Overview

Overview

Aviva made substantial progress in 2009, building momentum in the delivery of our ‘One Aviva, twice the value’ strategy. We concluded the successful IPO of Delta Lloyd, simultaneously monetising some of the value of our shareholding and updating the governance arrangements at our Dutch subsidiary. We completed the sale of our Australian business and are just concluding the payment of £0.5 billion to policyholders in the reattribution of the UK inherited estate.

Against the backdrop of tough market conditions Aviva has also delivered a robust sales performance, with total long-term savings new business of £36 billion, having managed new business flows with a strict focus on capital efficiency and profitability. As a result our margin has remained consistent with 2008 and we have significantly strengthened our capital position with an estimated IGD solvency surplus at the 2009 year-end of £4.5 billion.

Sales in the fourth quarter were encouraging and we saw an improvement in customers’ propensity to save. Life and pensions sales were higher in all regions compared to the previous quarter, with a particularly strong performance in both bancassurance and retail channels in Europe.

Aviva is in a strong position at the start of 2010. We remain focused on growing our business profitably and improving our operational efficiency. This, together with our strong capital position and customers’ clear preference for brands they can trust, means that we will be well positioned as our major markets return to economic growth this year.