Aviva’s bulk purchase annuity sales increased 15% to £1.86bn (€2.2bn) in the first half of 2022, confirming the importance of the insurer’s move into the bulk purchase annuity (BPA) market.

Aviva said the outlook for the BPA market remains positive with higher bulk purchase annuity volumes and margins expected in the second half.

Aviva is already a significant writer of UK bulk annuity business, ranking in the top four in 2020 with sales growth of almost 50% year-on-year. In March, the company said it wrote a record £6.2bn in bulk annuities in 2021, with “robust margins”, up from £6bn in 2020. This was helped in July 2021 when Aviva completed a £900m bulk purchase annuity transaction with the Kingfisher Pension Scheme – owner of retail brands including B&Q and Screwfix. 

Amanda Blanc, Aviva’s CEO, said: “Sales are up, operating profit is higher, our financial position is stronger. This has been an excellent six months for Aviva. Our scale and diversification give us resilience and opportunity, enabling Aviva to withstand the challenging economic climate.

”Our market-leading positions and our unique ability to look after a wide range of customers’ needs are clear advantages and have driven robust operating performance.”

Adjusted group operating profit rose 14% to £829m, prompting Blanc to say that she anticipates launching a share buyback with the full-year results.

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Lauren is private markets editor across IPE Real Assets and IPE.com. Prior to joining IPE in June 2022, Lauren worked as editor, real-time analysis at the Wall Street Journal and as a senior financial journalist at a variety of UK nationals including The Sunday Telegraph and the Mail on Sunday.View full Profile

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