After announcing a major restructuring, Aviva Canada promoted Jason Storah to CEO. He will assume this position on July 1. 

Outgoing Aviva Canada CEO Colm Holmes, appointed on March 2018, becomes Chief Executive Officer of General Insurance of Aviva plc in the United Kingdom, one of many changes announced.

The group decided to return to the old formula and separate British life insurance and P&C insurance operations. Direct digital activities will thus be integrated in P&C insurance.

Colm Holmes will continue to sit on the Board of Directors of Aviva Canada and to oversee Canadian operations.

“Jason is the natural choice to lead Aviva Canada and I'm delighted that we are appointing an internal candidate who truly knows our business, our partners and our customers. Jason, along with the rest of the executive team, have sown the seeds for a successful turnaround at Aviva and I know that, under his leadership, this team will go from strength to strength,” Colm says.

15 years at Aviva

Jason Storah joined Aviva in 2004. More recently, he served as Chief Distribution Officer, in charge of broker distribution, partnerships, RBC Insurance, Aviva’s direct insurance and marketing.

“I am honoured to be taking on the role of CEO and I'm committed to building on the great work that was done under Colm’s leadership. We have a fantastic team at Aviva, and I know that all of our people share my passion for the important role we play in our customers' lives. Over the last 18 months, we have worked hard to improve our business performance, and while this has meant making some tough calls, it's put us in a much stronger position to now grow. Aviva will become exceptional at the fundamentals of insurance, which is what we are here for after all,” Storah says.

Job cuts

With a goal of reducing spending by 300 million pounds sterling (M£) annually by 2022, Aviva has announced its intention to eliminate1,800 positions throughout the group. The insurer did not specify the sectors or regions affected by these cuts.

“The removal of 1,800 positions will affect the entire Aviva group, all the branches of the company, all functions and all markets, including Canada,” Fabrice De Dongo, Head of External Communications at Aviva Canada told Insurance Journal. “That said, we have no details about the roles. It is impossible to speculate on the impact on the different markets and functions.”