Towers Watson Acquires Liazon

The acquisition, which follows the purchase of Extend Health in June 2012, furthers the presence of Towers Watson in the private exchange market through its OneExchange service. Towers Watson says it will continue to enhance Liazon’s private exchange services and serve the needs of Liazon’s broker, consultant and carrier partners.

Liazon’s online benefit marketplaces are currently distributed through more than 400 insurance brokers under either the Bright Choices brand or as a third-party proprietary exchange (see “Firms Announce Private Exchange Partnership”). Towers Watson plans to continue these relationships based upon their current terms and use the Liazon name in the market with its broker partners.

Towers Watson will also continue to offer its OneExchange solution, which primarily serves larger employers (see “Towers Watson Announces Health Care Exchange Providers”). The OneExchange and Liazon solutions together will help organizations of all sizes deliver self- and fully-insured benefits to employees, as well as pre- and post-65 retirees.

“Liazon has built a growing business by offering customized private exchange approaches through an extensive network of partners. We are delighted to team with them and serve a part of the market that Towers Watson had not previously reached,” says John Haley, CEO of Towers Watson.

Liazon co-founder and CEO, Ashok Subramanian, will join the leadership team of Towers Watson’s Exchange Solutions segment. Bryce Williams will continue to lead the overall segment.

Subramanian says, “By joining Towers Watson, we’ll be better positioned to achieve our top priority — to provide our clients and partners with an even greater array of best-in-class tools, resources and service across all market segments.”