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Aviva

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the British company. For the stadium, seeAviva Stadium.For other uses, seeAviva (disambiguation).
Not to be confused withAveva,Arriva,orAvira.

Aviva plc
Formerly
  • Commercial Union plc (1990–1998)
  • CGU plc (1998–2000)
  • CGNU plc (2000–2002)[1]
Company typePublic limited company
LSE:AV.
FTSE 100 Component
IndustryInsurance
Predecessor
Founded1696 as Hand in Hand Fire & Life Insurance Society. 2000 as Aviva plc (by merger).
HeadquartersLondon,England, UK
Key people
Services
RevenueIncrease£18.497 billion (2023)[2]
Increase£1.690 billion (2023)[2]
Increase£1.106 billion (2023)[2]
Total assetsIncrease£328.843 billion (2023)[2]
Total equityDecrease£9.600 billion (2023)[2]
Number of employees
23,000 (2023)[3]
WebsiteavivaEdit this at Wikidata

Aviva plcis a Britishmultinationalinsurancecompany headquartered inLondon,England. It has about 19 million customers across its core markets of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada.[4][5][6]In the United Kingdom, Aviva is the largest general insurer and a leading life and pensions provider. Aviva is also the second largest general insurer in Canada.

Aviva has a primary listing on theLondon Stock Exchange,and is a constituent of theFTSE 100 Index.

Name

[edit]

The name of the company upon its formation in May 2000 was CGNU plc and was created whenNorwich Unionmerged with insurer CGU.[7]In April 2002, the company's shareholders voted to change the company name toAviva plc,an inventedpalindromeword derived from "viva", the Latin for 'alive' and designed to be short, memorable and work worldwide. The Norwich Union brand was retained for the UK long-term savings and general insurance business.[8]

In April 2008, Aviva announced that it would adopt the Aviva name as its worldwide consumer-facing brand, and that the Norwich Union brand would be phased out in the United Kingdom.[9]

History

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Aviva can trace its history back to the establishment of theHand in Hand Fire & Life Insurance Societyin London in 1696.[10][11]

Predecessor company London and Lancashire Fire and Life, pictured in Dublin, c. 1871

It was created by a merger of two British insurance firms,Norwich UnionandCGU plc[12](itself created by the merger of 1998 ofCommercial UnionandGeneral Accident[13]) as CGNU in February 2000. The Aviva name was adopted in July 2002.[14]Thereafter, most of the group operations, except for some strong local brands, were carried out under the uniform brand "Aviva".[15]

In 2002, Aviva purchased Abeille Vie, a French life insurance company.[16]

In March 2005, Aviva acquired theRAC plcbreakdown recovery operation for around £1.1 billion.[17]

In July 2006, Aviva greatly increased its presence in the United States by acquiring AmerUs Group, aDes Moinesbased financial services company founded in 1896 in a $2.9 billion (£1.6 billion) deal.[18]

The launch was supported by a £9 million advertising campaign to promote the rebranding (one of the most expensive ever in the insurance field), with the participation of celebrities includingBruce WillisandAlice Cooper.[19]In June 2009, the company decided to dispose ofNavigator,its Australian wealth management business, toNational Australia Bankfor A$825 million (£401 million).[20]

In October 2009, the company decided to focus on its commercial insurance sector and demonstrate its commitment to brokers by launching their 'find a broker' facility, using the British Insurance Brokers Association search engine. To help them with this endeavour,Paul Whitehousewas recruited to play the part of a successful hairdresser running three salons. The message of the campaign focused on business insurance throughinsurance brokers.[21]

In September 2011, Aviva completed the sale ofRAC plcbreakdown recovery operation for £1.0 billion toThe Carlyle Group.[22]In February 2012, Aviva sold its occupational health business to the British support services companyCapita.[23][24]

In July 2012, Aviva announced plans to sell or close 16 non core businesses in order to simplify its activities and boost shareholder returns.[25]As part of the plans Aviva announced the sale of its operations in South Korea and the closure to new business of its bulk buying annuity unit in the United Kingdom.[25]In August 2012, Aviva announced that up to 800 jobs would be lost, following a reorganization caused by further turmoil in theEurozone.[26]

In December 2012, Aviva agreed to sell Aviva USA Corporation toAthene Holdingfor US$1.8 billion (£1.1 billion) as part of a plan to improve shareholder returns and reduce the group's capital requirements, having paid $2.9 billion in 2006 and incurring a large loss on sale.[27][28]Athene subsequently sold the life insurance business of Aviva to Global Atlantic.[29]

On 13 April 2015, Aviva completed the £5.6 billion all share takeover ofFriends Life Group.Andy Briggs,then group chief executive of Friends Life, became CEO of Aviva UK Life, with Mark Wilson continuing as CEO of the enlarged Aviva Group.[30]In July 2016, Aviva froze withdrawals from the Aviva Investors Property Trust because of a lack of liquidity afterBritain's vote to leave the European Union on 23 June.[31][32][33]In September 2017, Aviva agreed to sell its Italian joint ventureAvipop AssicurazionitoBanco BPMfor US$312.01 million (€265 million).[34]

In March 2018, Aviva, controversially, announced that it "had the ability" to cancel its irredeemable preference shares at par. This caused a wider sell off in the preference share market in the United Kingdom.[35]Also in March 2018 the company announced to spend around £600 million on so called "bolt on" acquisitions, that are in "Poland, Turkey, anywhere we have existing markets".[36]

In October 2018,Mark Wilsonagreed to step down as CEO with immediate effect, with Adrian Montague taking interim control of the company, pending Wilson's formal departure in 2019.[37]Maurice Tullochwas appointed CEO in March 2019;[38]however, he stood down in July 2020 for family health reasons and was replaced byAmanda Blanc,who previously served as an Independent Non-Executive Director of the company.[39]

In November 2020, Aviva sold its stake in their Indonesian company Astra Aviva Life[40]and their Hong Kong division.[41]

In 2021, Aviva sold its French operations to Aéma Groupe.[42]As part of the deal, Aviva agreed to indemnify Aéma against potential legal liabilities toMax-Hervé George.[43][44]In May, Aviva completed the sale of its Turkish business,[45]followed by businesses in Italy (Aviva Italia Holding) and Poland in December 2021.[46]

In April 2023, Aviva terminated its membership of theConfederation of British Industryin response to allegations made by former employees of sexual harassment and rape at the business group.[47][48]

In September 2023, it was announced Aviva had acquired the London-headquartered life insurance company, AIG Life Limited fromCorebridge Financialfor £460 million.[49]

In November 2023, Aviva acquired a Canadian vehicle replacement insurance business, Optiom, for £100 million (US$126 million).[50]

Operations

[edit]
Aviva Canada

Aviva's main activities are the provision of general and life insurance, long term savings products and fund management services. The group has around 23,000 employees and 19 million customers.[6]Aviva Investors has £233 billion assets under management as at 31 March 2024.[51][6]

Principal subsidiaries

[edit]

Following the completion of Friends Life Group Limited in April 2015, Friends Provident International Limited is now part of the Aviva Group.[30]

Senior management

[edit]

CEO Richard Harvey retired on 11 July 2007. His successor was Andrew Moss, the former group finance director.[52]Moss was paid an annual base salary of £925,000 for his role as Chief Executive.[53]Moss resigned on 8 May 2012, after shareholders voted down a proposed senior management pay deal which would have seen Moss increase his basic pay by 5% despite several years of Aviva underperformance.[54]

Following the departure of Aviva's CEO, Andrew Moss, McFarlane assumed the role of executive deputy chairman and became executive chairman on 1 July 2012.[54]On 20 November 2012, Aviva announced thatMark Wilsonhad been appointed CEO, starting 1 January 2013.[55]

On 12 September 2014, Aviva announced that Sir Adrian Montague would become non executive chairman, on the retirement ofJohn McFarlaneat the Aviva AGM in April 2015.[56]On 9 October 2018, the Aviva Board announced Mark Wilson was to step down, remaining as part of the company until April 2019 though on garden leave; with Sir Adrian Montague assuming executive responsibilities in the interim whilst a replacement candidate is sought.[57]Maurice Tullochwas appointed CEO in March 2019;[38]however, he stood down in July 2020 for family health reasons and was replaced byAmanda Blanc,who previously served as an Independent Non-Executive Director of the company.[39]

George Culmer took over as chairman from Sir Adrian Montague on 27 May 2020.[58]

Sponsorships

[edit]

In May 2008, Aviva becameNorwich City Football Club's main sponsor. In an advert from 2009 starringPaul Whitehouse,they feature aPlymouth Argyle F.C.fan who uses Aviva car insurance, followed by aGreen Armychant.[59]It also acquired the naming rights for the redevelopedLansdowne Roadstadium inDublin,Ireland, which was renamed theAviva Stadium.[60]In January 2018, the naming rights were extended to 2025.[61]

In 2023, Aviva sponsoredAviva Studios,a cultural space in Manchester. It has been designed to enable the commissioning of large scale and intimate work across different art forms, including dance, theatre, music, opera, visual arts, popular culture and digital work, plus major exhibitions and concerts.[62][63]

Aviva sponsored rugby union'sEnglish Premiershipfrom 2010 to 2018.[64]

References

[edit]
  1. ^"Aviva plc overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK".Companies House.9 February 1990.Retrieved14 February2024.
  2. ^abcde"Preliminary Results 2023"(PDF).Aviva.Retrieved7 March2024.
  3. ^"Aviva plc Annual Report and Accounts"(PDF).Aviva.Retrieved21 June2024.
  4. ^"About Aviva"(PDF).Aviva plc. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 17 December 2021.Retrieved20 December2021.
  5. ^"Infographic"(PDF).Aviva. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 16 April 2015.Retrieved15 April2015.
  6. ^abc"Annual Report 2023".aviva.7 March 2024.Retrieved21 June2024.
  7. ^Gary Armstrong; Michael Harker; Philip Kotler; Ross Brennan (2009).Marketing: An Introduction.Pearson Education. p. 246.ISBN978-0-273-71395-1.
  8. ^"Changing the name of the game".The Scotsman. 3 May 2008.Retrieved15 September2012.
  9. ^Ferreira-Marques, Clara (29 April 2008)."Aviva scraps Norwich Union name".Reuters.Retrieved15 September2012.
  10. ^"Aviva Heritage Events Timeline".Aviva plc. Archived fromthe originalon 17 September 2012.Retrieved29 April2011.
  11. ^Note: taken over by Commercial Union in 1905
  12. ^"CGU and Norwich Union merge".BBC News. 21 February 2000.
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  14. ^"Why only Aviva's directors will be 'living well'".The Telegraph.London. 19 March 2002.Retrieved24 March2012.
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  16. ^"Arbitrage Discovered".Bloomberg L.P. 27 February 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 1 December 2017.Retrieved23 November2017.
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  18. ^"Aviva to acquire AmerUs for $2.9 billion".NBCNews. 2006.Retrieved8 May2013.
  19. ^Cockcroft, Lucy (22 December 2008)."Bruce Willis and Elle Macpherson star in £9 million Norwich Union advert".The Daily Telegraph.London. Archived fromthe originalon 27 December 2008.
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  29. ^"Aviva USA life insurance unit to be dealt to Global Atlantic".The Des Moines Register.Archived fromthe originalon 29 June 2013.Retrieved15 March2015.
  30. ^ab"Aviva and Friends Life rise in first day as a merged company".The Telegraph.13 April 2015.Retrieved15 April2015.
  31. ^Jones, Sarah (4 July 2016)."Second Property Fund Suspends Trades Over Brexit Fears".Bloomberg.Retrieved9 July2016.
  32. ^Treanor, Jill (5 July 2016)."Commercial property fund freeze – all you need to know".TheGuardian.Retrieved9 July2016.
  33. ^"Challenger bank shares slump as Aviva freezes fund".Financial Times.5 July 2016.Retrieved9 July2016.
  34. ^"Aviva sells Italian JV to Banco BPM for 265 million euros".Reuters.29 September 2017.Retrieved1 October2017.
  35. ^Robert, Norman (13 March 2018)."Aviva makes waves".Reuters.Retrieved13 March2018.
  36. ^Lucas, Paul (8 March 2018)."Aviva reveals acquisition plans".Insurance Business UK.Retrieved6 April2018.
  37. ^"Aviva CEO Mark Wilson to depart in 2019".Investment week.9 October 2018.Retrieved18 December2018.
  38. ^ab"Maurice Tulloch wins race to be Aviva CEO".Insurance Age. 4 March 2019.Retrieved27 March2019.
  39. ^abRalph, Oliver (6 July 2020)."Aviva appoints Amanda Blanc as Chief Executive Officer".Financial Times.Retrieved6 July2020.
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  41. ^"Aviva to sell Hong Kong operation as it simplifies business into 5 divisions".InternationalInvestment.20 November 2019.Retrieved3 February2022.
  42. ^"Aviva sells French business to Macif's Aéma Groupe for $3.9 billion".Reuters.23 February 2021.Retrieved27 July2021.
  43. ^Armitage, Jim (23 February 2021)."Aviva sells French arm for e3.2 billion".Evening Standard.London.Retrieved27 July2021.
  44. ^Costello, Miles; Hosking, Patrick; Griffiths, Katherine."'Golden ticket' threat to Aviva's French sell-off ".Retrieved27 July2021.
  45. ^"Aviva completes exit from Turkey".Aviva plc. 6 May 2021.
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  47. ^Howard, Tom."Companies quit CBI after second rape claim".The Times.ISSN0140-0460.Retrieved21 April2023.
  48. ^"Companies quit CBI after second rape allegation".Financial Times.21 April 2023.Retrieved21 April2023.
  49. ^Jain, Saumya (25 September 2023)."Aviva acquires AIG's UK protection business for £460m - Reinsurance News".ReinsuranceNe.ws.Retrieved25 September2023.
  50. ^"Aviva to Acquire Canadian Vehicle Replacement MGA Optiom for Circa £100m".Insurance Journal.27 November 2023.Retrieved27 November2023.
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  53. ^"Directors' remuneration report".Annual report and accounts 2008.Aviva. Archived fromthe originalon 25 December 2009.Retrieved23 August2009.
  54. ^abTreanor, Jill; Kollewe, Julia (8 May 2012)."Aviva chief executive steps down after shareholder revolt – with £1.75m payoff".The Guardian.London.Retrieved8 May2012.
  55. ^Kollewe, Julia (20 November 2012)."Aviva appoints Mark Wilson chief executive – but no 'golden hello".The Guardian.London.Retrieved1 December2012.
  56. ^"3i changes chairman after Montague joins Aviva".Financial Times.13 April 2015.Retrieved5 May2015.
  57. ^"Mark Wilson steps down as Chief Executive Officer of Aviva plc".Retrieved9 October2018.
  58. ^"George Culmer becomes Aviva chairman".Insurance Age. 19 May 2020.Retrieved28 May2020.
  59. ^EU FootballArchived24 September 2015 at theWayback Machine.
  60. ^New Lansdowne Road to be called the Aviva StadiumBelfast Telegraph, 12 February 2009
  61. ^"What's in a name? Aviva announce stadium sponsorship extension".The42. 17 January 2018.Retrieved10 June2021.
  62. ^"Aviva Studios — the UK's biggest cultural investment in a generation".ft.Retrieved21 June2024.
  63. ^Bamford, Thom (21 June 2023)."Aviva! Factory International announce controversial new name".I Love Manchester.Retrieved21 June2024.
  64. ^"Aviva and Premiership Rugby extend partnership until 2017".Rugby247. 27 May 2013.Retrieved15 April2015.
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