Willis North America Announces 18th Annual Construction Risk Management Conference Lessons From the Trenches Will Offer Valuable Construction Risk Management Insight

New York, NY (PRWEB) September 14, 2012

Willis North America, a unit of Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH), the global insurance broker, announced today its 18th Annual Construction Risk Management Conference September 19-21 in San Antonio, Texas.

Willis is a leading insurance broker in the construction industry bringing specialized expertise and dedicated resources to this space. The practice features over 600 dedicated construction professionals across the platform serving contractors, owners, construction professionals and design firms.

This annual event features educational and networking opportunities and combines the expertise of Willis construction clients along with leading specialists from the Willis construction team including surety, safety, and claims specialists. Attendance includes roughly 250 firms representing global, national and regional contractors, developers, facility owners and designers, construction industry professionals and insurers.

Entitled “Lessons from the Trenches: Risks and Solutions,” this year’s conference will feature a variety of real-life examples which demonstrate Willis’ ability to collaboratively deliver valuable risk management solutions to help clients meet the challenges and risks faced at each critical phase of a construction project. Commenting on the conference, Paul Becker, Chairman of the Construction Practice in North America said, “We wanted to focus on our experience of getting in the trenches with our clients and helping them navigate through challenging times. We have learned many valuable lessons by working with our clients during these challenging economic times and together we have developed solutions and strategies that serve them well now and as the construction industry continues to emerge from the downturn.”

“Organizations are confronting both an economic uncertainty and an evolving legal and legislative landscape resulting in uncertainty over what insurance policies will respond to. We are also seeing many firms adopt new ways of financing building in the wake of the financial crisis. All of these developments impact risk and a company’s ability to manage and finance risk. Willis is proud to offer this platform of insight to help firms navigate today’s complex environment,” Mr. Becker added.

Experts will lead a variety of educational sessions, including:

• Risk Challenges of Building a Tunnel: Port of Miami Tunnel – Louis Brais, Project Director, Bouygues Civil Works Florida
• Building The New World Trade Center - Lessons Learned in Risk Management and Safety – Shari Natovitz, VP Risk Management, Silverstein/World Trade Center Properties, Bob Azarian, Willis North America, Raymond Blackton, EVP, Willis North America
• Risk Considerations When Working Globally – Frank Wampol, Corporate Safety Director, B.L. Harbert International, Tanja Maffei, Willis International, David Warman, Willis Global Construction Group
• AGC Willis Construction Safety Excellence Awards 2012 Best of the Best Grand Champion Winners – PCL, Al Troppmann, President, Rich Baldwin HSE Director
• Joint Ventures: General Contractor Perspectives – Marie Huggins, AIC Group Insurance Manager, Kiewit, Beverly Hill, Director, Risk Management Balfour Beatty
• Healthcare Reform Is Here: Are you Ready? – Jay Kirschbaum, Willis North America

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 http://www.willis.com.

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