Insurance and investment group Aviva Ireland saw its operating profit rise by 7 per cent to €43 million in the first half of the year, on the back of strong growth in new life and pensions business.

The company said on Thursday that in the six months to June 30th, operating profit rose to €43 million from €40 million in 2015, while the value of new business in life and pensions soared by 58 per cent to €14.6 million. Aviva reported an improvement in its combined operating ratio (GI business) of 3.5 percentage points to 90 per cent.

Pricing strategy

"This improvement is driven by an increase in customer numbers supported by a pricing strategy that delivers insurance cover at a price that is competitive and sustainable. Performance in our personal and commercial property sector is better than expected due to benign weather in the year so far. Claims costs continue to be a serious challenge in the personal motor market. We remain steadfast in our policy of defending our business against all cases of suspected fraud in the interests of our customers," Aviva Ireland chief executive Hugh Hessing said.

In its general insurance business, Aviva grew its gross written premiums by 24 per cent. On the life insurance side, new business grew 58 per cent to € 14.6 million. Operating profit is up 56 per cent to € 14.2 million on a like-for-like basis, while Aviva said growth had been “particularly strong” in annuities but volumes were up across all its products.

“Our results show that our strategy is working. Our business is reaping the benefits of the actions we have taken to secure sustainable growth. We have embarked on a number of programmes to simplify our business for our customers. We are well placed to achieve our ambitions for growth over the coming years,” Mr Hessing said.

Aviva employs 1,150 across its three locations in Dublin, Galway and Cork.