Company Overview

Aon is the world’s largest insurance brokerage, leap-frogging Marsh & McLennan in 2006. The firm, which began in 1947 as Combined Insurance Company, specializes in fast consolidating services and has a wide range of specialty and traditional insurance products. The company is organized into three business areas: commercial insurance (which helps companies choose industry-specific insurance), consulting services, and consumer insurance underwriting. The company grew steadily throughout the 1950s and ’60s and expanded overseas in the ’70s. Combined Insurance merged with Ryan Insurance in the 1980s, and Patrick Ryan took over as CEO and reorganized the company. Combined Insurance became Aon in 1987 and sold off its direct insurance business in order to focus on its consulting offering. Aon began expanding its holdings around the world again in the late 1990s through a series of acquisitions, including the purchase of the Minet Group in 1997. In 2000, Aon bought Actuarial Sciences Associates and Reliance Group's accident and health insurance business. In 2001, Aon brought two more consulting firms, a warranty administration company, and an employee benefits purchasing-coordination company into its fold. The company sold off its Property and Casualty Underwriting subsidiary in 2002. Growing abroad, Aon expanded its Japan holdings with the purchase of Japanese consulting firm Syscon in 2002. The following year, it entered a joint venture with global insurance services to become the first foreign insurance broker licensed in India. Along with competitors Marsh & McLennan and Willis Group Holdings, Aon was probed in a series of regulatory investigations in 2004 and 2005. The inquiry regarded contingent commission payments made to brokers, which allegedly result in bid rigging. Aon ended up shelling out $190 million in fines. Aon, incidentally, means “oneness” in Gaelic.