Aviva has said its equity release sales were lower in its Q3 trading update, which reflected a “contraction of the market”.
While Aviva did not give separate figures for its equity release business, the value of its overall retirement business, which includes annuities and equity release, rose 67% year-on-year to £7.3bn over the first nine months of the year.
The company said individual annuity sales rose 13% to £957m in the nine-month period, which it attributed to “sustained customer demand” in the higher interest rate environment.
Including the completion of the AIG acquisition, its protection sales rose 44% to £298m. Excluding this, Aviva reported a 5% fall in protection sales, which it said was “driven by lower volumes in individual protection”.
Meanwhile, its general insurance premiums in the UK and Ireland lifted by 18% to £5.7bn, with a 25% growth in personal lines and 11% increase in commercial lines.
It said its general insurance business continued to “benefit from market-leading pricing sophistication”.
Mind over mortgages: why we need to look after intermediaries’ mental health
Sponsored by Halifax Intermediaries
Looking ahead, Aviva said the group was “confident” in achieving its targets, including an operating profit of £2bn by 2026.
Amanda Blanc, group chief executive, said: “Our third quarter performance has been very strong. Trading continues to be extremely positive right across the business, underlining the strength of our consistent strategy and the significant benefits of Aviva’s scale and diversification.
“Quarter after quarter, we are delivering consistently superior results and growing Aviva, particularly in the capital-light businesses.”
She added: “Aviva’s large and growing customer base is a major advantage, contributing to our excellent performance. Over the last four years we have increased customer numbers by 1.2m to 19.6m. We now have five million UK customers with more than one policy and, as the UK’s leading diversified insurer, the potential to grow this further is huge.”
“Aviva is financially strong, trading well each quarter and has significant opportunities for further growth. We are confident about the outlook for the rest of 2024 and beyond, growing the dividend and achieving the group’s financial targets,” she added.
