Aviva new business jumps 25%

The value of insurer Aviva’s new business rose 25% in the first nine months of the year to £823m, marking the eleventh consecutive quarter of growth.

The combined operating ratio, which is a key performance gauge in the insurance business, improved to 94% from 95.9% in the same period last year and the company said it has now achieved £91m of savings from its acquisition of Friends Life, versus its target of £225m.

Aviva said the UK Life business continues to grow and its customers are responding positively to the full range of pensions freedoms it offers.

Chief executive officer Mark Wilson said: “Our near term priorities are clear; we are focused on delivering the benefits from the Friends Life integration and the transition to Solvency II. Beyond that, there exists significant upside from better capital allocation and a more effective digital customer proposition.

“The third quarter results are further evidence of our progress since we started our turnaround. We remain focused on showing improvement in our key metrics year after year.”