Aviva’s Blanc says it is ‘key’ DLG deal ‘delivers for us’

Aviva chief executive Amanda Blanc has said it is “key” that the insurer’s acquisition of Direct Line Group (DLG) “delivers for us”.

Blanc made the claim as she spoke about Aviva’s acquisition strategy, with her saying that the firm “will always be looking at market opportunities”.

Aviva made several deals during 2024, including completing its acquisition of AIG’s UK protection arm for over £400m in April.

In July 2024, the insurer went onto complete its £249m purchase of insurance platform Probitas, officially marking its entry into the Lloyd’s market.

And at the end of the year, Aviva said it had reached an agreement to buy Direct Line Group (DLG) for £3.7bn.

Blanc said the DLG deal was “on track and is a clear opportunity to accelerate our capital-light growth, deliver brilliant service to millions more customers and support the wider development of the UK economy”.

And summing up all the deals made in 2024, Blanc added: “We’ve been pretty busy [and] we’ve got quite a lot on our plate.

“For us, it is key that we see all those transactions deliver for us, but we will always be looking at market opportunities.”

Results

Blanc made the comments during a press conference call after Aviva released its 2024 financial results.

In a trading update published today (27 February 2025), the insurer revealed that the UK&I GI arm secured £7.7bn in premium during the year, up from £6.64bn in 2023.

This was driven by growth across personal and commercial lines, with premiums increasing 22% and 12% respectively.

The undiscounted COR, meanwhile, dropped from 96.8% in 2023 to 94.9% in 2024 – a 1.9 percentage point improvement.

Blanc said: “Aviva is in great shape. We have clear trading momentum, which is generating strong and reliable growth. We have increased our dividend, again, and are committed to growing it further.

“There is so much untapped potential for Aviva to go after and I have real confidence in our ability to unlock this. So, I’m more excited about Aviva’s future than ever before and I’m personally looking forward to delivering this next phase of progress.”