LONDON (Business) – British insurer Aviva’s life new business sales rose by 28% to 12.3 billion pounds in the first quarter, helped by strong bulk annuity saies, and it estimated it would pay 160 million pounds in coronavirus-related claims.
General insurance net written premiums rose 3% to 2.4 billion pounds, Aviva said in a statement on Thursday.
Aviva, which has operations in mainland Europe and Canada as well as Britain, said early second-quarter trends showed new business sales down across many of its businesses, as government lockdowns aimed at containing the virus hit the global economy.
The pandemic would provide “additional challenges” in meeting the insurer’s 2022 targets, it said.
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