Aviva has reported a 19% rise in general insurance premiums for the first nine months of 2026, as its takeover of Direct Line continued to power growth across its UK business.

The FTSE 100 insurer said general insurance premiums reached £11.8 billion in the nine months to 30 September, up from £10.0 billion in the same period last year, in a trading update published on Friday 13 November.

Premiums in the UK and Ireland rose 27% to £8.5 billion. Personal lines, which cover motor and home insurance, grew 57% to £5.26 billion, driven by the Direct Line books Aviva acquired in July 2025 and by a new home insurance partnership with Nationwide.

Commercial lines moved in the opposite direction, with premiums down 5% to £2.77 billion. Aviva said it had deliberately walked away from business where prices did not meet its profitability targets, as commercial insurance rates continued to soften. UK commercial rates fell 8% in the third quarter, according to Marsh's Global Insurance Market Index, extending a run of 11 consecutive quarterly declines.

Profitability improves despite weaker commercial market

Aviva's combined operating ratio, which measures claims and costs as a share of premiums, improved to 93.8% for the group, from 94.4% a year earlier. A figure below 100% means the underwriting business is making a profit. In the UK and Ireland the ratio improved to 93.0%.

Canada was the weak spot. Severe summer weather pushed Aviva Canada's third-quarter combined ratio above 100%, to 101.5%, leaving its nine-month ratio at 95.9%. Canada's summer of 2026 produced more than CA$3.7 billion in insured losses from severe weather, the third-costliest summer on record according to Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc.

Wealth inflows pass £10 billion

Aviva's wealth business also grew strongly. Net flows reached £10.9 billion in the first nine months, up 31% on the same period last year, taking wealth assets under management to £267 billion, up 19%. Third-quarter inflows alone were £3.2 billion, compared with £2.5 billion a year earlier.

The wealth arm now serves 6.1 million customers, and Aviva repeated its target of at least £280 million in operating profit from the business by 2027, rising to more than £500 million by 2032.

Retirement sales were softer, falling 34% to £3.5 billion as competition for bulk purchase annuity deals intensified. Deals completed so far this year, including those where Aviva is the preferred provider, totalled £5.8 billion, already ahead of the £4.6 billion written in the whole of 2025. Health insurance sales fell 31% as growth in that market slowed.

Capital position strengthens

Aviva's Solvency II cover ratio, a key measure of capital strength, rose to 179% at 30 September, up from 176% at the half year. The group expects the ratio to reach the high-180s by the end of the year once the remaining capital savings from the Direct Line deal are booked.

Group chief executive Amanda Blanc said: "Aviva is in great shape. Our performance has been excellent in the first nine months of 2026, demonstrating once again the benefits of scale across our diversified business."

Aviva said it remained on track for its three-year targets, including operating earnings per share growth of 11% a year, and expects earnings per share growth in 2026 to be broadly in line with that 11% target. The update landed on a cautious morning for London shares, with the FTSE 100 called to open around 35 points lower after falls on Wall Street.

Source: Sharecast