How to tell if the Definity-Travelers deal is successful

Asked how to gauge the ultimate success of Definity’s blockbuster $3.3-billion acquisition of Travelers’ Canadian business in May, Definity Financial Corporation CEO Rowan Saunders says retention of Travelers’ business and talent are two key indicators.

“I think the most important measures to look at are retention of the business and retention of the talent,” Saunders told the 26th Annual Scotiabank Financials Summit in Toronto yesterday. “And if you can get that right in Year 1, everything starts to flow quite nicely from that.”

Saunders said there is already a lot of “great talent” in the Travelers business in Canada.

“From the talent perspective, right away — within literally 48 hours — we had met with 1,200 of their 1,400 employees,” Saunders said of its first meeting with Travelers’s Canadian employees after the deal was announced. “And of course, there is always a little bit of surprise, there’s a little bit of anxiety at first.

“But as we continue to meet, we’ve been so impressed with the level of talent, we’ve made certain arrangements, retention programs, to retain the very critical talent in the business. So I think that’s going to go well.

“I think people are pleased to be joining a Canadian champion. [Definity] is a Canadian-headquartered business that’s building a leadership position. [At Travelers], you’re leaving a Number 12 carrier to become part of the fourth-largest insurance company in Canada. And so we feel really good about that.”

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If approved by the regulators, as anticipated by the first quarter in January 2026, the deal would make Definity a Top 5 property and casualty insurance company in Canada, a longstanding goal of the former mutual’s executive.

Prior to the deal, in 2024, Definity ranked seventh in Canada by market share (4.08%) based on $4.25 billion of total insurance revenue, according to MSA Research data published in Canadian Underwriter’s 2025 Stats Guide. Travelers Canada ranked 14^th with a 1.67% market share based on $1.75 billion of total insurance revenue.

Saunders said Travelers’ Canadian business is “complementary” to Definity’s business, which makes its goal of retention easier. Travelers business includes its auto and property business, and an even mix of commercial, middle-market, and specialty business. Travelers is keeping its Canadian surety business and its Canadian office.

Saunders said Travelers’ business will not result in Definity being too concentrated in any one area, nor does it present any issues of business being located in high-risk areas.

“There are no obvious portfolios that don’t fit with us, or that we’d like to exit or walk away from,” Saunders told investors at the summit. “So, anything that doesn’t quite fit our standards is really going to be on the margin.

“In personal insurance, [Travelers’ business] increases our portfolio by about a third. We like the mix of business between property and an automobile. And even when you think about Cat management, they are very good underwriters.

“They’ve got good personal lines products, and so we don’t anticipate being overweight or over-concentrated in zones that we’re uncomfortable with. So, I think that that’s a good complementary story,” he said. “And I think the same applies in commercial lines. Essentially, this is an additional 40% growth in our commercial lines business, and we’d like to retain it all.”

David Gambrill

David has twice served as Canadian Underwriter’s senior editor, both from 2005 to 2012, and again from 2017 to the present.