Aviva reported a 16% drop in protection sales for the first half of 2025, despite delivering growth across its other businesses.
The insurer’s half-year results, published today (14 August), show insurance, wealth and retirement (IWR) sales rose 9% to £21.5bn, while operating profit jumped 22% to £1.07bn.
Two-thirds of operating profit came from Aviva’s wealth, health and general insurance operations.
The protection decline followed the consolidation of product lines in late 2024, after Aviva’s acquisition of AIG Life.
Doug Brown, CEO of insurance, wealth and retirement, told Money Marketing: “There was a period where sales were coming in from both separate entities. Once we joined, we consolidated propositions, so as expected sales came down.
“For example, if we and AIG were both on a panel, it might now be reduced from two to three panel providers. We anticipated this when we acquired AIG, and it’s just a year-on-year blip.”
Brown added that the value of new business had improved despite lower volumes.
Aviva’s wealth division delivered a standout performance, with net flows up 16% year-on-year to £5.8bn.
Adviser Platform flows were “significantly boosted” by strong inflows and retention, while direct wealth growth remained robust. In workplace pensions, Aviva won 283 new schemes this year, with member contributions reaching £1bn a month.
Brown said scale remains crucial to delivering benefits for customers and advisers:
“Scale enables us to invest in propositions – from individual annuities to our adviser platform – bringing better outcomes for customers and strong support for advisers.
“We’ve recently launched onshore bonds on the Adviser Platform, responding to adviser demand following inheritance tax changes. We’ll keep innovating across insurance, wealth and retirement.”
Brown also highlighted strong performance in Aviva’s retirement division.
“In retirement, sales of individual annuities were up 29% with significant growth in open-market volumes, while BPA volumes remained strong, supported by our streamlined Aviva Clarity proposition for smaller schemes.”
Equity release saw growth in sales due to higher market lending and the successful launch of a new proposition, he added.
