Following the release of its global results, major insurer Aviva has announced its first-half financial results for Asia, bannered by 28% growth in the value of new business (VNB).
According to a release by Aviva Asia, its VNB reached US$126 million from January to June 2018, a 28% year-on-year increase from US$89 million during the same period last year. The growth was attributed to excellent performance in the Singapore and China markets.
Singapore’s VNB improved by 47% over the same period last year, with strong returns through its financial advisory channel. China’s VNB remained stable as its combined agency and broker channels continued to expand. Meanwhile, higher sales volume and an improved product mix contributed to significant VNB growth for the Vietnam venture, which became wholly owned by Aviva in August 2017.
Profit from Aviva Asia’s life, general, and health insurance businesses increased by 14% to US$182 million, from US$145 million last year, once again mostly due to the Singapore and China markets.
Aviva Financial Advisers, Aviva’s financial advisory firm in Singapore, has continued to grow its advisory force to more than 770 as of June 2018.
Aimed at nurturing disruptors that could potentially transform Asia’s insurance industry, Aviva
Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Aviva, made two major investments for the first half of 2018. The investment in Silicon Valley-based auto tech company, Savari, seeks to leverage its leading V2X platform to develop insurance use cases to promote vehicle safety worldwide. In May, Aviva Ventures invested in Swingvy, a Singapore-based software-as-a-service company providing a HR platform for small-and medium enterprises, with the aim of developing new insurance propositions for business users in Singapore.
“Asia is a strategic priority for Aviva, and our commitment to the region has once again enabled us to deliver strong results across our key markets,” said Chris Wei, chairman of Aviva Asia.
“Besides the stellar performance from Singapore and China, we are particularly excited about Aviva Vietnam, which has undergone significant transformation since becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary. In a populous market with a growing middle class and low insurance penetration, face-to-face engagement with customers is essential. This explains our multi-channel strategy of growing our agency force alongside a strong partnership with VietinBank to improve customer experience.”
