Aviva's Q1 premiums up 9% as insurer gives bullish outlook

(Sharecast News) - Insurer Aviva said it was confident in achieving its group targets after a "great start" to 2025, with premiums rising by almost a tenth. Chief executive Amanda Blanc said the company is "very positive" about the full-year outlook and meeting its financial guidance.

"Our balance sheet is strong, we have a clear customer-focused strategy which we continue to deliver at pace and our market-leading businesses are growing well, especially in capital-light areas," she said.

General insurance premiums totalled £2.9bn in the three months to 31 March, up 9% on the year before, with strong performances in both personal and commercial insurance, including a travel insurance partnership with Nationwide and the benefits of acquiring Lloyd's insurer Probitas.

In the Wealth division, Aviva secured £2.3bn of net flows which is 5% of opening assets under management. Meanwhile, Retirement sales were 4% higher than last year at £1.8bn, as higher interest rates drove growth in individual annuities where sales increased by 32%. Protection and health insurance sales also jumped 19% to £126m.

In other news, Aviva said its takeover of Direct Line is "firmly on track". Despite Wednesday's news that competition regulators were investigating the £3.7bn deal, Blanc said that the acquisition should still complete by the middle of the year.

Sage said it was confident in meeting the medium-term projections set out in its 2023 results, targeting £2bn in operating profits by 2026, £1.8bn in Solvency II operating own funds generation, and cash remittances of more than £5.8bn cumulatively between 2024 and 2026.