Amid rumors that U.K.-based Aviva Plc is looking to offload its U.S. unit, new statutory data reveals that the collection of companies known as Aviva USA Corp. ranks among the top 10 U.S. life operations owned by European Companies.
SNL Financial, Charlottesville, V.A., published this finding in a report showing that for the year ended Dec. 31, 2011, Aviva's companies ranked 7th among the top 10 U.S. life insurance writers with European owners.
The other 9 European parent companies include, in descending order, Prudential Plc (U.K.), ING Groep NV (Netherlands), AEGON NV (Netherlands), AXA Equitable (France), Allianz SE (German), Swiss Re Ltd. (Switzerland), Zurich Insurance Group Ltd. (Switzerland), Nestle SA (Switzerland) and Hannover Re (Germany).
SNL says that Aviva expanded its U.S. presence in 2006 when the company purchased the publicly traded AmerUs Group Co. for a reported $2.9 billion, giving Aviva a nationwide writer with a focus on equity-indexed life and equity-indexed annuity products.
The top carrier in SNL's survey, Prudential Plc, generated premiums, consideration and deposits of $20.2 billion in 2011, up from $18 billion in 2010. The company's net total assets and surplus in 2011 were $108.2 billion and $2.6 billion, respectively.
