Insurance giant Aviva has reported that global new business sales in its life and savings arm increased to £12.3bn ($15bn, €13.7bn) in the first quarter of 2020.
This was a rise of 28% from £9.6bn in Q1 2019, the firm said in a trading update on 21 May.
The value of new global life business grew by 18% to £311m (Q1 19: £263m).
British operation
UK life new business sales were up 162% to £2.9bn from £1.1bn a year earlier.
This was principally driven by a “strong start to the year in bulk purchase annuities”, where Aviva wrote £1.7bn of business in the first quarter.
New business sales in protection increased by 20% to £500m (Q1 19: £400m).
In UK savings and retirement, net fund flows were £2.3bn, an increase of £700m from the same period a year before.
This was due to “sustained growth in sales across both workplace and retail savings”.
Asia
In Singapore, new life business sales were up 57% to £400m from £300m in Q1 2019, with continued “strong performance from the financial adviser channel”.
The trading update did not say about the firm’s proposed sale of Friends Provident International (FPI).
Aviva was looking to sell FPI in March 2017 and agreed to sell the business to RL360° for £340m later that year.
However, the deal has stalled and has not been completed.
Elsewhere in the trading update, Europe life new business sales declined 14% to £3.3bn from £3.8bn in Q1 2019.
Future activity
The firm said in the update: “Early Q2 2020 trends have seen new business sales decline across many of our businesses due to worldwide government enforced confinement measures.
“While customer activity levels have risen somewhat more recently as we help distributors and customers manage through these measures, sales volumes for the year overall are likely to remain below expectations.
“In life insurance, mortality and longevity claims experience arising from covid-19 are expected to broadly offset.”
