Amanda Blanc's 2023 half year results video

Smera Ashraf:

Hi, Amanda.

Amanda Blanc:

Hi, Smera it’s absolutely lovely to see you.

Smera Ashraf:

Thank you very much. How are you today?

Amanda Blanc:

I'm really good. Thank you very much.

Smera Ashraf:

So we’re at the half year point.

How are we performing?

Amanda Blanc:

So, look, first of all, let's start by thanking everybody for the performance. I think that our Aviva colleagues have once again made it click for our customers and done a really, really fantastic job. And you'll see that through these results. I think we've got some real momentum despite the challenging macro-economic backdrop.

Aviva has actually performed really strongly in the first half. We have delivered profitable growth, so, you know, all parts of the business are showing that growth. And I think that what we've shown is that the diversified business model and the right strategy are working really well for us.

Smera Ashraf:

That sounds great. So what are the key highlights for you at this half year?

Amanda Blanc:

It's hard to pick a few things, but if I was to focus on, you know, the core markets and the three GI businesses have delivered double digit growth in each of the markets; in Canada, Ireland and in the UK.

So in the UK business, Adam and the team have delivered really strong growth in  SME and in mid-market.

In Canada, Jason and the team have delivered 16% growth in Commercial Lines.

Doug and the team in the Wealth business have actually delivered 100 billion of assets under administration on the Workplace platform.

That is a real achievement.

And Mark and the team have originated over half a billion of assets which support the annuity business.

So I think a really strong performance from all of the markets.

Smera Ashraf:

That's really great. That's really impressive. Now we talk about  our four strategic priorities. This year is about the year of the customer. So how are we delivering for them?

Amanda Blanc:

Yes. So I mean, we're really passionate about delivering for the customer. We have over 18 million customers across Aviva and 16 million of those customers in the UK.

And so it's really, really important that we deliver, you know, what we say we're going to do for our customers.

So some of the things that we've delivered that I'm particularly proud of; the COVID Health Pledge. We've delivered £128 million of that COVID Health Pledge now, which is something obviously we promised to do when COVID struck.

The second thing, which I think has been brilliant, is on the Direct and Adviser platforms.

Instead of holding on to any of the increased interest, we've actually paid that interest in full, back to the customers who have cash balances on that platform.

That's something that I think, you know, we are very, very proud of.

We've digitally built our propositions for all of our customers and we have really good improvement on our customer journeys.

And the final point I think worth making on customers is we now have 6 million customers using MyAviva, and that's important for them because it makes their life easier.

It's also important for us because a MyAviva customer is twice as likely to buy another product from Aviva.

So, you know, all in all, I think strong delivery for our customers this half year.

Smera Ashraf:

Thank you. That's really great.

So can we talk about the other three priorities and how we're delivering against them?

Amanda Blanc:

Yes, of course. So let's focus on growth. You know, I think here I've spoken about the growth in the General Insurance businesses and the Wealth platform, but there are some real specific things here that I think are really great.

Aviva Zero, which is something that we launched 18 months ago, has delivered 250,000 policies so far. So that's really, really good growth and that's our digitally led carbon conscious motor product.

We have secured the Barclays back book which is another 350,000 customers that are now directly Aviva customers.

And we're seeing positive flows onto the Aviva platform from the business that we bought last year; Succession Wealth. So in growth, I think we've really delivered in the first half of this year.

For efficiency, some real strong shout outs here too.

First of all, we've streamlined the IT platform. We've simplified our product set, which makes it easier for our customers and also for our colleagues.

We've actually produced more investment in technology, which means that we're more efficient. We've reduced our property footprint. And as a consequence of that, we've been able to announce today that we have achieved our cost reduction target of £750 million, one year early. Now that I think is a terrific achievement, especially set in the context of the inflationary environment that we're operating in.

And then finally, on sustainability, have actually achieved three years early, 100% of our global energy usage from renewable sources. So, you know, that again, is something that we are incredibly proud of.*

Smera Ashraf:

That sounds really strong and positive. What's the one key takeaway you'd like everyone to take from today?

Amanda Blanc:

So there's probably more than one key takeaway. But I think the overriding thing I want everybody to take away is that we've really got some momentum here.

We're delivering growth. We're delivering for our customers. We're delivering profitably, and also we're delivering cost efficiency. But also we're delivering for our shareholders.

There’s a growing dividend and also regular and sustainable returns of capital.

But we don’t intend to stop here. That momentum that I talked about is coming through in those four strategic priorities. So it’s a really really exciting time at Aviva.

Smera Ashraf:

That's really great. Thank you so much for spending some time and talking me through the results.

Amanda Blanc:

Thank you very much.

 

*In 2022, we achieved our goal and now ‘match’ all our electricity to renewable sources in our core markets of UK, Ireland and Canada.