Consolidated Financial Statements or the Notes thereto.
Exhibits
Willis
Group Holdings plc
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused
this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned,
thereunto duly authorized.
Willis Group Holdings PLC
(Registrant)
/s/ Michael
K. Neborak
Michael K. Neborak
Group Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)
Date: February 25, 2011
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons
on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities indicated this
25th day of February 2011.
/s/ Joseph
J. Plumeri
/s/ William
W.
Bradley
/s/ Joseph
A. Califano, Jr.
/s/ Sir
Roy Gardner
/s/ The
Rt. Hon. Sir Jeremy Hanley,
KCMG
/s/ Robyn
S. Kravit
/s/ Jeffrey
B.
Lane
/s/ Wendy
E. Lane
/s/ James
F.
McCann
/s/ Douglas
B. Roberts
/s/ Michael
J.
Somers