Aviva is betting that Canadian businesses can no longer treat wildfire, flood, and supply chain risks as isolated issues. With exposures stretching across borders, the insurer is reorganizing its risk management teams into a global network designed to give clients a single framework – and a single point of contact – for navigating increasingly interconnected threats.
John Billis (pictured), vice president and head of Aviva Risk Management Solutions (ARMS) in Canada, said the move reflects a fundamental market shift: local risk profiles are colliding with global ones. By unifying 230 consultants across Canada, the UK, and Ireland, Aviva aims to deliver consistent assessments while still tailoring advice to local realities such as geography, language, and regulatory demands.
“We are definitely seeing a lot more global interconnectivity from a risk landscape perspective,” Billis told Insurance Business.
“What’s happening in Canada is specific to Canada, but it also stretches outside our borders. We noticed there was a need to expand our offering and make sure we have a seamless type of approach, no matter where our clients are located worldwide.”
The change, rolled out under Aviva’s Global Risk Management Solutions (GRMS) initiative, means Canadian clients will no longer have to manage fragmented relationships with different risk consultants in different countries. Instead, they will work with a dedicated relationship manager in Canada who coordinates service delivery across borders.
Billis said the point of consolidating Aviva’s in-house expertise is not only to strengthen underwriting discipline but also to bring consistency to clients with multinational footprints.
“We want to make sure that no matter where their operations may be located worldwide, they have access to the same type of experience they would get from us in Canada,” he said.
For instance, a large forestry client headquartered in Canada with locations in the United States and Europe can now rely on a coordinated framework. ARMS Canada leads service delivery in North America, while Aviva’s UK and Ireland teams cover European sites. All assessments and communications run through the same risk management system, ensuring uniform reporting and recommendations, Billis said.
“That single point of contact is accessible to our insureds to coordinate the service offering and provide a consistent experience across borders,” he added.
Of Aviva’s mentioned 230 global field engineers and consultants, Billis said that about a third are based in Canada. They are spread across key offices and provinces, allowing the team to integrate local realities into the global framework.
“Having that local Canadian knowledge helps us customize a solution to the client we’re dealing with,” Billis said, pointing to differences in geography, bilingual requirements, and region-specific exposures such as wildfire in British Columbia or flooding in Quebec.
At the same time, Canadian consultants now operate as part of a wider network, with the ability to tap into UK or Irish specialists for exposures outside their home market. “It’s about reinforcing our commitment to in-house expertise while leveraging the knowledge of our international teams,” Billis said.
Billis stressed that the expanded model is about more than underwriting support. It is intended to help clients shift from reactive to proactive risk management, a transition many Canadian businesses still struggle to make.
“Some insurers use external vendors for this type of service. For us, it’s about building out in-house expertise to understand risks, underwrite them appropriately, and help clients prevent losses from occurring,” he said.
That includes integrating emerging technologies, adopting industry-specific knowledge, and tailoring prevention strategies to each sector. The forestry example highlights how risk management is not just about claims or compliance but about preparing operations for increasingly volatile exposures.
Canada and the United States face unique challenges compared to other markets – from wildfires and floods to supply chain vulnerabilities and energy exposures. But those risks often ripple into global operations.
Billis argued that the only way to address such complexities is through a structure that combines scale with specialization. “Our Canadian market is a little bit different when it comes to language, geography, and the local realities that provinces face,” he said. “But we also need to ensure consistency when our clients are operating across multiple jurisdictions.”
