Aviva has reported general Insurance gross written premiums are up 10% to £7.2bn in the third quarter of 2022, compared to £6.5bn for the same quarter last year.
The firm notes UK GWP are up 7% to £3.9bn and Canada GWP are up 8% at constant currency to £3.0bn, while combined operating ratio remains strong at 94.3% compared to 92.4% last year, which it suggests reflects more normal claims frequency.
Aviva also reported UK&I Life value of new business at £466m, up 46%, and VNB margin of 1.9%, compared to 1.3% from the previous year, driven by higher VNB in Annuities & Equity Release of £143m compared to £16m in Q3 last year.
Meanwhile, the estimated Solvency II shareholder cover ratio of 223% was down 11% during Q3, mainly driven by operating capital generation and net positive market movements more than offset by the interim dividend, £500m redemption of Restricted Tier 1 debt, and the completion of the Succession Wealth acquisition.
The firm adds that its high-quality shareholder asset portfolio of £75bn in Q3 continues to perform well and is defensively positioned. Shareholder asset exposure to equities, emerging market sovereigns, and European peripherals are also low.
Aviva suggests it also saw strong net flows in Workplace of £4.1bn, up 11%, with overall Wealth net flows were a resilient 6% of opening AuM at £7.0bn, but down 4% versus Q3 of 2021 due to the challenging environment for investment activity on our Platform business.
Amanda Blanc, Group Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Trading is positive and our performance is consistently strong. We have had a good nine months due to our market leading positions, our customer focus and the clear benefits of Aviva’s diversified business across insurance, wealth and retirement.
“Our customers have continued to save for their future and protect what is valuable to them. Flows in our Wealth business were encouraging and general insurance volumes continue to grow, especially in commercial lines. Profitability also remains robust across both life and general insurance.
“Aviva’s capital and liquidity position is strong and our high quality asset portfolio has performed well during the recent period of extreme market volatility.
“We remain confident in the outlook for Aviva. We are on track to deliver our financial targets and trading momentum is building. Our dividend guidance remains unchanged and, as previously announced, we anticipate commencing additional returns of capital to shareholders with our 2022 full year results.”
