British insurer Aviva reported that full-year general insurance (GI) premiums will increase by 18% to £14.1 billion in fiscal 2025, compared with £12.2 billion in fiscal 2024, with the undiscounted combined ratio improving to 94.6%.
2025 is a strong year for Aviva. The company continues to achieve profitable growth momentum. Group operating profit increased by 25% year-on-year to 2.2 billion pounds, and general insurance business premiums achieved strong growth.
GI premiums in the UK and Ireland increased by 27% from £7.7bn to £9.8bn in FY25, with personal premiums up 50%, driven by the acquisition of Direct Line and the growth of Intermediad. Commercial insurance premiums rose 7%, supported by growth in GCS, including Probitas.
In Canada, personal insurance premiums rose 2% to £4.4 billion, driven by auto and real estate pricing actions. Commercial insurance premiums fell 5% due to lower GCS trading volumes, and Aviva said it exited some unprofitable accounts to maintain discipline.
Meanwhile, the UK and Ireland posted a combined ratio of 90.6% for FY2025, compared with 92.2% for FY24, while Canada reported a COR of 95.6% for FY2025.
Aviva’s net wealth flows increased by 6% to £10.9 billion, compared with £10.3 billion in 2024, and assets under management increased by 18% to £234 billion, compared with £198 billion in 2024, driven by contributions from Workplace and the platform’s continued momentum.
Effective health premiums increased by 12% and now stand at £1.1 billion, with a low COR. As expected, protection sales fell 8% due to the integration of the business in the second half of 2024 following the AIG acquisition.
The insurer’s retirement sales fell 30% to £6.6 billion compared with £9.4 billion in 2024, reflecting more typical BPA sales of £4.6 billion compared with £7.8 billion in 2024, in line with previous guidance. Finally, personal annuity sales increased 19% and stock issuance sales increased 32%.
Amanda Blanc, Aviva Group CEO, commented: “Aviva delivered an excellent result in 2025, our fifth consecutive year of strong earnings growth. Operating profit grew significantly by 25% and we increased cash and capital generation and IFRS return on equity. We achieved our 2026 financial targets a year ahead of schedule, underscoring the rapid and continued progress we are making. We are highly committed to increasing our dividend and today we announced a final dividend of 26.2 per share. pence, up 10%, we will start a £350 million buyback.
“Aviva’s performance is outstanding. In general insurance, for example, we grew premiums by 18% and secured strong profitability levels in the UK, Ireland and Canada. In wealth, we consolidated our position as the number one business with over £230 billion in assets; we attracted record net inflows of almost £11 billion and won over 500 new workplace pension schemes.”
She continued: “We have transformed Aviva over the past five years and while we have made significant progress, there is more to come. Aviva has a number of inherent strengths that position us well for future success, including our unparalleled scale with almost 22 million UK customers, our diversified model and market-leading technology.”
“We have clear advantages in artificial intelligence, which is creating significant opportunities to transform claims, underwriting and customer experience. We are very well positioned to deliver long-term growth, particularly in the capital-light wealth and insurance markets, and deliver additional benefits to our clients and shareholders.”
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