London, May 15, 2026, 15:15 BST
Aviva plc reported a 19% jump in first-quarter general insurance premiums, hitting £3.4 billion as the Direct Line acquisition and robust UK personal lines business gave a lift. The FTSE 100 insurer maintained its 2026 guidance. For the quarter, the combined operating ratio—claims plus costs as a percentage of premiums—narrowed to 94.1%, down from 96.6% a year ago.
Investors are weighing whether Chief Executive Amanda Blanc’s £3.7 billion Direct Line deal delivers scale without hurting capital or pricing discipline. Aviva described integration as on track. Even so, the latest quarter flagged softness in retirement sales, some pressure on commercial insurance pricing, and weakening health demand.
Blanc didn’t shy away from the politics either. Speaking to Reuters, she criticized what she called “too many changes of government strategy, leadership” in Britain, adding that business wants more stability. Her remarks landed as Prime Minister Keir Starmer confronted talk of a leadership challenge. Reuters
General insurance premiums across the UK and Ireland jumped 26% to £2.5 billion. Personal lines shot up 59% after the addition of Direct Line, while commercial lines slipped 7%—softer pricing played a role there, though retention cushioned the drop.
Wealth stood out. Net flows—fresh money from clients after withdrawals—climbed 49% to £3.3 billion. Workplace pension flows jumped 71% to around £2 billion. Assets under management for wealth came in at £233 billion at March’s close, little changed on the quarter as market shifts wiped out the boost from inflows.
Blanc described it as an “excellent start to 2026,” adding that Aviva is still on track to hit its group goals. The targets: 11% compound annual growth in operating earnings per share between 2025 and 2028, return on equity topping 20% by 2028, and cash remittances exceeding £7 billion from 2026 to 2028. Aviva
This time, it’s the product blend that’s biting. Retirement sales tumbled to £1.1 billion, down from £1.8 billion, after a slowdown in bulk purchase annuity volumes—those transactions shift pension liabilities off company books onto insurers. Health sales slumped 31%. Aviva flagged softer demand from both small businesses and consumers.
Not every analyst was on board. Over at Investing.com, Goldman Sachs flagged general insurance gross written premiums that missed its own projection by 8%, prompting the bank to trim its 2026-2030 EPS forecasts by roughly 0.7%. Citi, on the other hand, pointed to squeezed margins in annuity and equity-release products.
“First-quarter trading looked solid,” Hargreaves Lansdown senior equity analyst Matt Britzman said, pointing to strong wealth flows and better Canadian profitability. He warned, though, that 2026 could bring tougher times for UK and Ireland general insurance; the market just isn’t as robust as last year. HL
The landscape has changed. UK regulators have given the green light to Aviva’s 2025 takeover of Direct Line, a deal that makes the group the country’s biggest home and motor insurer. That puts its market value in listed insurers up alongside Legal & General and Prudential.
Interest-rate bets continue to shape the outlook for annuities and investment income at insurers. Over on Polymarket, traders as of this day were pricing in an 82% probability that the Bank of England keeps rates steady on June 18, leaving just a 17% chance for a 25-basis-point hike.
The stock jumped 1.75% to £6.28 on Thursday, outpacing the FTSE 100’s 0.46% rise, MarketWatch reported. But by Friday afternoon, delayed Aviva figures had shares at 616.6 pence, off 1.82%.
