Aviva Insurance Review 2026: Cover, Claims and Customer Service

About Aviva

Aviva traces its roots back to 1696 with the founding of Hand-in-Hand fire insurance, but the modern group dates from the year 2000, when CGU plc and Norwich Union merged to form CGNU. The new business adopted the Aviva name in 2002 and retired the Norwich Union brand in 2009.

Today Aviva is the UK's largest general insurer, serving around 19 million customers across the UK, Ireland and Canada. The group employs roughly 22,000 people worldwide and paid out more than £25 billion in claims and benefits in 2024.

Why the name Aviva?Aviva was chosen because it works in every language Aviva operates in, reads the same forwards and backwards, and evokes the Latin word for "life" (vivere).

Ownership and stock listing

Aviva plc is a FTSE 100 constituent on the London Stock Exchange, ticker AV. Around 98% of shareholders are private individuals, but institutional investors hold the majority of shares by value. Aviva has paid a dividend in every full year since the merger and resumed a progressive dividend policy in 2021 under Amanda Blanc.

Strategy: a UK, Ireland and Canada insurer

Between 2020 and 2022 Aviva sold or wound down its operations in France, Italy, Poland, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkey and Hong Kong, returning around £4.75 billion to shareholders. The group now focuses on three core markets: the UK, Ireland and Canada, plus a wealth and pensions business.

In 2024 Aviva announced the acquisition of Direct Line Group for £3.7 billion, with completion in mid-2025. The deal makes Aviva the UK's largest personal lines insurer by some distance and adds the Direct Line, Churchill, Privilege and Green Flag brands to its line-up.

Aviva insurance: cover and prices in 2026

Aviva offers one of the broadest insurance ranges in the UK. Most policies come in a tiered structure (Essential / Standard / Premium) so you can pay only for the cover you need. The headline products are below.

The Aviva product range

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Aviva Car Insurance

Three tiers (Essential, Standard, Premium). Comprehensive, third-party fire and theft, or third-party only. Multi-car discount up to 25% and a free courtesy car on most policies.

• Uninsured driver promise.
• Lifetime guarantee on Aviva-approved repairs.
• New car replacement if written off in the first 12 months.

Buildings & contents

Aviva Home Insurance

Combined buildings and contents or standalone. Three tiers; Premium includes accidental damage and home emergency. Match Promise on renewals at Standard and above.

• Up to £1m buildings cover.
• Up to £75,000 contents cover.
• Optional Home Emergency add-on.

Top tier

Single or annual

Aviva Travel Insurance

Single trip up to 120 days or annual multi-trip with trips of up to 31 days (extendable to 90). Covers UK breaks of two or more consecutive nights.

• £10m emergency medical cover.
• Free cover for children on family policies.
• 24/7 emergency assistance worldwide.

Protection

Aviva Life Insurance

Term life, whole-of-life, decreasing (mortgage) cover and critical illness. Includes Aviva DigiCare+ wellbeing app for policyholders.

• Cover up to £5m.
• Terminal-illness benefit included as standard.
• Free DigiCare+ digital GP and mental-health support.

Cats & dogs

Aviva Pet Insurance

Lifetime, Max Benefit and Accident-only tiers. Lifetime policies refill the vet-fee limit each year you renew.

• Vet-fee limits up to £12,000 a year.
• No exclusion for age once cover starts.
• Multi-pet discount of 10%.

Top tier

Wealth

Aviva Pensions & Investments

Self-invested personal pensions (SIPP), workplace pensions, stocks and shares ISAs and a Direct Saver platform. Around 4 million UK pension customers.

• Aviva SIPP from £0.40 a month.
• £25 a month minimum on the ISA.
• Free annual review for Aviva Wealth customers.

Aviva price-match moveAviva's Match Promise guarantees to beat your previous insurer's renewal price for at least one year on Standard and Premium home and motor policies. It applies only to direct customers, not through aggregators.

Making a claim with Aviva

Aviva accepts claims through the MyAviva app, the website or by phone. Most car and home claims are handled in-house rather than outsourced. Aviva publishes a quarterly claims report; in the last reported quarter it accepted 97% of home insurance claims and 98% of motor claims.

For step-by-step instructions, premium ranges and customer reviews, see our dedicated guides on Aviva home insurance and Aviva travel insurance.

MyAviva: app and online account

Every Aviva customer can manage every Aviva policy from a single MyAviva account on the web or in the iOS/Android app. From the app you can view documents, change cover, add a driver, renew, make a claim and access Aviva DigiCare+ (24/7 digital GP, mental health support, second opinions on diagnoses, nutrition guidance).

• Sign in: by username (typically your email) and password. Biometric login is supported on iOS Face ID, Touch ID and Android fingerprint.
• Forgotten username: recoverable by email or by entering your name, postcode and date of birth.
• Forgotten password: reset by entering your username and date of birth; Aviva sends a reset link to the email on file.
• Two-factor authentication: optional, via SMS or an authenticator app.

Aviva DriveAviva Drive is a free app that scores your driving over 200 miles; high-scoring drivers can be quoted a discount on Aviva Car Insurance at the next renewal.

Aviva customer service

Every important Aviva contact line is collected below. Numbers in Selectra blue are the ones most customers need on day one. All numbers are tapped to dial straight from a mobile.

Contact Aviva by phone

Contact Aviva online

• MyAviva: log in to the app or website for secure messaging and most policy changes.
• Live chat: available from the Aviva help pages during UK business hours.
• X (Twitter): send a DM to @AvivaUK for general queries (never share policy or payment details).
• Email: [email protected] for general queries; sensitive issues should go through MyAviva.

Aviva head office address

Aviva plc, 80 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 4AE. For policy correspondence and complaints, use the address on your policy schedule rather than the head office.

How to complain about Aviva

Raise the issue first with Aviva by phone, in MyAviva or in writing. If Aviva does not resolve the complaint within eight weeks, or you receive a final response you disagree with, you can escalate the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service free of charge.

Is Aviva a good insurer? Reviews and ratings

Aviva scores in the upper-mid pack on most UK insurance benchmarks. The 2025 Fairer Finance ratings give Aviva home insurance a four-star rating for transparency and complaints handling, and Aviva motor a three-star rating. On Trustpilot, Aviva sits at around 4.4/5 from more than 50,000 reviews, ahead of Direct Line and Churchill but behind LV= and NFU Mutual.

The most common criticism in reviews is renewal pricing: aggregator quotes are often cheaper than what existing customers pay at renewal. The Match Promise mitigates this only on direct policies bought through Aviva itself, not via price-comparison sites.

If price is your priority, run an Aviva quote alongside our list of the best UK insurance providers before you renew.

Aviva news 2024–2026

• December 2024: Aviva agrees a recommended £3.7bn cash-and-shares takeover of Direct Line Group, including the Churchill, Privilege and Green Flag brands.
• March 2025: Group profit before tax rises to £1.78 billion, with general insurance gross written premiums up 14% year on year.
• July 2025: Aviva completes the Direct Line acquisition, becoming the largest UK personal-lines insurer with roughly 20 million UK customers.
• 2026: Aviva extends the DigiCare+ wellbeing app to all eligible policyholders and adds AI-led claims triage on motor and home claims.

Aviva timeline

• 1696: Hand-in-Hand fire insurance founded after the Great Fire of London.
• 1797: Norwich Union founded.
• 1885: General Accident founded in Perth, Scotland.
• 1998: General Accident merges with Commercial Union to form CGU plc.
• 2000: CGU and Norwich Union merge to form CGNU.
• 2002: CGNU rebrands as Aviva plc.
• 2009: The Norwich Union brand is retired in favour of Aviva.
• 2020: Amanda Blanc becomes group CEO and refocuses the group on the UK, Ireland and Canada.
• 2024: Aviva announces the £3.7bn acquisition of Direct Line Group.
• 2025: Direct Line acquisition completes; Aviva becomes the UK's largest personal-lines insurer.

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