In recent years, Aviva has scaled up its capability by investing in technology and resources to support schemes across all market segments, including the increasingly active sub-£100m scheme sector of the market.

According to Aviva, the service reinforces its commitment to supporting schemes with their de-risking ambitions by providing an efficient and robust process that enables well-prepared schemes to secure attractive pricing in a busy Bulk Purchase Annuity (BPA) marketplace.

In 2023, more than £50bn of BPA transactions were completed, making it the busiest year on record for de-risking. This year, commentators expect similar volumes if not higher.

Jamie Cole, head of BPA origination at Aviva, said: “Aviva has a strong track record of supporting schemes of all sizes with their de-risking ambitions.

“Today’s exceptional market has sharpened the focus on supporting market access and Aviva Clarity will play a key role in our continued support for smaller well-prepared schemes”.

The launch follows a successful pilot phase which began in 2023 and has now seen more than 20 schemes transact through the service.

Chris Rice, head of trustee services at Broadstone, added: “It is great news that Aviva recognise the importance of serving schemes below £100m in deal size.

Rice, who took part in the pilot, praised the service for the speed of transaction and attractive terms to all parties “without need for any compromises on what could be insured”.

He said: “We look forward to completing further transactions this way to streamline the onboarding process for the benefit of our clients”.

James Double, head of trusteeship at Vidett and chair of trustees of the Morrison CARE Pension Scheme, said: “With the streamlined process offered by Aviva, and excellent support from PwC, we were able to complete this transaction smoothly and earlier than initially anticipated.”

According to Double, this shows that, despite the constantly changing BPA market, there are still plenty of opportunities for schemes of this size, if they are well prepared.

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Pamela is IPE's UK correspondent. Before joining IPE in May 2023, she spent five years writing about the insurance industry. During her career so far she won awards for Most Promising Newcomer in 2020 and Best Investigative Article in 2022 from the British Insurance Brokers Association, and was also highly commended at the WTW Media Awards for Insurance Features Journalist of The Year.View full Profile

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