Marsh in Australia has lost a “significant” number of key staff – and business – in recent months. It appears that mega-rival Aon is the chief beneficiary of the moves.

Details of the number and type of staff losses have been difficult to ascertain, with companies gaining from the recruitment of Marsh employees – regarded as among the best-trained and experienced professionals in the business – also reluctant to reveal just how many they have picked up.

It appears to be an international phenomenon, with US staff also leaving the company to head across to other leading brokerages, including Aon and Willis.  In Australia, at least two key staff members have left the company’s NSW office and three have resigned from the Victorian office.

Sources say the company has lost a number of major Australian accounts, including Sigma Pharmaceuticals, Tattersalls, Star City Casino, Tabcorp and Village Cinemas.

A reliable source told Sunrise Exchange News the majority of staff leaving the company have “defected to Aon”.

“Aon has seen a weakness in Marsh and in addition to new talent recruited, the business potential is significant,” he said

Aon spokesman Kylie Cochrane says the company has recently had “some impressive new business wins – Comcover, Hobart Ports Authority, Ok Tedi, Harris Scarfe and Vision Australia”.

Attempts by Sunrise Exchange News to contact Marsh’s corporate communications division for more information were not successful. A Marsh employee said the entire division is “currently vacant following resignations last week”.

Ms Cochrane says the company is “always on the lookout” for good people from within a wide range of competencies. “We’re always looking for skilled staff to complement our existing expertise.”

In the US, Willis is believed to be the biggest winner of business bleeding from Marsh. A recent US media report says the number of requests for proposals at Willis has increased threefold in recent times. One US client which has switched from Marsh to Willis is home and office products manufacturer Fortune Brands, a company worth US$7 billion.

Last week in New York three former senior Marsh executives were reportedly raising capital to start a new insurance brokerage called Integro, which will target large accounts.