Welcome to our shareholder update.
In this edition of our shareholder update, you can read about:
Chair’s update
Dear shareholder,
It has been a busy time for Aviva since I last wrote to you all. As we reported in our annual results earlier in the month, we have maintained a robust performance and a strong financial position, despite the challenges presented by Covid. At the same time, Amanda has refreshed her leadership team and together the organisation has got on with delivering against our strategy to become the U.K.’s leading insurer.
You can read more about our results below, in particular the rapid progress we have made to streamline and focus the Group. This allows us to concentrate on our core markets of the UK, Ireland and Canada where we have clear advantages and are investing for growth. There is much to do to transform our performance, but we have made a good start and the guiding principle remains living up to our purpose for our customers, serving their needs seamlessly and efficiently.
To help us deliver on that purpose, we recognise that how we do things is as important as what we do. Our customers want to be able to depend on a trusted brand that acts in a sustainable and responsible way and last month we announced demanding climate goals as part of our wider sustainability ambition. You can read more detail later in the update.
A final word on this year’s AGM, which is such an important part of our calendar. As with the impact of Covid on so many other events this year, we are asking that you don’t attend in person. However, we remain committed to the value of speaking to and hearing from you as directly as possible. You can find more details about how we are organising this year’s meeting to enable as much interaction as possible below.
Many thanks for your continued support for Aviva. It’s been a productive few months, but there is much more yet to do.
George Culmer - Chair
2020 full year results
“2020 was a year of significant change for Aviva. ...We are putting customers at the heart of everything we do and I am confident we will transform Aviva’s financial performance and deliver greater value for our shareholders. I recognise we have much more to do and we are getting on with it.”
2020 final dividend
On 4 March we declared a final dividend for 2020 of 14 pence per share payable on 14 May 2021 to shareholders on the register on 9 April 2021.
The 2021 Annual General Meeting
This year’s Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday, 6 May 2021 at 2pm at St Helen’s, 1 Undershaft, London EC3P 3DQ, with facilities to attend electronically.
For the 2021 AGM, Aviva is inviting shareholders to attend and participate in the meeting electronically. Details of the arrangements, including how to vote online and ask questions during the meeting using the Lumi system, are available in the Notice of Annual General Meeting.
Changes in our leadership team
Amanda Blanc, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“I am determined to change Aviva and unlock value. This requires the strongest possible leadership team”.
Useful links for shareholders
Our climate goals and sustainability ambition
Message from the CEO:
“Being the UK’s largest insurer brings huge responsibilities. To our people, our customers, our shareholders and to all the communities in which we operate. But we also have a responsibility to ensure that what we do as a business has little, if any, impact on the environment. Aviva has a strong and long track record in promoting sustainability, but such is the scope and scale of the environmental crisis facing all of us, we have to do more. Much more. Which is why … we are announcing the most demanding carbon reduction plan of any major insurer in the world today.”
Aviva has announced its plan to become a Net Zero carbon emissions company by 2040. This is the most demanding target of any major insurance company in the world today. The undertaking, which will inform every aspect of operations and investment decisions at Aviva, is part of its strategy to be the UK’s leading insurer, contributing to a sustainable economic recovery.
Changes to our business
Amanda Blanc, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“2020 was a year of significant change for Aviva. We have taken major steps forward in simplifying the business, most recently with the sale of Aviva France and [the] announcement of the sale of the rest of our Italian operations. Our strategic focus is now on the UK, Ireland and Canada where we have leading positions. We are putting customers at the heart of everything we do and I am confident we will transform Aviva’s financial performance and deliver greater value for our shareholders. I recognise we have much more to do and we are getting on with it.”
As part of Aviva’s strategic transformation to focus on its strongest businesses in the UK, Ireland and Canada, Aviva has announced the following:
Our brand and values
We’re a leading savings, retirement and insurance business serving 31.6 million customers. Our purpose is to be with you today, for a better tomorrow.
Find out more about who we are and what we do.
The Aviva Foundation
Aligned to our strong social purpose and Sustainability Ambition, the Aviva Foundation is using unclaimed assets to benefit our communities to build Financial Capability and Inclusion, Community Resilience and drive Climate Action.
The Foundation works with the business to amplify impact for our communities and has committed £4m in 2020 to respond to the impacts of COVID-19. For example, with the onset of COVID-19 lockdown, cases of domestic abuse across the country increased significantly. This was also impacting our vulnerable customers. To address this, the Foundation awarded a grant to charity Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) to create a step change in service provision across the finance sector, so that customers made vulnerable by economic abuse are able to access support to achieve financial inclusion and economic safety. This work further complements Aviva’s existing protocol to support customers dealing with economic abuse. SEA’s grant will extend support for this issue beyond Aviva and across the wider financial sector.
We’ll share more shareholder updates in June, September and December 2021. Register to get an email when these are available.
If you have any feedback or suggestions for our shareholder update, please email aviva.shareholders@aviva.com.
