LONDON, UK – 17 December 2020 – Davies, the leading specialist professional services and technology business, serving insurance and highly regulated markets, today announces the acquisition of Wakely Actuarial (“Wakely”), the Florida, US based insurance-focused actuarial consulting business. Wakely provides a range of compliance, risk management, and wider actuarial consulting solutions to the life & health market in the US.

Wakely will bring new actuarial domain expertise to Davies, allowing the business to offer a broader range of solutions to its 750+ clients.  As part of the deal Wakely will be re-branded in early 2021 and will trade as Davies, forming a new actuarial unit as part of the firm’s global Insurance Services business. Ben Cohen, President of Wakely, will continue to lead the business, reporting to Insurer & Market Services Managing Director, Robert Dewen.

Globally Davies has more than 4,000 colleagues, with operating centres across the UK, Ireland, Bermuda, the US and Canada.  The business delivers professional services and technology solutions to more than 750 clients across the risk and insurance value chain, including excellence in claims, underwriting, distribution, regulation, customer experience, human capital, digital transformation & change management.

In recent years Davies has increased its annual investment in innovation and digital transformation more than four-fold, including in its CQ claims processing platform, legal AI and automation, its video and drone claims handling solutions, as well as investing in intelligent automation, speech analytics and virtual reality training solutions.

Dan Saulter, Group CEO, Davies commented: “We are excited to welcome Ben and the whole Wakely team to Davies.  The business is a fantastic fit for us, bringing a wealth of experience across the insurance market in the US, as well as adding new domain expertise in actuarial solutions to our group.  Deepening and diversifying our service offerings is a central part of our growth plans, and we look forward to being able to offer our clients a wider set of insurance services following this deal”.

Ben Cohen, President, Wakely Actuarial added: “I’m delighted to be joining forces with Davies, and to play a part in its growth strategy in North America. The deal will offer our team great opportunities for their personal development and career progression, and we look forward to working with the wider Davies group to the benefit of our highly valued clients.”