Aviva to sell car insurance in Poland

Aviva, Britain's biggest insurer, is to enter the direct motor insurance market in Poland to take advantage of the rising number of drivers as the country becomes more affluent.

Tidjane Thiam, Aviva's group executive director responsible for the European business, predicts that the Polish car insurance market will double to almost £4bn in annual premiums in the next 10 years. "The economy is growing very strongly, disposable income is growing fast and people own more cars," he said.

Aviva already offers life and home insurance in Poland, where it is number two in the life and pensions market, Mr Thiam said. The company plans to sell car insurance over the internet and telephone, although the market currently operates mainly via third parties such as brokers. "It is a bet on the future," Mr Thiam said.

"Direct business takes a while to develop but when it takes off it's very sudden and strong. We believe it will happen in Poland."

A higher percentage of the Polish population owns cars than in the UK, says Aviva, with penetration at 43pc of the population in Poland compared to 32pc in the UK. Currently about 26pc of Polish drivers have fully comprehensive car insurance but this figure is increasing as sales of new cars rise, the company said.

Aviva has about 3.5 million customers in Poland already and employs 3,000 agents to distribute promotional material.

Mr Thiam said the group was considering rebranding its Polish business, known as Commercial Union Poland, under the Aviva banner.

Source:By Caroline Muspratt, telegraph.co.uk