Willis is a leading insurance broker that provides employee benefit and risk management solutions across a wide range of industries. Willis has deep roots in South Florida, having established a presence in 1967 and, until this week, maintained its office in Coral Gables. For its new headquarters, Willis has signed a 10-year lease with Rilea Group to occupy 19,000 square feet at 1450 Brickell Avenue, a highly visible property in the heart of Miami’s financial and downtown district. This move further highlights Willis’ commitment to the South Florida community and will enable Willis to better serve its clients via its local service delivery model.
The South Florida market offers significant opportunity for Willis growth. According to recent data from The Washington Economics Group, Inc., Miami-Dade County is leading Florida in its economic recovery. Key sectors of the economy including tourism, international trade, health care services and private education are expanding at an accelerated pace. In addition, the global economies of the county’s key trading partners, including Latin America, Canada and Asia are growing at a solid pace and will continue to be an important source of economic strength.
The new facility will serve as the South Florida Headquarters of Willis’ retail insurance brokerage operations, a business that serves more than 3,000 local clients, placing employee benefit programs for some of the largest firms in the area and arranging some of the most complex property insurance programs in the marketplace. In addition, the new location will function as the home to Willis Re Latin America and Willis SCR (Special Contingency Risks). Willis also operates satellite offices in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach to serve South Florida.
Commenting on the relocation, Willis Chief Joe Plumeri said, “We are thrilled to be expanding our footprint in South Florida. This flagship location will enable us to seamlessly deliver Willis’ powerful global resources to local clients from one location. As Miami-area businesses grow with the global economy and confront an increasingly complex risk and liability landscape, there is strong demand for a global insurance broker to meet their insurance and risk management needs.”