Allianz Commercial is aligning its Canadian growth strategy with global ambitions, with a strong emphasis on infrastructure as a key driver. According to Bernard McNulty (pictured), chief agent in Canada, the insurer sees large-scale construction projects as the foundation of its expansion in this market.
“For the most part, the products and services we offer in Canada really mirror products and services globally,” McNulty told Insurance Business during the Canada RIMS conference.
“We write global risk-managed business, complex business, so our biggest growth area right now is infrastructure. That includes heavy construction projects, bridges, tunnels, highways, dams, power stations, hospitals, prisons, schools, etc. That’s all within our expertise, and that’s a focus area. That forms part of what we call our construction vertical.”
The focus on infrastructure extends beyond simply insuring the projects themselves. McNulty explained that Allianz offers complementary products such as wrap-up liability, environmental solutions, and other coverages that dovetail with its core construction offering. This holistic approach positions the insurer to capture opportunities across the full lifecycle of Canada’s building boom.
That boom, he added, is shaped by both domestic priorities and global dynamics.
“So much of our planned construction stems from what’s going on politically,” McNulty said.
“Our prime minister is on a mission to build infrastructure in Canada, make Canada more independent, and to access global markets. So we’re building pipelines, LNG plants, and any number of things to help Canada be stable and to grow into the future. We’re uniquely positioned to really service that growth.”
While Allianz’s infrastructure expertise is rooted in global experience, McNulty pointed out that Canada presents its own set of challenges. Chief among them: the country’s extreme climate.
“Our harsh climate is always a risk, and we are lucky that we can tap into our global expertise,” he said. “We’ve underwritten highways, bridges, dams in almost every jurisdiction – in Norway, in Greenland, you name it – we’ve underwritten projects [there]. So we can tap into the underwriters that did that work and the engineers that looked at those projects. We can get a lot of information that we can take to a project here.”
That ability to draw on lessons from around the world gives Allianz a stronger footing in managing Canadian infrastructure projects, where weather-related risks can drive costs and timelines off course, McNulty said.
Beyond climate, McNulty said Canadian companies are increasingly preoccupied with economic forces. Access to markets, particularly under shifting trade and tariff regimes, has become a recurring theme in client discussions.
“Access to markets is an important issue. Our clients want to know what tariffs mean for them, and what does it mean if they sell products in the US. The surcharges and the premiums – that’s always a concern,” he said.
Those pressures, he added, are producing secondary effects that many companies did not anticipate. Tariff barriers and trade frictions are creating inventory surpluses in Canada, as goods move more slowly across borders.
“This is creating inventory surpluses in Canada, so that means inventory on docks,” McNulty said. “We might have a client that normally carries $50 million in inventory on their dock. Now it’s $100 million. So there’s an additional risk to us. We want to make sure that the inventory is protected. So we have to adjust our approach to underwriting with changes that our customers are encountering.”
While the stockpiling trend presents new exposures, it also creates opportunities for insurers to provide added value, McNulty said.
Inventory insurance itself is relatively straightforward, but Allianz often goes further by working with plant engineers to identify improvements that reduce risk, he added. This might include upgrading dock areas with sprinklers, or adding practical safeguards such as fencing and enhanced lighting – measures that strengthen protection beyond the traditional scope of coverage.
McNulty noted that Allianz Canada employs a team of 14 engineers who regularly engage directly with clients. Their role is not just to assess risk, but to collaborate on practical solutions.
“Our engineers are constantly engaging the clients. The question they always ask is: How can we help?” McNulty said.
