Aviva 2005 Annual Report Download - page 19

17
Business review
Aviva plc 2005
Aviva is the world’s sixth-largest insurance group and the largest
insurance services provider in the UK. We are one of the leading
providers of life and pension products in Europe and are actively
growing long-term savings businesses in Asian markets, Australia
and the USA. Our main activities are long-term savings, fund
management and general insurance. We have premium income
and investment sales of £35.0 billion and £317 billion of assets
under management. We have more than 54,000 employees serving
millions of customers.
The group’s activities are organised into two strategic areas:
Long-term savings and fund management; and general insurance,
health and related services.
Group strategy
Our overriding goal is to provide prosperity and peace of mind for
our customers. To achieve this goal, we need to be a clear leader
in helping our customers grow their wealth and protect their assets
and their health.
To meet our objectives, our strategic focus is on:
– Understanding and meeting the evolving needs of our customers
– Building profitable businesses in selected areas where we have,
or can achieve, market leading positions
– Working closely with business partners to deliver efficient and
effective distribution channels
– Using brands to widen our leading positions
– Delivering growth organically and through carefully selected
acquisitions designed to increase shareholder value
– Using our scale to deliver benefits, including cost-competitiveness
– Attracting, motivating and retaining talented people who are
committed to Aviva’s values and ambitions.
These strategies set out the overall high-level direction of the group.
Individual business units subsequently select those strategic options
that are relevant to their individual markets. Details of the strategies
adopted by each of the business units, and the effectiveness of
those strategies, are set out in the business segment performance
reviews on pages 24 to 35.
Strategy and values
Our values
In everything that we do, we are mindful of our brand values.
They inform not only what we do, but the manner in which
we do it. Our values are set out below:
Progressiveness
Being progressive is having a vision of the future, encouraging
innovation and improvement, and championing continuous
learning. It is about leading the industry by listening and
responding to customers and keeping ahead of the competition.
Integrity
Integrity is behaving in a way consistent with professional
and ethical standards. It is being open, honest and keeping
commitments, taking personal responsibility for what we say
and do. It is about earning trust and respect through honesty
and fairness.
Performance
Performance-driven is having clear goals and achieving them by
everyone working towards them in an efficient manner.
Teamwork
Teamwork is the lifeblood of Aviva. It means commitment to
a common vision and objectives, depending on one another,
pulling together and sharing knowledge and learning. It is
creating a sense of community and belonging in how we operate
as a business. It means taking pride in Aviva’s achievements.
General insurance, health
and related services
– Providing a broad range of
competitive motor, property,
health and related insurance
services to individuals and
small to medium-sized
enterprises in chosen markets
Long-term savings and fund
management
– Offering a superior range of
long-term savings, investment
and protection products in
markets that offer significant
opportunities for growth
Our objectives for achieving this are: