On 6 February Aviva Great Britain (known by the name Norwich Union Life) announced a special bonus worth £2.1 billion (equating to €3 billion) for approximately 1.1 million insurance contract holders, predominantly in with-profit funds.
On 6 February Aviva Great Britain (known by the name Norwich Union Life) announced a special bonus worth £2.1 billion (equating to €3 billion) for approximately 1.1 million insurance contract holders, predominantly in with-profit funds1.
In accordance with the way in which these funds are administered, this bonus will be distributed at 90% for insurance contract holders and 10% for company shareholders; thus, the holders of insurance policies will receive £2.1 billion (approximately €3 billion), and £230 million (approximately €330 million) will come back to shareholders.
This record increase in the special bonus was made possible by the strengthening of two with-profit funds and modifications made to the investments strategy in order to support the guarantee ceiling for policies. This has allowed for the channelling of a significant part of these funds to insurance contract holders.
Mark Hodges, CEO Aviva Norwich Union Life, stated: "This is extraordinary news for insurance contract holders. These funds are extremely potent, being made up, as they are, of shares and fixed assets in differing proportions, and at the same time their performance is very competitive. This bonus amounts to a significant increase in the value of insurance policies."
Shah Rouf, CEO Aviva Romania, stated: "By means of this distribution process, eligible insurance contract holders in Great Britain will receive approximately half of the surplus of the funds, distributed on a percentage basis as follows: 90% for contract holders and 10% for company shareholders. We want to effect a change in the way in which we allocate the bonus resulting from with-profit funds and we are currently working on this. Our offer means that eligible policy holders are on track to receive a significant amount of unexpected profits.
"These additional funds from Great Britain have been built up over several decades, demonstrating the remarkable experience of the Aviva group in providing a valuable bonus to those who hold long-term savings in the form of insurance products with an investment element or in the form of private pension products. In Romania, our modern unit-linked type savings products are structured in such a way as to yield a 100% return on investments for insurance policy holders."
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The point of contact for further information:
Giliola Ignat, Advertising & PR Manager
Telephone: 021 203 83 73
E-mail: giliola.ignat@aviva.ro
Note for editors:
About the Aviva group
Aviva is the oldest insurance group in the world and the largest in Great Britain, dating back to 1696. Today, Aviva has 59,000 employees and 40 million customers in 27 countries across the world.
The group is the market leader for life insurance and pensions in Europe, leading on the majority of the markets in which it operates.
Aviva has revenue from insurance premiums and investments totalling €61 billion and administers over €535 billion worth of funds.**
Aviva Romania
Aviva Romania includes three companies: Aviva Life Insurance, Aviva Administration Company for a Private Pension Fund, Certinvest (purchased on 13 September 2007).
About Aviva Life Insurance and Aviva Administration Company for a Private Pensions Fund
Aviva began operating as a provider of life insurance in Romania in 2000 and currently insures over 430,000 customers.
On 26 July 2007, Aviva received approval from the Oversight Committee for the System of Private Pensions to set up a company to administer private pensions (Aviva Administration Company for a Private Pension Fund SA), and on 25 August received authorisation to administer its mandatory pension fund - Pensia Viva.
About Certinvest
Certinvest currently administers 24 million euros in four mutual funds, each of them based around a different type of investment: Intercapital - a shares fund, Capital Plus - a balanced fund, Orizont - a fixed-income (bonds) fund and Tezaur, a capital market fund. Certinvest also administers individual investment accounts.
Certinvest has shown throughout the years that it is one of the most dynamic and innovative administrators in the market. The company launched the first commission-free sales fund on the Romanian market (Tezaur) and the first bonds fund in Romania (Orizont). Certinvest is also proud to support the bull market for investment funds in Romania.
* in terms of new sales in 2006
** at an exchange rate of 1 GBP / 1.47 EUR
1 With-profit funds represent a solid investment plan in Great Britain in which excess amounts accumulated can be added to the principal benefit amount (known as the sum insured) in order to reflect the profit accrued throughout the lifetime of the insurance contract.