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Aviva

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Aviva plc
Company typePublic limited company
LSE: AV., NYSE: AV
IndustryFinancial services
PredecessorCGU
Norwich Union
Founded2000 (by merger)
HeadquartersSt. Helen's Tower
London, United Kingdom
Key people
Sir Adrian Montague
(Chairman)
Mark Wilson
(CEO)
ServicesLife insurance
Pensions
General Insurance
Revenue£23.728 billion (2015)[1]
£2.286 billion (2015)[1]
£1.079 billion (2015)[1]
Number of employees
28,000 (2015)[2]
Websiteaviva.com

Aviva plc /ˈævɪvə/ is a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It has around 33 million customers[4] across 16 countries.[5] In the UK, Aviva is the largest general insurer and a leading life and pensions provider. In addition, Aviva has a focus on five markets in Europe and, in Asia, the company is focused on the growth markets of China and South East Asia. Aviva is also the second largest general insurer in Canada.

Aviva has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

Name

The name of the company upon its formation in May 2000 was CGNU plc.[6] In April 2002 the company's shareholders voted to change the company name to "Aviva plc", an invented word derived from "viva", the Latin for 'alive' and designed to be short, memorable and work worldwide.[7] In April 2008 Aviva announced that it would adopt the "Aviva" name as its worldwide consumer-facing brand, and that the Norwich Union brand would be phased out in the United Kingdom.[8]

History

Aviva can trace its history back to the establishment of the Hand in Hand Fire & Life Insurance Society in London in 1696.[9][10]

Predecessor company London and Lancashire Fire and Life, pictured in Dublin, c. 1871

It was created by a merger of two British insurance firms, Norwich Union and CGU plc[11] (itself created by the 1998 merger of Commercial Union and General Accident[12]) as CGNU in 2000. The Aviva name was adopted in July 2002.[13] Thereafter, most of the group operations, except for some strong local brands, were carried out under the uniform brand "Aviva".[14]

During March 2005 Aviva acquired the RAC plc breakdown recovery operation for around £1.1 billion.[15]

In July 2006, Aviva greatly increased its presence in the United States by acquiring AmerUs Group, a Des Moines-based financial services company founded in 1896 in a $2.9 billion (£1.6 billion) deal.[16] AmerUs Group was rebranded as Aviva USA when the acquisition was completed.

The Company continued to use the Norwich Union name as a trading name in the UK 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.[17]

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).[18]

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 to play the part of a successful hairdresser running three salons. The message of the campaign focused on business insurance through insurance brokers.[19] The closing line of the campaign was "We're in business to keep you in business".

In September 2011, Aviva completed the sale of RAC plc breakdown recovery operation for £1.0 billion to The Carlyle Group.[20]

In February 2012, Aviva sold its occupational health business to the British support services company Capita.[21][22]

In July 2012, Aviva announced plans to sell or close 16 non-core businesses in order to simplify its activities and boost shareholder returns.[23] As part of the plans Aviva announced the sale of its operations in South Korea and the closure to new business of its bulk-buying annuity unit in the United Kingdom.[23]

In August 2012, Aviva announced that up to 800 jobs would be lost following a reorganization caused by further turmoil in the Eurozone.[24]

In December 2012, Aviva agreed to sell Aviva USA Corporation to Athene Holding for US$1.8 billion (£1.1 billion) as part of a plan to improve shareholder returns and reduce the group's capital requirements.[25][26] Athene subsequently sold the life insurance business of Aviva to Global Atlantic.[27]

On 13 April 2015, Aviva completed the £5.6 billion all-share takeover of Friends Life Group. Andy Briggs, current group chief executive of Friends Life, became CEO of Aviva UK Life, with Mark Wilson continuing as CEO of the enlarged Aviva Group.[28]

Operations

St. Helen's, Aviva's world headquarters in London

Aviva's main activities are the provision of general and life insurance, long-term savings products and fund management services. The group has around 29,600 employees, 33 million customers and Aviva Investors has £289.9 billion assets under management.[4]

Principal subsidiaries

Following the completion of Friends Life Group Limited in April 2015, Friends Provident International Limited is now part of the Aviva Group.[28]

Senior management

CEO Richard Harvey retired on 11 July 2007. His successor was Andrew Moss, the former group finance director.[29] Moss was paid an annual base salary of £925,000 for his role as Chief Executive.[30] Moss resigned on 8 May 2012 after shareholders voted down a proposed senior management pay deal which would have seen Moss increase his basic pay by 5% despite several years of Aviva underperformance.[31] John McFarlane was appointed to the board of Aviva plc in September 2011. Following the departure of Aviva’s CEO, Andrew Moss,[31] McFarlane assumed the role of executive deputy chairman and became executive chairman on 1 July 2012. On 20 November 2012, Aviva announced that Mark Wilson had been appointed CEO, starting 1 January 2013.[32] On 12 September 2014 Aviva announced that Sir Adrian Montague would become non-executive chairman on the retirement of John McFarlane at the Aviva AGM in April 2015.[33]

Sponsorships

In May 2008 Aviva became Norwich City Football Club's main sponsor. 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.[34] It also acquired the naming rights for the redeveloped Lansdowne Road stadium in Dublin, Ireland, and will now be called the Aviva Stadium.[35]

In 2010, Aviva also took over sponsorship of rugby union's English Premiership from Guinness. The initial four-year sponsorship deal saw £20 million invested into club Rugby.[36] In July 2013, Aviva extended its title sponsorship of the Premiership until July 2017.[37]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Preliminary Results 2015" (PDF). Aviva. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Aviva". City Wire. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  3. ^ "Aviva plc Annual Report and Accounts 2011" (PDF). Aviva plc. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Strategic Report" (PDF). Aviva. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  5. ^ "Infographic" (PDF). Aviva. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  6. ^ Gary Armstrong; Michael Harker; Philip Kotler; Ross Brennan (2009). Marketing: An Introduction. Pearson Education. p. 246. ISBN 978-0-273-71395-1. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  7. ^ "Changing the name of the game". The Scotsman. 3 May 2008. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  8. ^ Ferreira-Marques, Clara (29 April 2008). "Aviva scraps Norwich Union name". Reuters. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  9. ^ "Aviva Heritage Events Timeline". Aviva plc. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  10. ^ Note: taken over by Commercial Union in 1905
  11. ^ "CGU and Norwich Union merge". BBC News. 21 February 2000.
  12. ^ "About Us > Heritage". Aviva.com. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  13. ^ "Why only Aviva's directors will be 'living well'". London: The Telegraph. 19 March 2002. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  14. ^ "Aviva PLC". Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  15. ^ "RAC History". Racnews.co.uk. 31 December 2007. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  16. ^ "Aviva to acquire AmerUs for $2.9 billion". NBCNews.com. 2006. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  17. ^ Cockcroft, Lucy (22 December 2008). "Bruce Willis and Elle Macpherson star in £9 million Norwich Union advert". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  18. ^ NAB buys Aviva to become biggest life insurer Sydney Morning Herald, 22 June 2009
  19. ^ Baker, Rosie (2 October 2009). "Aviva launches first ad aimed at business". Marketing Week. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
  20. ^ "Aviva completes the sale of RAC". aviva.com. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  21. ^ "Capita announces purchase of Aviva UK Health". Reed Business Information. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  22. ^ "Capita to acquire Aviva's occupational health business". Capita PLC. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  23. ^ a b "Insurer Aviva to cut 16 underperforming businesses". BBC News. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  24. ^ "August 24, 2012 - Aviva to Cut Up to 800 Jobs as McFarlane Reshapes Insurer". Bloomberg.
  25. ^ Neligan, Myles (21 December 2012). "Insurer Aviva sells U.S. unit for $1.8 billion". Reuters. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  26. ^ "Aviva sells US business for £1.1bn". London: The Telegraph. 21 December 2012. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ "Aviva USA life insurance unit to be dealt to Global Atlantic". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  28. ^ a b "Aviva and Friends Life rise in first day as a merged company". The Telegraph. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  29. ^ "Mon Compte Aviva Assurance en ligne".
  30. ^ "Directors' remuneration report". Annual report and accounts 2008. Aviva. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
  31. ^ a b Treanor, Jill; Kollewe, Julia (8 May 2012). "Aviva chief executive steps down after shareholder revolt – with £1.75m payoff". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  32. ^ Kollewe, Julia (20 November 2012). "Aviva appoints Mark Wilson chief executive – but no 'golden hello". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  33. ^ "3i changes chairman after Montague joins Aviva". FT.com. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  34. ^ EU Football.
  35. ^ New Lansdowne Road to be called the Aviva Stadium Belfast Telegraph, 12 February 2009
  36. ^ "Aviva Premiership Table". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  37. ^ "Aviva and Premiership Rugby extend partnership until 2017". Rugby247. 27 May 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
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