Headquarters:
Markham, Ontario
Year founded:
1835
Number of employees:
4,000
Phone:
236 808 3542
Email:
dyeng@spgcanada.ca
Website:
aviva.ca/en/business
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/company/aviva-canada
“We put our customers at the centre of our business, responding to brokers in a proactive and timely manner and working with the customer to understand their unique risk profile and tailor appropriate solutions”
Erica Kofie, QBE
Urs Uhlmann
Managing Director – Global Corporate and Specialty (GCS)
Garth Pepper
Managing Director – Aviva Business
Alison Donato
Chief Technical Underwriter
Leadership
Urs Uhlmann joined Aviva Canada in January 2021 as managing director of Global Corporate and Specialty (GCS). He is responsible for the GCS team and supporting Aviva’s Global GCS ambitions. A strong property and casualty leader with more than 35 years of experience and a track record of driving profitable growth, Uhlmann brings a tremendous amount of experience and expertise to the role. Prior to joining Aviva, he was chief executive officer, global corporate at Zurich Canada and chief executive officer and chief agent at AXA XL Canada.
Managing Director – Global Corporate and Specialty (GCS)
Urs Uhlmann
Garth Pepper joined Aviva in August 2024 as managing director of Aviva Business. He is a highly experienced insurance veteran in the Canadian and North American specialty and commercial insurance community with more than 30 years of experience. Pepper was most recently president, North America middle market, global risk solutions at Liberty Mutual Insurance.
Managing Director – Aviva Business
Garth Pepper
Alison Donato joined Aviva in September 2015 and became chief technical underwriter in May 2023. As an experienced people leader and manager of P&L, she is responsible for driving customer satisfaction and profitable growth in commercial technical underwriting strategies and technical performance in the areas of risk management, appetite, governance and controls, pricing, reinsurance, and exposure management.
Chief Technical Underwriter
Alison Donato
“We put our customers at the centre of our business, responding to brokers in a proactive and timely manner and working with the customer to understand their unique risk profile and tailor appropriate solutions”
Erica Kofie, QBE
“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”
Erica Kofie, QBE
Leadership
“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”
Erica Kofie, QBE
“We put our customers at the centre of our business, responding to brokers in a proactive and timely manner and working with the customer to understand their unique risk profile and tailor appropriate solutions”
Erica Kofie, QBE
Leadership
Susannah Bowen
General Manager, Marketing
Susannah Bowen’s marketing experience crosses books, education and technology. She is passionate about understanding brands and customer needs, creating amazing communications and using data for continual improvement. In addition to leading marketing at Campion, she is an industry associate in publishing and communications at the University of Melbourne and co-author of three books, including How to Market Books, sixth edition.
General Manager, Marketing
Susannah Bowen
Rob Moschetti
National Sales Manager
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National Sales Manager
Rob Moschetti
Aviva Canada is one of the country’s largest property and casualty insurance groups and a recognized leader in commercial insurance. Working closely with broker partners, Aviva delivers a wide range of bespoke solutions through its Aviva Business and Global Corporate & Specialty divisions.
With a strong focus on the construction industry, Aviva equips businesses of all sizes with the confidence to operate, backed by specialized underwriters who handle their contracting and construction insurance needs.
This expertise led Insurance Business Canada to recognize Aviva Canada in 2024 with a 5-Star Construction award, underscoring its commitment to excellence in Canada’s construction insurance market.
“Our ability to focus on sectors like construction gives brokers a competitive edge when working with clients,” says Leszek Bialy, Head of Corporate and Specialty Risk. “Our specialized underwriters have the background and understanding to write construction and contracting exposures. They work collaboratively with brokers and clients to develop tailored solutions at a competitive price.”
Aviva enhances its underwriting expertise with loss-prevention teams offering unique recommendations to safeguard clients’ businesses effectively. If a claim occurs, the company’s commercial claims experts help clients return to business quickly.
A culture of care, commitment, community, and confidence drives Aviva’s product development, management, and customer relationships. Aviva’s people-first mindset sets it apart, ensuring it consistently delivers for customers and partners.
The company’s commitment extends beyond insurance. Aviva has provided nearly 17,000 anti-theft devices to high-risk vehicle owners, launched a consumer awareness campaign, and participated in the National Summit to Combat Auto Theft.
Internally, the company invests heavily in learning, development, and succession planning, fostering a diverse and inclusive future leadership team.
Aviva’s innovative leadership continually challenges the company to meet customers’ evolving needs, ensuring it delivers value across its insurance and surety offerings.
Managing director Urs Uhlmann leads the Global Corporate & Specialty (GCS) division, while Aviva Business Insurance, which focuses on small business and mid-market clients, is overseen by managing director Garth Pepper.
In recent years, Aviva has prioritized placing customers at the heart of everything it does. This approach, combined with a focus on improving efficiency, sustainable growth, and addressing the challenges of climate change, has strengthened Aviva’s role as a leader in the industry.
Based on its vast experience, the company empowers Canadians and businesses to become more resilient to climate change’s financial, environmental, and human impacts. It achieves this through a focus on underwriting expertise, enabling the team to adapt to the changing landscape and offer brokers and customers new coverages, building materials, or building technologies.
As a 5-Star Construction award-winner, Aviva excels in several key areas:
“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”
Erica Kofie, QBE
Caroline Jeffries
Dean of Studies
Kane Bradford
Head Professional Practice,
Innovation and Partnership
Constantine Osuchukwu
Reverend
Simon Williams
Chief Strategy & Distribution Officer, Arch Insurance International
and Active Underwriter, Syndicate 1955
Caroline Jeffries has been the dean of studies at Lindisfarne since 2014. She has also held positions in leading schools in Sydney, London and the tertiary sector. Jeffries is a science teacher who joined Lindisfarne in 2004 and has a keen interest in equipping students for life beyond the school classroom.
Dean of Studies
Caroline Jeffries
Kane Bradford oversees the school’s teaching and learning agenda, with a particular focus on harnessing strategic partnerships to the benefit of our staff and students. He brings significant experience from his previous work as a teacher and leader in independent schools to his leadership spanning senior roles at the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) and the Australian Sports Commission (ASC).
Head Professional Practice, Innovation and Partnership
Kane Bradford
Constantine Osuchukwu joined Lindisfarne as chaplain in 2021. Previously, he was the parish priest of St Matthew’s in Wendouree, Diocese of Ballarat, Victoria. He has a Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy and Theology), a Masters of Counselling and a Graduate Diploma in Community Development. Osuchukwu brings experience in a variety of parish roles, plus ministry work in prisons and the tertiary sector.
Reverend
Constantine Osuchukwu
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
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Medal
Small business
Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability
Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance
Turnaround time – claims
BDM support
Broker communication, training and development
Overall service level
BDM support
BDM support
Medal
Overall service level
Broker communication, training and development
BDM support
Turnaround time – claims
Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance
Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability
Small business
Medal
Overall service level
Broker communication, training and development
BDM support
Turnaround time – claims
Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance
Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability
Small business
Simon Williams
Chief Strategy & Distribution Officer, Arch Insurance International
and Active Underwriter, Syndicate 1955
Constantine Osuchukwu
Reverend
Kane Bradford
Head Professional Practice,
Innovation and Partnership
Caroline Jeffries
Dean of Studies
Rob Moschetti
National Sales Manager
Susannah Bowen
General Manager, Marketing
Alison Donato
Chief Technical Underwriter
Garth Pepper
Managing Director – Aviva Business
Urs Uhlmann
Managing Director – Global Corporate and Specialty (GCS)
coverage: provides national and international coverage tailored to clients’ needs
claims processing speed: operates one of Canada’s largest commercial claims teams, specializing in construction
underwriting expertise: offers clear, streamlined workflows that cater to brokers and clients
value for money: delivers broad, competitive wording at fair pricing and terms
risk mitigation partners: invests in its Aviva Risk Management Solutions (ARMS) team to support customers
bespoke policies: tailors general and custom policies for a range of industries
service to brokers: supports construction clients through a national broker partner network, bolstered by its CRM team
Aviva continues to enhance its offerings in the construction sector by establishing a Large Commercial Complex Risk team, which focuses on addressing the needs of brokers and clients managing large construction risks.
“By continuously monitoring the evolving needs of construction clients, we aim to provide the solutions necessary to protect their businesses,” adds Cynthia Harnett, National Manager, Property & Casualty, Aviva Business.