Aviva 2007 Annual Report Download - page 48
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Please find page 48 of the 2007 Aviva annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.Aviva plc
Annual Report and
Accounts 2007
Business review continued:
North America continued
44
Business
review
Product innovation –
Wellness for Life
An innovative new product is
our ‘Wellness for Life’ Programme.
This first-of-its-kind life insurance
product has been developed with
the world-renowned Mayo Clinic,
rewarding consumers for leading
a healthy lifestyle.
Customers have the opportunity
to reduce the cost of their life
insurance by meeting some
wellness-oriented criteria,
such as having regular physical
examinations by a doctor or by
maintaining their body weight
within a range established at the
time they purchase the policy.
Wellness for Life is consistent
with our commitment to improving
the lives of our customers and
providing them with the best
possible products and services.
For more information visit
www.avivausa.com
Our success in 2007 has been achieved by remaining
focused on our customers, agents and employees
while going through a major transformation integrating
our businesses following the acquisition of AmerUs
in November 2006. The operations located in Boston
have now been successfully combined with those of
the former AmerUs companies, with all of the goals
associated with the integration of those operations met,
including exceeding the key financial target of achieving
£23 million of annualised savings at a cost of £25 million.
Our people are our greatest resource and remain at
the heart of what we do. We successfully managed the
integration of our two businesses, minimising job losses
while retaining our key people during this challenging
period of time. Being part of Aviva enabled us to benefit
from the talent pool across the global organisation through
the sharing of information, best practices and people.
In addition, recruitment at our life headquarters
in Des Moines was at an all time high, reflecting the
significant growth in the business. Over 245 new positions
have been created and we were successful in attracting
new talent locally, regionally and from across the US.
This is an exciting time for our people in Aviva USA.
The increase in EEV life operating profit to £255
million (2006: £32 million) reflects the benefit of the
AmerUs acquisition and improved new business profits
following the excellent sales performance. The acquistion
also contributed to the increase in IFRS operating profit
to £103 million (2006: £13 million). During the year,
our total assets grew by 10% to £20 billion.
The future for the US business remains exciting.
The attractiveness of our products, coupled with our
expanding distribution and excellence in product innovation
when set in the context of a long-term growth market,
puts us in a great position going forward. The strong
momentum upon which we finished 2007 will continue
to fuel our performance in the year ahead.
Canada
Aviva Canada provides innovative, market-leading
products to clients across Canada. Supported by over
3,000 independent brokers, we operate through a
multi-channel, multi-distribution network including
retail customers, groups, affinities, small to medium
commercial and programme business.
We achieved growth without compromising
profitability. Net written premiums were £1,412 million
(2006: £1,389 million), an increase of 4%, reflecting
growth in both personal and commercial lines.
Our operating profit improved to £154 million
(2006: £148 million) which is a good result in challenging
market conditions. A reduction in underwriting profit
was offset by an increase in investment return, resulting
from higher fixed income yields and higher average
asset balances.