Aviva

Aviva plc

Type	Public (LSE: AV.)
Founded	2000
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
Key people	Lord Sharman, Chairman Andrew Moss, CEO
Industry	Insurance
Products	Life insurance Pensions
Revenue	£36,206m (2008)
Operating income	£2,297m (2008)
Net income	£(885)m (2008)
Employees	57,000 (2009)
Website	www.aviva.com

Aviva plc (LSE: AV.) is a British insurance group, that is also the fifth largest in the world, the largest insurance group in the UK and the second-largest insurance group in Canada operating as Aviva Canada. It is one of the leading providers of life and pension products in Europe and has a presence in 28 countries worldwide, notably France and The Netherlands.

Aviva plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

History

The Company was formerly called CGNU, and was created by a merger of Norwich Union and CGU plc^[1] (itself created by the 1998 merger of Commercial Union and General Accident^[2]) in 2000. The Aviva name was adopted in July 2002.

During March 2005 Aviva plc acquired the RAC plc breakdown recovery operation for around £1.1 billion.^[3]

In July 2006, Aviva greatly increased its presence in the United States by acquiring AmerUs Group, a financial services company founded in 1896.^[4]

The Company continued to use the Norwich Union name as a trading name until 1 June 2009 when it became formally known as Aviva within the United Kingdom. The launch was supported by a £9 million advertising campaign to promote the rebranding (one of the most expensive ever in the UK insurance field), with the participation of celebrities including Bruce Willis and Alice Cooper.^[5]

In June 2009 the Company decided to dispose of Navigator, its Australian wealth management business, to National Australia Bank for A$825 million (£401 million); the acquisition is likely to complete in in the fourth quarter of 2009.^[6]

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 Whitehouse was recruited as played the part of a successful hairdresser running three salons. The message of the campaign focussed on business insurance through insurance brokers.^[7] The closing line of the campaign was "We're in business to keep you in business".

Operations

The Company's main activities are general and life insurance as well as long-term savings and fund management. It has around £316 billion of assets under management.^[8] The group has 54,000 employees, including just under 30,000 in the UK, serving 50 million customers worldwide.

Aviva was the first insurance company to become carbon neutral globally.^[9]

Companies

• - United Kingdom
  • Aviva Life - Pensions, investments, Life Insurance and long term savings (formerly Norwich Union)
  • Aviva Insurance - General Insurance
  • Aviva Investors - Fund Management (formerly Morley Fund Management)
  • RAC - Breakdown recovery
• - United States of America - Aviva USA Corporation
• - Ireland
  • Hibernian Aviva
  • Hibernian Aviva Health
• - Poland - Aviva
• - Netherlands - Delta Lloyd Groep
• - Canada - Aviva Canada
• - France - Eurofil
• - Republika Srpska - Jahorina Banka (cyrllic)
• - Australia
• - China - Aviva-Cofco
• - India - Aviva India
• - Malaysia - CIMB Aviva
• - Singapore
• - Turkey
• - Taiwan - First Aviva (in Chinese language)
• - Sri Lanka
• - Russia
• - Lithuania
• - Croatia - Ariva Nava Banka
• - Italy - Aviva Italia Holding S.p.A.

Company name

The company name, Aviva, is a Hebrew name meaning Spring or Renewal (as in Tel Aviv)^[10], though this is thought to be co-incidental.

Sponsorship

In May 2008 Aviva became Norwich City Football Club's main sponsor. Ironically, in a 2009 television advert starring Paul Whitehouse they feature a Plymouth Argyle F.C. fan who uses Aviva car insurance followed by a Green Army chant.^[11] It also acquired the naming rights for the redeveloped Lansdowne Road stadium in Dublin, Ireland, and will now be called the Aviva Stadium.^[12]

Senior management

CEO Richard Harvey retired on 11 July 2007. His successor was Andrew Moss, the former group finance director.^[13] Moss is paid an annual base salary of £925,000 for his role as Chief Executive.^[14]

References

External links

• Aviva plc

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