WTW sues Howden about alleged yacht team raid

Willis Towers Watson sued Howden US and several former WTW brokers Tuesday, alleging the rival brokerage conducted a coordinated raid on its specialized marine insurance team.

Willis Towers Watson Northeast, a unit of WTW, alleges Howden induced the employees to breach confidentiality and nonsolicitation agreements while poaching WTW’s Fort Lauderdale-based yacht brokerage team in late 2025 and early 2026.

The five individual defendants — Nancy Poppe, Diana Fabozzi, Jasmyn Tomlinson, Christel Lynn Lincoln and Kathleen Shea — all resigned from WTW’s Broward County office between December 22 and January 8 to join Howden. Ms. Poppe, who led the team, is now practice head of yachts and chair of Howden Superyachts, according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

WTW alleges that before or shortly after departing, several of the brokers accessed confidential client lists, solicited WTW clients on Howden’s behalf and recruited colleagues to follow them. The complaint identifies six named clients that subsequently issued broker-of-record letters appointing Howden.

WTW says the combined annual revenue lost from the clients runs into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Howden has lured away hundreds of employees from rivals as part of its U.S. expansion strategy, spurring similar lawsuits from Brown & Brown, Marsh, Aon, Acrisure and others over the past year. Late last year, WTW settled another poaching suit with Howden.