For Aon P.L.C., 2012 was a year defined by the consolidation of the gains resulting from major organizational changes made in recent years.

The No. 2 brokerage in Business Insurance's 2013 ranking of the world's largest brokers with $11.48 billion in 2012 brokerage revenue, Aon has worked to synthesize its 2010 purchase of Hewitt Associates Inc. and its 2012 move of its corporate headquarters to London.

Meyer Shields, Baltimore-based managing director of equity research for property/casualty insurance for Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc., said the company also has made significant investments in technology such as its Global Risk Insight Platform, a global repository of risk and insurance placement information.

Market results may be starting to show indications that Aon's investment in technology is paying dividends, Mr. Shields said.

“We have seen some evidence where Aon's organic growth is stronger than market conditions,” he said. “If that continues to happen, it will validate the investment they have made in” the Global Risk Insight Platform.

Another area of significant investment for the company is the Aon Hewitt Corporate Health Exchange, a private marketplace the company created that brings together multiple insurers to compete in offering group health insurance plans.

“They have been spending a lot of money on building health exchanges,” said Adam Klauber, Chicago-based analyst at investment banking and asset management firm William Blair & Co. L.L.C. “It's the biggest visible differentiator between Aon and the other brokerages in the next few years.”

Investing in technological innovation continues to be an imperative for the company, said Stephen P. McGill, group president of Aon and chairman and CEO of Aon Risk Solutions. Aon has been working to build an extensive data and analytics innovation center in Singapore, Mr. McGill said, adding that unlike the global risk platform, which is a product of Aon Risk Solutions, the analytics center in Singapore will work with data from all of the company's business units.

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“We have made very significant investments in data, analytics and technology across the whole firm,” Mr. McGill said. “It's a differentiator when clients think of Aon and a significant competitive advantage for our business in the future.”

A more contentious move came in March of this year, when Aon and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. launched a facility under which Berkshire Hathaway International Insurance Ltd. will take a 7.5% share of all of Aon's retail placements in the London market where Lloyd's of London underwriters are participating.

Mr. Shields said the move is bold but does carry some risk for Aon, if it ends up alienating some in the Lloyd's market.

“If you can bring paper with this level of security as reflected in Berkshire Hathaway's balance sheet, I think that is very attractive to clients,” Mr. Shields said. “On the other hand, it could miff some of Aon's reinsurance brokerage clients that may be Lloyd's participants and feeling short-changed by it.”

Mr. McGill said the reaction from clients has been positive thus far.

“We are very excited about the sidecar transaction,” he said. “We are bringing AA-rated capacity in a very efficient manner.”

Overall, analysts commended Aon's capital management and strategic vision.

“Ultimately, one of the strongest tools a broker has for growth is the amount of free cash they can spend, and here's where Aon comes out clearly ahead,” Mr. Klauber said.

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Mr. Shields agreed that Aon has positioned itself well for future growth. “In terms of making the right investments, Aon has been a leader,” he said.

“The building blocks of the firm are all in place,” Mr. McGill said. “We are excited about the platform we have. We are excited about the global reach that we have. Now, it's all about realizing the potential of everything that we have done for the benefit of our clients.”

Mr. McGill also stressed that the company's global network of offices in 120 countries has paid dividends, as the company's client base continues to explore growth in emerging markets.

“It's no longer only the largest companies in the world that are multinational,” he said. “Now even our midsized clients are multinational firms.”

However, Paul Newsome, managing director and senior insurance analyst at Sandler O'Neill & Partners L.P. in Chicago, said this move into emerging markets may yield more benefits in the future than currently.

“The largest brokers have become increasingly global, which is interesting because the pricing cycle has become much more favorable in the U.S. than overseas,” he said. “It could be the situation that globalization is not an asset in the near term.”