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GarySpicuzza · #1 (**permalink**) 03-31-2008, 12:23 PM

Aviva is my #1 favorite company to do business with:

Aviva’s solid numbers mean peace of mind for customers.

In uncertain times, when it can sometimes appear as though the financial services industry has built recklessly on shifting sands, it has never been more important for brokers and customers to know that their chosen service provider stands on solid ground.

That’s why the Aviva group elected to take a leadership position on transparency this February, when it announced its results for 2007 to the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

Tom Godlasky, CEO of Aviva’s North American region, said: “Aviva’s
core mission is to deliver prosperity and peace of mind for our customers. Thus we decided to take a leadership role by broadening our financial disclosures on our asset quality in these uncertain economic times in order to provide additional peace of mind to both our producers and our customers.”
In addition to what analysts are describing as “rock solid”, “reassuring” and “strong” annual performance, Aviva attracted praise for volunteering additional detailed information on its balance sheet, demonstrating the group’s negligible exposure to sub-prime and collateralized debt obligation risks.

One analyst in the LSE stakeholder audience joked that the year-on-year increase in the thickness of Aviva’s analyst’s pack almost matched the US business’s 39% sales growth in 2007. As equities analyst Cazenove more soberly recorded, “Aviva has undoubtedly set a new benchmark for transparency”. The detailed disclosure gave industry experts a chance to submit Aviva’s books to an unusually thorough analysis - with consistently positive conclusions. JP Morgan advises that “disclosure on the asset base was thorough and reassuring”.

According to Morgan Stanley, Aviva’s “clean numbers should be well received”, while Bernstein argues that “Aviva delivers strong results in the face of both financial and meteorological storms”, and approves the fact that Aviva “gave plenty of disclosure on their assets, which are mercifully clear of sub-prime and its ilk”. Aviva’s confident disclosure comes at a time when several household names across the financial sector, including insurance giants from AIG to Swiss Re, have had to declare massive write-downs.

Tom adds: “It’s a source of great pride for me and for all Aviva’s senior leadership team that we can deliver this reassuring news for our customers, at a time when financial sector news is giving them a rollercoaster ride.
”We urge our producers and broker partners to make the most of this good news story, to give their clients the gift of peace of mind and to reaffirm the trust customers place in their advisors.”

For more information on Aviva and its 2007 results, please visit Aviva plc