Aviva Financial Advisors was launched last July in Singapore with a 280 strong-team aimed at providing advice on both Aviva products and from other trusted providers to mainly domestic consumers.
According to Aviva Asia’s full year results on Thursday, the Singapore unit now has 420 advisers licensed to provide advice on a full range of life, health, general insurance, and investment products.
The insurer said that Aviva Financial Advisers responds to “growing customer demand for choice in insurance and personalised financial advice”, adding the business is set to “accelerate the transformation the FA industry in Singapore as a whole”.
“The company has continued to strengthen its existing distribution platforms in Asia, particularly through Aviva Financial Advisers in Singapore, which was launched in August 2016, and the agency and broker channels in China,” said Aviva.
Aviva already owns the Singaporean domestic-focused advisory firm (Professional Investment Advisory Services) PIAS, which it bought in 2013.
There is speculation that Aviva’s new business is targeting wealthy individuals ‘tripping in’ from the rest of Asia.
The venture is likely to compete with the Middle East-headquartered Nexus Group, which in September 2015 acquired 160 advisers from Zurich when the insurer closed-up shop.
New business
According to Aviva’s results, the value of new business (VNB) in Singapore grew 23% in 2016, far exceeding market average of 6%.
The figure excludes the contribution from Aviva’s bancassurance agreement with DBS Bank, which ended in late 2015, when Aviva was replaced by the Asian arm of Manulife to sell its insurance products with the Singapore bank as part of a $1.2bn deal.
In Indonesia, Astra Aviva Life’s annual premium equivalent (APE) doubled over prior year. It is now ranked number 91 in the domestic bancassurance market.
‘Robust growth’ in China
In China, Aviva-COFCO continued to grow its agency force, the company said in its full year results statement.
During the period, the agency business recruited over 7,500 new agents and the agency business alone saw an increase of 28% in VNB over prior year.
Overall, Aviva Asia recorded a slightly lower value of new business (VNB) of £148mn ($200m) in 2016, compared to £151m the previous year.
Singapore government contracts
In a further twist, Aviva Singapore also revealed that last June as the provider of group term insurance to the Singapore Ministry of Defence (“MINDEF”) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (“MHA”).
“Aviva Singapore has been entrusted with providing group insurance coverage to servicemen and employees of MINDEF since 1983. Under the new agreement, Aviva now provides group insurance to MHA for the first time, which together with MINDEF, is the largest group scheme in Singapore,” said the insurer.
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