Some comments on Aviva’s latest financials, which are due to be published this week;

Aviva is expected to report robust financial results for the first half of 2024 on Wednesday, 14th August, according to insurance insights firm Consumer Intelligence. Aviva has seen significant competitive gains in both the Home and Motor insurance markets, building on its strong performance in 2023 when it declared itself the UK’s leading general insurer.

Additionally, new product launches and strong customer retention are likely to drive further growth in the second half of the year.
Aviva’s 2023 full year results showed strong growth, with a +24% increase in UK Personal Lines Gross Written Premium. This came from “strong rating discipline in the inflationary environment [and] growth from new propositions such as Aviva Zero” among other themes.

That inflationary environment meant Motor market new business quotes increased +66% through 2023, and +41% for Home. By comparison, H1 2024 saw Home prices rise +12%, with Motor competitive quotes decreasing -3%.

Data from Consumer Intelligence shows that Aviva’s first half of 2024 has seen an increase in Home insurance new business quote competitiveness, with at least one group brand appearing the top five results on Price Comparison Websites (PCWs) for over double the number of risks in June 2024 versus a year prior. This was driven by pricing movements which not only increased competitiveness but allowed Aviva to better stack brands together in PCW results.

Motor brand Aviva Zero has been a success story for the firm, rising to be one of the most competitive brands on PCWs. It sold 250,000 policies from its launch in February 2022 to August 2023 rising to over 500,000 by March 2024. To maintain this competitiveness in 2024, adjustments have had to be made. In Q1 2024 Aviva Zero increased premiums in a softening market, which reduced competitive share on PCWs. However, strong price cuts in April and May allowed share to return to 2023 levels in Q2. This meant Aviva Zero quoted premiums in June were lower than at the start of 2024, compared with strong increases in the first half of 2023.

There is good news for performance with existing customers also. The Consumer Intelligence Insurance Behaviour Tracker shows that for both Motor and Home, customers who held a policy with the Aviva brand in the first half of 2024 were slightly less likely to shop around than those a year prior. Of those that did shop, a greater proportion were retained. Fewer Aviva Home customers made a claim than the year before, though Motor claimants were above the market average for the insurer, having been below in H1 2023.

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