Latest: Aviva News

Aviva: families struggling to keep up

Families in the UK are struggling to build up their savings as the impact of inflation puts pressure on incomes and debt levels. So says Aviva in its latest Family Finances Report, which puts typical monthly net income for families at £2,066, an increase of 7% in the last year. However, not all family groups [...]

January 25, 2012 | 0 Comments More

Aviva takes advantage of tablet technology

Aviva Risk Management Solutions has begun the pilot of a new digitisation programme designed to streamline its risk assessment processes. An industry first, the SOLAR PlayBook project sees the firm’s risk assessment team replace pen and paper assessment processes with Blackberry PlayBooks that have been pre-loaded with a tailored risk assessment application. The programme was [...]

December 14, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Aviva, AXA and Allianz threatened by S&P downgrade

Aviva, AXA and Allianz are under threat of credit rating downgrades by Standard & Poor’s (S&P). Certain other European insurance providers have also been placed on CreditWatch negative by the firm, which last week warned that systemic stresses in the eurozone have risen to the extent that they put downward pressure on the credit standing [...]

December 12, 2011 | 0 Comments More

A third of over-55s fail to sort retirement finances

Over a third (37%) of economically active over-55s have yet to make plans for their finances in retirement, according to the latest Real Retirement Report from Aviva. The study also claims that the typical over-55 only started to actively think about retirement income at age 48, and were aged 52 before starting to worry or [...]

December 8, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Aviva considers offloading UK pension assets

Aviva is reported to be considering selling some of its UK pension assets in efforts to boost its capital position. According to The Sunday Telegraph, the insurer could auction off part of its back-book of annuities to consolidators such as Pension Corporation and Rothesay Life. Last month, the insurer bolstered its capital position with a [...]

December 5, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Directorate changes at Aviva

Aviva has announced that Carole Piwnica, an independent non-executive director of the group, retired on 1st December 2011 having served nearly nine years on the Aviva board. Ms Piwnica has also retired as chair of the insurer’s corporate responsibility committee, again with effect from 1st December, to be replaced by Gay Heuy Evans. Ms Heuy [...]

December 3, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Aviva’s Sir Nick appointed FOS chairman

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has appointed Sir Nicholas Montagu as the new chairman of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). He will succeed Sir Christopher Kelly who steps down in January 2012, after seven years in the role. Sir Nicholas is currently the chairman of the Aviva UK Life With-Profits Committee and a director of [...]

November 24, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Aviva launches “Magic Money” social media campaign

Aviva has launched a social media campaign aimed at making younger workers more aware of the importance of making the most of their hard-earned cash. In a series of film clips shot in the bars of Brighton and London, magician Pete Hathway uses magic tricks with money as the central theme to bring home the [...]

November 23, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Aviva launches $400m US offering

Aviva is bolstering its capital position with a public offering of $400 million of 8.25% Capital Securities (notes) in the US market. The notes pay interest quarterly and have a maturity of 1st December 2041. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo Securities are joint book-runners. In September, Aviva completed the [...]

November 18, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Families bail out friends and relations

Almost a third (31%) of UK families are providing financial support to their extended family and friends, according to the latest Aviva Family Finances Report. Loans and gifts are being given to ageing parents, adult children, siblings and close friends, with families paying out £442 a year on average. The most common recipients of financial [...]

November 17, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Aviva uncovers financial weakness of UK workers

More than half of British workers (52%) would not be able to sustain themselves financially for more than three months, if they were off work due to ill health. Almost a third (30%) would not be able to last a month, but 9% believed that they would be able to survive for a year or [...]

November 14, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Aviva & L&G extend agreements with Barclays

Aviva and Legal & General have extended their distribution agreements with Barclays. Aviva’s general insurance offering to retail customers is being complemented with life assurance and personal accident products, available on a non-advised basis. Customers will be able to buy life assurance, over 50s life assurance and personal accident cover either in branch, online or [...]

November 11, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Aviva advises pipe protection in winter

After the costly cold weather that struck the country last winter, Aviva is advising homeowners to give their properties a once over to help stave off burst pipes. Last winter Aviva recorded sixfold the average number of claims related to winter weather, with 60% of claims for burst pipes. As well as being greatly inconvenient, [...]

November 9, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Aviva appoints UK chief risk officer

Aviva has announced the appointment of John Lister to the post of UK chief risk officer. He has worked for the firm for a quarter of a century and has been the chief financial officer of the UK Life business for the last two years. Lister, whose appointment is effective from March 2012, will be [...]

November 4, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Aviva cancer pledge takes in Avastin and more

Aviva will soon be providing enhanced cover for cancer treatment, following the removal of benefit limits for some drugs. In its new cancer “pledge” the insurer says treatments recommended by medical specialists will be covered in full, including targeted therapies such as Herceptin and Avastin, and unlicensed drugs not readily available from the NHS. Aviva [...]

November 1, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Garages gridlocked with “stuff”

Multi-car households keep around £3,429 worth of items in their garage while £13,487 worth of vehicles are left on the road or driveway. According to new research from Aviva, a quarter of multi-car families are parking a vehicle worth around £20,000 on the drive, rather than in the garage, despite worries that it could be [...]

November 1, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Aviva warns of Bonfire burglary bonanza

Homeowners are being warned by Aviva to beware vandalism, theft and burglary as the winter nights become longer and the clocks go back. The insurer conducted research, surveying 16 police forces regarding last year from 30 October to 5 November, and found that average reported burglaries increased by more than a quarter (26%) compared to [...]

October 26, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Aviva restructure costs 950 Irish jobs

Aviva is proposing to combine Aviva Ireland with Aviva UK while at the same time restructuring its European regional operations, to create a leaner cost base. Over the two years from March 2012, around 950 job losses are expected, comprising 770 roles from Aviva Ireland and 180 from Aviva Europe operations based in Ireland. According [...]

October 20, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Aviva appoints head of HR strategy

Aviva has appointed Carole Jones as its London-based director of global HR strategy and organisational development. The newly-created role puts Ms Jones in charge of developing strategies for employees that will be applied across the whole of Aviva’s global business. In particular, she will focus on ensuring that the company’s HR policies and systems are [...]

October 18, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Aviva enhances critical illness coverage

Health insurer Aviva has announced that it is enhancing its critical illness coverage with the addition of new conditions. With effect from today, new critical illness customers will be eligible for partial payments for two forms of early cancer, namely low grade prostate cancer and ductal carcinoma in situ, an early form of breast cancer, [...]

October 17, 2011 | 0 Comments More