The DOJ filed suit on June 16, 2021 against the second and third largest insurance brokers, Aon plc and Willis Towers Watson plc (“WTW”). The DOJ seeks to block their proposed merger combination.
The DOJ complaint alleges that “Aon and WTW compete with each other across virtually all of their respective offerings.” The complaint identifies “five relevant product markets in the United States” where “the effects of the proposed Merger would be particularly acute and the proposed Merger would be likely to substantially lessen competition.” These product markets, according to the DOJ are: “(1) property, casualty, and financial risk broking for large customers; (2) health benefits broking for large customers; (3) actuarial services for large single-employer defined benefit pension plans; (4) the operation of private multicarrier retiree exchanges; and (5) reinsurance broking.”
Each of these markets and the roles of the companies are described in detail.
The complaint alleges that divestment steps the companies have specifically proposed to meet the DOJ’s concerns are in sufficient.
The complaint is available to download and review here:
