History
Aviva can trace its history back to the establishment of the Hand in Hand Fire & Life Insurance Society in London in 1696.[8][9]
It was created by a merger of two British insurance firms, Norwich Union and CGU plc[10] (itself created by the merger of 1998 of Commercial Union and General Accident[11]) as CGNU in February 2000. The Aviva name was adopted in July 2002.[12] Thereafter, most of the group operations, except for some strong local brands, were carried out under the uniform brand "Aviva".[13]
In 2002, Aviva purchased Abeille Vie, a French life insurance company.[14]
In 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 as the Brotherhood of American Yeomen in 1896, in a $2.9 billion (£1.6 billion) deal.[16]
The launch was supported by a £9 million advertising campaign to promote the rebranding (one of the most expensive ever in the 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]
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, having paid $2.9 billion in 2006 and incurring a large loss on sale.[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, then group chief executive of Friends Life, became CEO of Aviva UK Life, with Mark Wilson continuing as CEO of the enlarged Aviva Group.[28] In July 2016, Aviva froze withdrawals from the Aviva Investors Property Trust because of a lack of liquidity after Britain's vote to leave the European Union on 23 June.[29][30][31] In September 2017, Aviva agreed to sell its Italian joint venture Avipop Assicurazioni to Banco BPM for US$312.01 million (€265 million).[32]
In March 2018, Aviva, controversially, announced that it "had the ability" to cancel its irredeemable preference shares at par. This caused a wider sell off in the preference share market in the United Kingdom.[33] Also in March 2018 the company announced to spend around £600 million on so called "bolt on" acquisitions, that are in "Poland, Turkey, anywhere we have existing markets".[34]
In October 2018, Mark Wilson agreed to step down as CEO with immediate effect, with Adrian Montague taking interim control of the company, pending Wilson's formal departure in 2019.[35] Maurice Tulloch was appointed CEO in March 2019;[36] however, he stood down in July 2020 for family health reasons and was replaced by Amanda Blanc, who previously served as an Independent Non-Executive Director of the company.[37]
Also in July 2020, Aviva completed the sale of Friends Provident International Limited (FPIL) to RL360º.[38] In November 2020, Aviva sold its stake in their Indonesian company Astra Aviva Life[39] and their Hong Kong division.[40]
In 2021, Aviva sold its French operations to Aéma Groupe.[41] As part of the deal, Aviva agreed to indemnify Aéma against potential legal liabilities to Max-Hervé George.[42][43] In May, Aviva completed the sale of its Turkish business,[44] followed by businesses in Italy (Aviva Italia Holding), Poland and Vietnam in December 2021.[45][46]
In April 2023, Aviva terminated its membership of the Confederation of British Industry in response to allegations made by former employees of sexual harassment and rape at the business group.[47][48]
In September 2023, it was announced Aviva had acquired the London-headquartered life insurance company, AIG Life Limited from Corebridge Financial for £460 million.[49]
In November 2023, Aviva acquired a Canadian vehicle replacement insurance business, Optiom, for £100 million (US$126 million).[50]
In December 2024, Aviva agreed to acquire Direct Line Group for £3.7 billion,[51] nearly a month after its previous bid of £3.3bn was rejected.[52]
On 1 July 2025, Aviva completed the acquisition of Direct Line Group.[53]
Constituent companies
Aviva is the result of the merger of hundreds of insurance companies over several centuries.[54] Aviva was originally formed as CGNU from the merger of CGU and Norwich Union.
CGU
CGU was formed in 1998 from the merger of Commercial Union and General Accident.[55]
Commercial Union
The Commercial Union Assurance Company was founded in 1861 as a result of insurance premium increases following the 1861 Tooley Street fire.[56]
