On Friday, Towers Watson announced that it is acquiring Liazon Corporation in order to further strengthen its position in the defined contribution private exchange market.
In addition to Liazon's technology platform, this gives Towers access to the over 400 brokers that Liazon had cultivated in its network. Perhaps most importantly, Towers now has a footprint in the mid-size employer market, which is where Liazon has played, in addition to its OneExchange solution, which has been focused more on Fortune 1000 customers.
From the big picture perspective, it's a sign of the further consolidation in the once new and fragmented market, and a sign that in the future there will probably be a handful of players in any one insurance market when it comes to private exchanges: health insurance carriers with their single-carrier exchanges and a handful of larger consultants/brokerages with their multi-carrier exchange offerings.
In addition to Liazon's technology platform, this gives Towers access to the over 400 brokers that Liazon had cultivated in its network. Perhaps most importantly, Towers now has a footprint in the mid-size employer market, which is where Liazon has played, in addition to its OneExchange solution, which has been focused more on Fortune 1000 customers.
From the big picture perspective, it's a sign of the further consolidation in the once new and fragmented market, and a sign that in the future there will probably be a handful of players in any one insurance market when it comes to private exchanges: health insurance carriers with their single-carrier exchanges and a handful of larger consultants/brokerages with their multi-carrier exchange offerings.
