Willis, the broking business of WTW, has launched a global defence and security initiative, bringing together its specialists across geographies and lines to serve defence contractors, suppliers and security firms.
The initiative will give clients a single route into Willis’ risk transfer, risk advisory and analytics, cyber, crisis management, claims, risk engineering, operational resilience, workforce risk, and capital and transaction advisory capabilities across 140 countries. It is led by Jennifer Caldarella (pictured), Willis’ global defence lead.
“The defence and security sector is entering one of the most significant investment cycles in its history. But investment alone does not create capability,” Caldarella said.
Willis pointed to the scale of the sector’s growth. Global military spending reached nearly US$2.9 trillion in 2025 and could approach US$4.7 trillion to US$6.6 trillion by 2035, it said. The world’s 100 largest arms producers earned a record US$679 billion in arms revenues in 2024.
But the broker said capital doesn’t automatically translate into capability. It noted that major US defence programs take more than 12 years on average to deliver initial capability. Contractors face cyber, supply chain, regulatory, contracting and operational risks that can delay or derail delivery, often with constrained insurance capacity.
The sector is also changing fast. Drones, autonomous maritime technology, AI-enabled systems and advanced digital capabilities are reshaping operations, while a new wave of tech-led companies brings different business models and risks. Willis said traditional risk management wasn’t built for many of these exposures.
The launch comes as Canada sharply increases defence spending. Ottawa said in March that it had reached NATO’s target of spending 2% of GDP on defence in the 2025-26 fiscal year. It has committed to the alliance’s new pledge of 5% of GDP by 2035, split between 3.5% for core military spending and 1.5% for wider security-related investment.
In February, the government launched Canada’s first Defence Industrial Strategy. It said the strategy positions Canadian industry to tap $180 billion in defence procurement and $290 billion in defence-related capital investment over the next decade, and aims to raise the share of defence contracts awarded to Canadian firms to 70%. A new Defence Investment Agency is streamlining procurement.
For Canadian commercial brokers, the spending push creates both opportunity and complexity. Manufacturers, technology firms and contractors moving into defence supply chains for the first time will face contractual insurance requirements, higher limits, security and cyber standards, and new liability exposures, particularly in drones, autonomous systems and AI. Surety, product liability, cyber, marine and political risk are all likely to see more demand.
Large global brokers are positioning to capture that business. Mid-sized Canadian brokers with manufacturing and technology clients will need to understand defence contract requirements to avoid losing accounts as those clients move into the sector.
