Insurer Aviva posted a 15 per cent rise in general insurance gross written premiums for the first nine months of the year to £9.1 billion pounds (€10.9 billion) on Thursday and said it was confident of meeting its group targets.

The life, motor and home insurer, whose main businesses are in Britain, Canada and Ireland, also reported a 67 per cent rise in retirement sales to £7.3 billion, helped by strong performance in insurance for company defined benefit pension schemes known as bulk annuities.

Insurers have made healthy profits in recent years, responding to higher inflation and losses from Covid-19 and natural catastrophes by raising premiums.

“Aviva is financially strong, trading well each quarter and has significant opportunities for further growth,” chief executive Amanda Blanc said in a statement.

Aviva outlined group targets earlier this year, including £2 billion in operating profit by 2026. Its 2023 profit was £1.47 billion.

Aviva had a combined operating ratio in the first nine months of 96.8 per cent, compared with 96.3 per cent a year earlier. Combined operating ratio is a measure of underwriting profitability in which a level below 100 per cent indicates a profit.

Aviva said its bulk annuity volumes were £6.1 billion in the first nine months, compared with £3.2 billion a year ago. Aviva wrote £7.8 billion in bulk deals by Thursday and said it did not expect volumes to increase materially for the rest of the year.

The UK bulk annuity market saw a record £50 billion in deals last year, and industry sources expect a similar volume this year.

KBW analysts described the trading update as “reassuring”, reiterating their “market perform” rating on the stock. – Reuters

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