Aviva GI premiums jump 7% as H1 profit rises

By Ryan Hewlett

Aug 14 - (The Insurer) - UK insurer Aviva on Thursday reported a 7.0% jump in general insurance (GI) premiums and a higher-than-expected operating profit for the first half of 2025.

The Amanda Blanc-led insurer’s GI unit posted gross written premiums of 6.29 billion pounds ($8.55 billion) for the six months ended June 30. The firm said the result was driven by strong growth in UK commercial lines and its personal lines book in Ireland.

UK and Ireland GI premiums rose 9% to 4.14 billion pounds, with 3% growth in UK personal lines and 13% in UK commercial lines. Growth in the latter was supported by pricing actions, new business growth and Lloyd’s platform Probitas.

GI premiums in Canada rose 4% to 2.15 billion pounds, with 9% growth in personal lines partially offset by a 3% reduction in commercial lines. The fall in commercial premiums was driven by reduced Global Corporate & Specialty volumes due to portfolio management actions, Aviva said.

Aviva’s GI unit reported an undiscounted combined ratio of 94.6%, an improvement of 0.8 percentage points year on year. On a discounted basis, Aviva posted a combined ratio of 90.4% in H1, compared to 91.5% in the same period last year.

Aviva’s estimated Solvency II shareholder cover ratio increased by 4.0 points to 206% in the first half of the year.

At group level, Aviva posted an operating profit of 1.07 billion pounds, up 22% year on year, with the insurer noting that 66% of its operating profit is now from capital-light businesses.

Aviva’s Solvency II own funds generation rose 20% to 909 million pounds.

KBW’s William Hawkins welcomed the earnings statement, noting that both the operating profit and Solvency II own funds generation figures “comfortably beat” consensus.

The insurer also declared a 2025 interim dividend per share of 13.1 pence, 10% higher than in the same period last year.

CEO Blanc said: “Aviva’s performance in the first half of 2025 was outstanding, growing operating profit by 22% and extending our track record of delivery. Another set of high-quality results, combined with excellent strategic progress, are further evidence of how we are pushing Aviva forward.”

The insurer said it remained confident in meeting the medium-term financial targets set out last year, which includes posting a full-year operating profit of 2.0 billion pounds and Solvency II own funds generation of 1.8 billion pounds by 2026.