President of Risk & Broking, Willis Towers Watson
Search every verified Lucy Clarke interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Lucy Clarke, President of Risk & Broking at Willis Towers Watson, appeared on the "Voice of Insurance" podcast in April 2025, her first interview in three years following a period of gardening leave and her move into the role. She discussed the firm's strategy, describing the December 2024 investor day not as a reset but as a plan building on existing foundations, including a specialization strategy and a global broking platform now operating in 18 countries. Clarke stated that approximately 25% of premiums are currently processed through the platform, with a target of 90% in the top eight countries by the end of 2025 and full implementation by the end of 2026. Clarke addressed several areas of focus, including the use of artificial intelligence to convert unstructured data and compare policy documents, and the firm's MGA strategy, which includes the Verit MGA in the US with planned expansions into Great Britain and Europe. She described the current market as more competitive but still disciplined, with rate adequacy. On reinsurance, Clarke characterized the opportunity to build a new reinsurance business as "once in a generation," noting it is an organic build with an independent platform, though she said M&A is not ruled out. She emphasized the importance of client service, accuracy, and timeliness, and described cultural fit as a key criterion for potential acquisitions.
“I don't really think of it as a reset of our strategy. What we did in December 24 at the investor day was just to say building on those foundations, what's our plan now. We've got a specialization strategy that's totally working and we're going to maximize the advantage we have as a global broker with really strong bus...”
“The broking platform is now in 18 countries and at its most functional it can receive data in whatever format, make it structured, create a submission, run core models, send it out to the markets, and eventually bind the business. Today about 25% of our premiums are running through it, and by the end of this year our t...”
“We're mostly using AI to change data from unstructured to structured and to compare policy documents and contractual language, looking at a client's contract and the insurance product to identify gaps and measure the value of what insurance they already have versus what we can offer in the market.”
“I'm excited about where the market is. It's been a long hard road for clients, but now the market is a bit more competitive. There's still discipline in the market, and many underwriters are happy to grow at current rate levels, which are mostly rate adequate.”
“MGAs are providing an important role in the market. We have our Verit MGA in the US and will be launching in Great Britain and Europe later this year. Our MGA strategy focuses on niche products where there's scarcity of capacity and a way to distribute our Willis proprietary facilities throughout the group.”
“Willis is a big business in geographies all over the world in every segment and specialty line. Cultural fit will be really important for acquisitions. We want to be an amazing home for certain types of businesses, and obviously for those businesses it will be important to them as well.”
“We have a once in a generation opportunity to build a reinsurance business of quality and scale. It's a reinsurance business led by reinsurance brokers with an independent platform, supported by Willis Towers Watson's technology and insurance broking businesses globally.”
“It's a lot harder than I imagined to stand up a totally independent platform. The team has done a great job with multiple entity setups across geographies, tax filings, regulatory registrations, and director filings. Our plan is an organic build but M&A is not off the table if it makes sense.”
“I think one of the biggest opportunities for us in this market is to really focus on the service that we're providing to our clients. It's not just about big wins but also about accuracy and timeliness in debit notes, certificates of insurance, and providing a better client experience overall.”
“The specialty strategy is yielding a lot of opportunities. Everything is getting more complicated with new risks emerging all the time. Helping clients unravel complex, connected risk environments is a key part of being a good insurance broker today.”
Source: https://www.podbean.com/eau/pb-bcau3-1848130 Today's guest is making a return to the show after a three-year gap.
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