Why now is the time to prepare clients for the next hard market

In softer commercial insurance markets, premium pressure eases and clients may focus on pricing over risk. That’s exactly when brokers should be helping clients focus closely on the risks across their operations, says Chris Snider, Manager with Aviva’s new Risk Engineering and Advisory Services (REAS).

“Risk control tends to slip in softer markets, but favourable conditions often give businesses more flexibility to invest in loss prevention,” Snider says. “We know the hard market will always return. When it does, clients who took advantage of a softer market to strengthen risk management will be far better prepared to withstand future losses and navigate more challenging renewal conditions.”

Renewal crunch

Risk management shouldn’t be a once-a-year renewal exercise, Snider says, but many businesses still treat it that way.

Organizations often leave insurance considerations out of their broader risk management process and only revisit them at renewal.

“That delay can create a rush to identify what improvements have been made, whether new exposures have emerged and how risks may have evolved across the business,” Snider explains.

Organizations that rely solely on insurance without actively managing risk may expose themselves to escalating premiums, reduced coverage availability and operational disruption over time, Snider adds.

It’s important for clients to know effective risk management starts earlier. Aviva’s annual risk management process involves understanding operational exposures, identifying where risks can be controlled or reduced, and then transferring only the risks that remain unavoidable through insurance. “Insurance is one part of the process, but it shouldn’t be the entire strategy,” says Snider. “Organizations that engage risk engineers early and consistently to help assess and improve risk controls not only control costs but strengthen their ability to withstand and recover from increasingly complex and volatile risks.”

Hidden exposures

Commercial exposures are rarely as simple as a single-occupancy description or an industry label, says, Snider.

He points to the growing trend of converting vacant office towers into residential housing as an example.

“If you take a commercial office floor and convert it into 20 or 30 residential apartments, you fundamentally change the water damage and liability exposure,” he says. “Now you’ve introduced showers, kitchen sinks, and dishwashers. It’s a completely different occupancy profile.”

That’s where a risk that initially appeared straightforward can quickly become far more complex.

“It’s about identifying the true exposures and understanding what’s actually happening operationally,” says Snider.

Aviva’s REAS is designed to be more focused on long-term risk improvement and operational continuity. Drawing on deep industry experience and a customer-centric approach, REAS provides tailored risk insights that help businesses anticipate challenges, uncover hidden exposures, and reduce risk before losses happen.

That increasingly means helping clients think beyond traditional insurance conversations and better understand vulnerabilities across their operations, supply chains, and business models.

“We want brokers and clients to see us as long-term partners,” Snider says. “Whether a client is just beginning to formalize risk management or already has mature controls in place, our focus is on helping them improve resilience.”

Planning ahead

The process might sound daunting, but simple actions, such as upgrading fire, cyber and fleet safety controls, maintaining critical equipment, implementing formal safety programs and addressing known loss drivers, help reduce the frequency and severity of losses today.

Over time, those improvements can strengthen underwriting outcomes, position organizations as more desirable risks when conditions tighten and reduce reliance on volatile market pricing later. The opportunity for brokers is to start those conversations long before renewal, helping clients strengthen their risk position now while they have more room to act.

Learn more about Aviva’s Risk Engineering and Advisory Services  or email the team:

English service desk: reas-arms.canada@aviva.com

French service desk: scir-gestiondesrisquesaviva.canada@aviva.com