Willis Group Welcomes Congressional Hearing in New York City on Extension of Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA).

NEW YORK -- Willis Group, the global insurance broker, today applauded the announcement by Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (D-PA) that the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises, chaired by Congressman Kanjorski, will hold its first hearing in New York City to discuss extending the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA.)

"Congressman Kanjorski and the Subcommittee are to be commended for holding hearings in New York, the U.S. city which suffered most from the 9/11 terrorist attacks," said Joe Plumeri, Chairman and CEO of Willis. "We support the Subcommittee's efforts to create a permanent solution for what, unfortunately, has become a permanent problem - insuring against the threat of terrorism. There is simply not enough insurance capacity in the world, either primary or reinsurance, to protect against global terrorist attacks without the support of the federal government. Further, government participation is critical as the attacks of 9/11 were not against a company or a building - but rather were attacks on our country and restoring the lives and businesses impacted by the next attack transcends the insurance industry and is a matter of our national economic security."

"We believe that a workable solution based on a public-private partnership will provide greater capacity for the industry to insure against terrorism while protecting the solvency of the industry in the event of another terrorist incident, and we look forward to working with the 110th Congress on this vital issue," Mr. Plumeri said.

Willis Group Holdings Limited (NYSE:WSH) is a leading global insurance broker, developing and delivering professional insurance, reinsurance, risk management, financial and human resource consulting and actuarial services to corporations, public entities and institutions around the world. Including our Associates, we have over 300 offices in some 100 countries, with a global team of approximately 16,000 employees serving clients in some 190 countries. Additional information on Willis may be found on its web site www.willis.com.