Willis, the broking business of WTW, has launched a global defence and security initiative, bringing together specialists across regions and business lines to serve defence contractors, suppliers and security firms.
The initiative gives clients a single route into Willis’s risk transfer, risk advisory and analytics, cyber, crisis management, claims, risk engineering, operational resilience, workforce risk, and capital and transaction advisory services across 140 countries. It is led by Jennifer Caldarella, Willis’s global defence lead.
Caldarella said the defence and security sector was entering one of the most significant investment cycles in its history, but that investment alone does not create capability.
Willis said 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. The world’s 100 largest arms producers earned a record US$679 billion in arms revenues in 2024.
But it warned that money does not automatically translate into capability. Major US defence programmes take more than 12 years on average to deliver initial capability, it said. Contractors face cyber, supply chain, regulatory, contracting and operational risks that can delay or derail delivery, often with limited insurance capacity available.
The sector is also changing quickly. Drones, autonomous maritime technology, AI-enabled systems and advanced digital capabilities are reshaping operations, while a new wave of technology-led companies brings different business models and risks. Willis said traditional risk management was not built for many of these exposures.
The launch comes as the UK commits to its biggest sustained rise in defence spending in a generation. The government’s Defence Investment Plan, published in June, set out £298 billion of defence investment over the four years from 2026/27 to 2029/30. It takes spending to 2.7% of GDP by the end of the decade and 3% in the next Parliament. Alongside its NATO allies, the UK has also committed to spending 3.5% of GDP on core defence by 2035, plus a further 1.5% on wider resilience and security.
The government wants more of that money to reach smaller firms. Its Defence Industrial Strategy commits to increasing Ministry of Defence spending with SMEs by £2.5 billion by May 2028, supported by a Defence Office for Small Business Growth launched in January. It also aims to prioritise UK-based businesses and grow defence exports.
For UK commercial brokers, the spending push creates both opportunity and complexity. Manufacturers, engineering firms and technology companies entering defence supply chains for the first time will face contractual insurance requirements, higher limits of indemnity, security and cyber standards, and new liability exposures. That is particularly true for those working on drones, autonomous systems and AI.
Demand is likely to grow across several classes. Products liability and professional indemnity will matter for firms supplying components and systems. Cyber cover will be essential where suppliers hold sensitive information or connect to defence networks. Contractors may also need surety and bonds, marine and transit cover for equipment, and political risk cover for export contracts.
The government’s SME target matters most for regional brokers. Many of the businesses that will win new defence work are mid-sized manufacturers and engineering firms that already sit on regional brokers’ books. Those brokers will need to understand defence contract requirements, such as insurance clauses, indemnities and security obligations, to keep clients as they move into the sector, rather than losing them to global brokers with dedicated defence teams like the one Willis has just launched.
