Aviva “maintaining the momentum” of turnaround
Aviva is "maintaining the momentum" of its turnaround, keeping the business on track for ongoing growth.
The figures
Within life insurance, value of new business grew 25 per cent to £823m, up from £685m for the same quarter last year, while Aviva platforms attracted £2.2bn net inflows in the nine months to 30 September.
New business in Europe grew 11 per cent, with Italy surging an impressive 55 per cent.
In general insurance, combined operating ratio improved to 94 per cent, while in Aviva's asset management division the Target Return fund grew 6.6 per cent in the last year, outperforming its peers. The suite of funds now has £1.9bn assets under management.
Meanwhile the Friends Life integration is continuing to yield savings, with £91m "run-rate synergies" achieved, ahead of plan.
What they said
Group chief executive Mark Wilson said: "The acquisition of Friends Life is everything we expected it to be. We have now achieved £91m of savings against our target of £225m. At the same time our UK Life business continues to grow and our customers are responding positively to the full range of pensions freedoms we offer."
In short
Aviva is shaking off concerns about the annuity market to suggest a solid period of future growth.