Following today’s (7 March 2019) release of Aviva’s preliminary results for 12 months ended 31 December 2018, Ben Carey-Evans, Insurance Analyst at GlobalData, offers his view:

“Aviva’s 2018 preliminary financial report released today indicates that its UK business performed strongly over the year. A key highlight is that its operating profit in the UK increased by 7% to £2,324m. It saw positive results for both its general and life insurance books in the UK in 2018, with the latter especially matching our analysis of their performance throughout the year.

“GlobalData’s 2018 UK SME Insurance Survey found that Aviva fared especially well in life insurance through the SME market in 2018. Its share of that product increased from 21.0% in 2017 to 37.1% in 2018, as it consolidated its position as market leader.

“Aviva is now in a strong position for 2019, as it continues to be a leading insurer across a wide range of product lines in the UK. The report states that it will be difficult to maintain this momentum in 2019, largely due to uncertainty surrounding Brexit, so positive UK results for 2018 were important for the insurer as it sets it up well for consolidation over the next 12 months.”