Aviva plc’s UK and Ireland business reported premiums of £2.5bn for Q1 2026, up by 26% on the same period last year. In personal lines, the growth of 59% was supported by the acquisition of Direct Line. Commercial premium income was down by 7%, which it attributed to the softening market.

At group level, the carrier reported premiums of £3.4bn, up by 19% on Q1 last year. Its undiscounted combined operating ratio was 94.1% and improvement of 2.5 percentage points.

Amanda Blanc, group chief executive officer of Aviva plc, said: “We have delivered another quarter of strong trading, building momentum in 2026. We delivered profitable growth across Aviva despite global market volatility, demonstrating yet again the advantages of our market-leading positions and diverse business model.

“We made excellent progress in general insurance, growing premiums by 19% and improving profitability significantly in the UK, Ireland and Canada. The integration of Direct Line is firmly on track with stronger profitability and policies sold through price comparison websites have nearly doubled since the start of the year.”