Johnson & Higgins was one of the largest

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

brokerage firm A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither role should be confu ...

s in the world until it was acquired by

Marsh & McLennan Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., doing business as Marsh McLennan, is a global professional services firm, headquartered in New York City with businesses in insurance brokerage, risk management, reinsurance services, talent management, investme ...

in 1997. At that point based in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

the company had 8,400 employees.

History

Initially founded in 1845 in New York as Jones & Johnson by Walter Restored Jones, Jr. and Henry Ward Johnson, the company acquired its new name in 1854 when A. Foster Higgins replaced Jones who left to do business on his own. By the 1990s, the company transitioned itself from an established broker of marine and other insurance policies to a provider of a full range of insurance consulting services. By 1990 over 150 years later the company had around 8,400 employees worldwide and $1 billion in annual revenues, Johnson & Higgins was the fifth-largest insurance brokerage firm in the world and the largest that was privately owned.

References

Insurance companies of the United States 1845 establishments in the United States Financial services companies established in 1845 Companies established in 1845 1997 mergers and acquisitions {{US-finance-company-stub