Our Archive
We can trace our heritage back to 1696. Our business began in an age of highwaymen but is as relevant to customers today as it was then.
Our Archive is the most important insurance industry archive in the United Kingdom.
Learn more about the Archive
It documents our 300+ years of history and holds records for more than 750 companies that have contributed to our heritage.
Meet the ancestors
For over three hundred years our ancestor companies have adapted to meet customers’ needs, just as we strive to do today.
Explore our timeline
Our ancestors include the oldest mutual life insurer, one of the oldest fire insurers, the first company to issue a burglary policy, and the first and only insurance company to hold a royal warrant.
Featured article
Our Anna: “Somebody claimed for a pickled egg that went missing”
Anna Stone, Group Archivist, on keeping people honest by preserving Aviva’s 325-year-old archive. Others describe it as the most important insurance archive in the UK but for Anna, it’s ‘like a third child’.

Gallery
A selection of images from the Archive collection.






