Aviva Canada overview

Aviva Canada Inc. is a Canadian property and casualty insurance company and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Aviva Group. It is one of the largest property and casualty insurance providers in Canada, with over 2.8 million customers and over 4,000 employees as of April 2020. 

Aviva’s roots in Canada date back to 1835 when the first Canadian-based Aviva heritage company — Canada Accident Assurance Company — was incorporated, followed by the incorporation of The General Accident Assurance Company of Canada in 1906. Many Aviva predecessors then emerged, changed their names, merged and finally – on May 5, 2003 – CGU Insurance Company of Canada changed its name to Aviva Insurance Company of Canada.

Aviva Canada provide a number of different products including home, automobile, leisure/lifestyle and business insurance. In 2018, the insurer announced that it would be integrating its auto insurance API with Sharp Insurance's custom quoting system to give Alberta and Ontario-based customers innovative ways to search, buy and manage auto insurance policies.

During 2016 the company announced the acquisition of RBC General Insurance Company, the existing home and motor insurance business of RBC Insurance. Aviva Canada also said it would enter into an exclusive 15 year strategic agreement with RBC Insurance to provide a full range of general insurance products to existing and future RBC Insurance customers.

In January 2019, Aviva Canada and Accident Support Services International (ASSI) have officially launched Canada’s first automatic First Notice of Loss (FNOL) service at all Collision Reporting Centre (CRC) locations, following a highly successful pilot period last November. 

Customers may report their collisions to Aviva and automatically create a claim, right from their CRC location. Customers will also be signed up to receive SMS and email notifications for key information such as their claim number, the contact information of their assigned claims adjuster, and the status of their claim as it progresses. 

The insurer uses a social impact platform to help push for safer roads as part of its "Take Back Our Roads initiative, focused on tackling dangerous roads and school zones through community projects, innovation, and strategic partnerships.

Later that year, too, the insurer would launch Aviva Ally, a solution for brokers to submit small business insurance applications for Onpoint, the brand of Aviva's small business insurance coverage that's tailored to segments in business and professional services, contracting, and retail. 

In July 2019 Aviva Canada announced it had partnered with VC Highline Beta to launch a road safety and smart city accelerator in Toronto. The accelerator, taking place across two three-month stages, involves designing a PoC with a corporate partner, then launching that PoC in market.

Hub International, a Chicago-based insurance broker, in August 2021 agreed to acquire the assets of National Home Warranty Group Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aviva Canada. The deal was concluded in October of the same year.  

The company announced a partnership with telematics provider IMS in June 2022, launching Aviva Journey. Aviva Journey is an app-based telematics product for the Canadian auto insurance market.

During August 2022 Home Deposits Now partnered with Aviva Canada to offer innovative deposit options for homebuyers. The company partnered with Aviva to offer a smart and easy alternative to the traditional home deposit that is as secure as a certified cheque. Aviva agreed to serve as underwriters. 

Later in December of the same year the company selected Mitchell International a technology and information provider for the property and casualty market, for its claims management solutions.

Aviva Canada reported its combined operating ratio was 92.5% in 2022, down from 90.7% in 2021. 

In March 2023 Aviva Canada partnered with CelsiusPro to offer parametric excess rain coverage to its clients. The new offering uses CelsiusPro’s White Label Platform (WLP) solution that provides features including, data feeds, an online premium calculator, an offer & policy generator, quote and bind monitoring tools, an automatic settlement calculator and a report creator. That platform is available in French and in English. Rainfall data is provided by NASA with a reporting lag of two days allowing for fast pay outs.  

Map showing the location of Aviva Canada

Toronto, Canada

Need more insight?

Speak to us about commissioning some bespoke research.

Find out more

Key people

Andrea Bodnar CIO & Executive Vice President, Business Services
Jonathan Spinner AVP of Claims Transformation and Strategy
Ben Isotta-Riches EVP Chief Digital & Partnerships Officer
Maz Moini COO Global Corporate & Specialty, and Head of Commercial Programs
Jason Storah CEO