Aviva

This article is about the corporation. For the actress, see Aviva (actress). For other meanings, see Aviva (disambiguation).

Aviva plc

File:Aviva.svg
Company type	Public (LSE: AV.)
Industry	Insurance
Predecessor	General Accident
Founded	2000
Headquarters	London, England, UK
Key people	Lord Sharman, Chairman Andrew Moss, CEO
Products	Life insurance Pensions
Revenue	£40,645 m (2007)
Operating income	£2,228 m (2007)
Net income	£ 1,505 m (2007)
Number of employees	59,000 (as of 30-6-07)
Website	http://www.aviva.com

Aviva plc (LSE: AV.) is the world's fifth-largest insurance group, the largest insurance group in the UK and the second-largest insurance group in Canada. It is one of the leading providers of life and pension products in Europe and has a presence in 25 countries worldwide, notably France and The Netherlands.

Aviva plc is not associated with Aviva Energy Corp., an energy consulting firm based in the U.S.

The Company 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 (itself created by the 1998 merger of Commercial Union and General Accident) in 2000. The Aviva name was adopted in July 2002. The Company continued to use the Norwich Union name as a trading name within the United Kingdom, but on 29 April 2008 announced that it would be changing to Aviva.

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

CEO Richard Harvey retired on 11 July 2007. His successor was Andrew Moss, the former group finance director.

Commercial Union Insurance

Hand in Hand Fire & Life Insurance

The history of Commercial Union can be traced back to the Hand in Hand Fire & Life Insurance Society, which was founded in 1696 at Tom's Coffee House in London. It was one of three fire insurance companies started after the Great Fire of London, and it was initially called the Amicable Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses against Fire. Less than thirty years later the other two insurers had failed, and the Hand in Hand was left as the oldest fire insurance company in the world. It was structured as a mutual society, and for 135 years it operated its own fire brigade and played an important part in shaping fire fighting and prevention.

In 1905, the Hand in Hand joined the Commercial Union Group.

Commercial Union Group

Following a huge dockland fire in 1861, which destroyed a number of warehouses and wharves along the River Thames, the fire insurance companies were hit by a series of massive claims. As a result, the existing insurance companies increased their premiums. The increases were so dramatic that a group of local merchants and brokers decided to form their own company: Commercial Union.

By 1900, Commercial Union had expanded to the United States, Canada, India, Germany, Singapore and Australia.

General Accident

General Accident (GA) was a financial services firm formed by several mergers and acquisitions over several years.

The General Accident and Employers Liability Assurance Association was founded in Perth, Scotland in 1885. It became the General Accident Fire and Life Assurance Corporation in 1906.

GA acquired Yorkshire Insurance in 1967. All general insurance business was relocated to Perth, with York becoming the center for the new firm's life assurance and pensions business.

GA acquired Stevenage-based Provident Mutual Life Assurance in 1995, merging it with the GA Life and Pensions business. York became the center of all life assurance business and Stevenage of all pensions 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. The group has 57,000 employees, including just under 35,000 in the UK, serving 45 million customers worldwide.

The company has come under severe criticism in recent months over its handling of a 'reattribution' of its inherited estate, which consists of funds that have been removed from policyholders' asset shares. The company proposes to offer policyholders a reattribution 'incentive payment' to give up their rights to a fair share of the inherited estate. Many commentators have submitted evidence to the UK House of Commons Treasury Select Committee http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmtreasy/496/49602.htm criticising numerous aspects of the company's practice, including its smoothing practices; its decision to proceed with reattribution when a simple 90:10 distribution should be made; its phasing over three years of a partial special distribution instead of distributing it all at once; and its use of the inherited estate for meeting the costs of its own mis-selling of policies; for writing hypothetical new business; and for making up shortfalls in its own staff pension fund.

Companies

• - United Kingdom
  • Norwich Union Life (NUL) - Pensions, investments, Life Insurance and long term savings
  • Norwich Union Insurance (NUI) - General Insurance
  • Morley Fund Management - Fund Management
  • RAC - Breakdown recovery
• - United States of America - Aviva USA Corporation
• - Ireland - Hibernian Aviva
• - Poland - Commercial Union
• - Netherlands - Delta Lloyd Groep
• - Canada - Aviva Pilot, Aviva Traders,Aviva Elite, Aviva Scottish and York, Aviva Insurance Company of Canada, S&Y Insurance Company
• - France - Eurofil
• - Republika Srpska - Jahorina Banka (cyrllic)
• - Australia
• - China - Aviva-Cofco
• - India
• - Malaysia - CIMB Aviva
• - Singapore
• - Turkey
• - Taiwan - First Aviva (in Chinese language)
• - Sri Lanka
• - Russia
• - Lithuania

Company name

The company name, Aviva, is a Hebrew name meaning Spring or Renewal (as in Tel Aviv). It is pronounced Ah-Vee-Vah.

Sponsorship

In May 2008 Aviva became Norwich City Football Club's main sponsor.

See also

• European Financial Services Roundtable

External links

• Aviva plc
• Aviva Ocean Racing