Aviva profit drops after £165 mln in virus claims

Aviva PLC reported Thursday a fall in net profit for the first six months of the year and said it had general insurance claims related to the coronavirus pandemic of 165 million pounds ($216.4 million.)

“Claims are primarily as a result of disruption to business and travel insured by the group, partially offset by a reduction in the frequency of motor claims,” the company said.

The FTSE-100 insurer posted a net profit of GBP821 million compared with GBP1.12 billion for the same period a year earlier.

Aviva made a pretax profit of GBP804 million from GBP2.05 billion for the same period a year earlier, it added.

The U.K. company had gross written premiums of GBP15.23 billion and a solvency II Capital surplus –a measure of balance-sheet strength–of GBP12.0 billion, equal to a cover ratio of 194% compared with 206%.

The board has declared an interim dividend of 6 pence a share.

Sabela Ojea

source:marketwatch.com