NEW YORK & PHILADELPHIA - Tuesday, December 4th 2012 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE/ME NewsWire)-- Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH),the global insurance broker and Hay Group, an international management consultancy, announced today the signing of a mutual referral agreement to strengthen their respective global capabilities.

Under this agreement, Willis Global Solutions (Employee Benefits) may refer its clients to Hay Group for management and human resources consulting services and Hay Group may refer its clients to Willis for employee benefits consulting and brokerage services.

Entering into this formal referral relationship will ensure that clients from both companies can benefit from the combined strengths of Willis and Hay Group.

Willis Global Solutions (Employee Benefits) provides global employee benefits consulting and brokerage services for multinational clients and is supported by its network operating in approximately 120 countries. Willis supports organizations worldwide in establishing a sound global governance and benefit strategy via plan design, funding, administration, and program management.

The consultants of Hay Group are experts in management, HR and reward topics and a leader in cash and total rewards consulting and data. They also have a global presence with 84 offices in 48 countries and have a strong presence with multinational clients in Europe and emerging markets.

Chris Matthews, CEO of Hay Group, commented, "Hay Group serves many of the world’s leading global and national companies. Our clients are increasingly concerned about the total costs of their pay bills, and how to provide the greatest value for their employees at least cost.”

"They also increasingly want to look at all aspects of compensation together – salaries, bonus, benefits, and pensions – rather than in isolated silos, and they want to do this across all markets in which they operate. This agreement increases our ability to serve and add value to our clients in all markets. We are very pleased to be teaming up with one of the world’s leading employee benefits consulting and brokerage firms.”

Joe Plumeri, Chairman and CEO of Willis Group Holdings, said "We are thrilled to join forces with Hay Group and strengthen our global employee benefits platform. Hay Group’s experience and expertise in the HR consulting arena will enable us to expand our service offering to our existing clients and prospects and further enhance our value proposition.”

"Together, we are committed to helping firms develop effective HR management strategies to maximize their employee benefits and total rewards offerings for their employees.”

About Willis

Willis Group Holdings plc is a leading global insurance broker. Through its subsidiaries, Willis develops and delivers professional insurance, reinsurance, risk management, financial and human resource consulting and actuarial services to corporations, public entities and institutions around the world. Willis has more than 400 offices in nearly 120 countries, with a global team of approximately 17,000 employees serving clients in virtually every part of the world. Additional information on Willis may be found at www.willis.com.

About Hay Group

Hay Group is a global management consulting firm that works with leaders to transform strategy into reality. We develop talent, organize people to be more effective and motivate them to perform at their best. Our focus is on making change happen and helping people and organizations realize their potential.

We have over 2600 employees working in 84 offices in 48 countries. Our insight is supported by robust data from over 125 countries. Our clients are from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, across every major industry. For more information please contact your local office through www.haygroup.com.

Contacts

Media:

Hay Group:

Mitch Kent, 215-861-2315

mitch.kent@haygroup.com

Willis:

Colleen McCarthy, 212-915-8307

Colleen.mccarthy@willis.com

Investors:

Willis:

Peter Poillon, 1-212-915-8084

Peter.poillon@willis.com