Ever since Aviva acquired a 50% share in Unicorp Vida in 2001, the company, which is jointly owned with Unicaja, has seen its customers double, while the assets which it manages have increased fivefold.
- Today in Malaga Aviva is celebrating having reached 2 million customers in Spain. Unicorp Vida has had a decisive influence in reaching this milestone.
As well as celebrating this milestone, the insurance group Aviva and Unicaja have also been taking stock of the results of this collaboration. In September the two companies will have been collaborating for nine years, ever since the English multinational company acquired 50% of Unicorp Vida, a company specialising in life insurance and pension plans. The path taken by this company, which primarily operates in Andalusia, and the results achieved, are rated very highly by Aviva and Unicaja.
Since the start of the alliance, Unicorp Vida has made a significant contribution to the positive results obtained in Spain by the insurance group. We should point out that during these times of uncertainty which we are currently experiencing, savers have put their trust in Unicorp Vida, whose savings premiums grew by 32.4% between January and September 2009 compared with the same period of the previous year.
For José Luis Jiménez, director general of Unicorp Vida, said: "The constant growth of Unicorp Vida is due to the fact that the people of Andalusia and the other communities and provinces where the company has a presence through the Unicaja network, are more and more aware of the need to guarantee peace of mind for their family.
"And they understand that putting their money into long-term savings plans will give them a purchasing power which will enable them to enjoy the quality of life they deserve in retirement. We have solutions for our customers, both in the short-term (immediate provision) and in the medium and long-term."
Ignacio Izquierdo, managing director of Aviva España, said: "Andalusia is the Spanish autonomous community which gives Aviva most bancassurance business."
Izquierdo added: "The constant growth in the number of savers. There are not only more and more families choosing to save over the long-term, but they are also putting higher amounts aside."
According to Sebastián Morales, regional director of Unicaja for the city of Málaga, said: "Unicorp Vida is the result of a very positive and fruitful alliance which has had some excellent financial results and which has a management model based on value generated over the long-term rather than on short-term profit. It combines the experience of the European leader in life insurance and pensions and the scope of distribution of the main savings bank in Andalusia."
Unicorp Vida manages 34 customer pension plans, both individual and company plans, through 16 pension funds with different investment policies: from the most conservative, to policies which invest 100% of their portfolio in variable income. It also manages a wide range of savings products which are able to adapt to any kind of needs, from insurance during childhood, to pension plans and other savings products, to income payment products for the elderly.
Unicorp Vida distributes its life and pension products through over 900 branches of Unicaja, the number one financial institution in Andalusia and one of the main savings banks in the country, which as well as having a presence across all of Andalusia, also has branches in 17 provinces, including Ceuta and Melilla, as well as in other countries (London, Brussels, Frankfurt and Casablanca).
Celebrating two million customers
Aviva has chosen Málaga to celebrate having reached two million customers in Spain.
Izquierdo said: "For Aviva it is a great pleasure to celebrate the fact that we have reached this figure with Unicaja; the exceptional work which they and all of the Unicorp Vida team have put in has been key in being able to reach this milestone."
During the celebration, the managers of Aviva, Unicaja and Unicorp Vida presented a special edition of the book "Extreme challenge" by Jesús Calleja.
Calleja said: "Every person or institution has to set their own challenges."
For the mountain climber "for Aviva and Unicaja the challenge should be to reach more and more people every day and to make their customers' lives better."
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For more information:
Albert Concepción
Telephone: 915 640 496 - 616 905 066
E-mail: aconcepcion@ulled.com
Laura Villuendas
Telephone: 912 971 817 - 696 576 921
E-mail: laura.villuendas@aviva.es
Notes to editors:
Aviva is one of the leading European insurance groups in the life and pensions market.
In Spain, Aviva is a key life insurance and pensions player. It markets its products through professional brokers (Aviva Vida y Pensiones) and strategic alliances with some of the main Spanish savings banks (Bancaja, Caixa Galicia, Unicaja, Caja España, Caja Granada and Cajamurcia).