We miss our friends and colleagues lost in the World Trade Center on Sept 11, 2001. Marsh and Aon, two industry giants, the largest insurance brokers in the world, both very influential in the field of workers' compensation cost containment, were both located in the World Trade Center Towers. Between the two companies, nearly 600 people were lost. For those of us in the insurance industry, we all knew many people who were killed that day. I am proud to have been an employee of both companies.
While the world was in shock, it was especially difficult for employees of Marsh and Aon. We were calling around to our friends, trying to find out who was missing and who had checked in and were known to be safe. At Aon, Pamela Newman kept me and others informed of who had been located. At Marsh, Jim Connolly was letting me know who had been located. Our boss, Phil, was found. Our other boss, Harry, was not. I had been retired, but went back to work for Aon to complete several projects that had been in process.
Many of the employees traveled, so it wasn't easy to figure out who had been at the office that day, and who had been traveling. The lucky ones were traveling. We lost our bosses, safety and loss control professionals, claims experts, friends we had known during our entire working lives. George, Harry, Bob, Lars, Adam, Richard and many other would not be found. The days that followed were excruciating for the country, but especially difficult for Marsh and Aon as we learned who among our friends and colleagues would not be coming to the office any longer.
Seeing our colleague, Bob Ferris's son hold up a photo of their dad on national television as they hoped he was at a local hospital or someone had seen him, brought unspeakable sorrow. We waited by our phones for calls that never came. It's still hard, some of us do not go into tall buldings, others don't speak about it. We all realize life can change in an instant.
Marsh and Aon have done a remarkable job with their memorial websites. If you care to share the memories of those who have made an imprint on this industry in the past, their websites are below.
Aon Memorial: http://www.legacy.com/aon/Sept11/SearchResult.aspx?location=WTC
Marsh Memorial: http://memorial.mmc.com/
Author: Rebecca Shafer
