Aviva Ireland full-year profit rises 13%

Aviva Ireland said on Thursday that its operating profit rose 13 per cent last year to €93 million, making a third straight year of double-digit growth.

The company, a unit of the London-listed Aviva group, saw its net written general insurance premiums rise by 8 per cent to €498 million. Its combined ratio, a key gauge of net insurance claims and expenses divided by earned premiums, fell by 1 percentage point to 91.4 per cent, helped by better claims handling and “continued success in combatting fraud”, it said.

A ratio below 100 per cent indicates that an insurer is writing business profitably.

In the life business, the present value of new business premiums increased by 38 per cent to €1.2 billion, driven by sales of individual pensions and bulk purchase annuities.

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Aviva Ireland agreed in November to buy Friends First for €130 million in a transaction that will boost its share of the country's life and pensions market to 15 per cent – a rate that matches its slice of the general insurance market. The Central Bank is currently assessing the planned deal, which recently received clearance from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).

“Today’s results confirm Aviva’s leadership position in the general insurance market,” the company said. “Our acquisition of Friends First will enable us to become the leading insurer for brokers and the largest composite insurer in the market.”