Aviva History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones

The historical origins of Aviva reflect the very birth of the modern insurance industry in Britain. In November 1696, following the catastrophic devastation of the Great Fire of London, a group of prominent merchants met at Tom's Coffee House in the City of London to establish the Hand in Hand Fire & Life Insurance Society, recognized today as the world's oldest mutual fire insurer. A century later, in 1797, entrepreneurial wine and insurance merchant Thomas Bignold established the Norwich Union Society for the Insurance of Houses against Fire in Norfolk, rebelling against extortionate London insurance rates and pioneering mutual profit-sharing for policyholders. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, predecessor companies including Commercial Union and General Accident expanded across the globe, earning enduring international trust in 1906 when Commercial Union paid out all claims from the devastating San Francisco earthquake and fire in full. In May 2000, Commercial General Union (CGU) and Norwich Union completed a landmark £15.0 billion merger of equals to form CGNU, officially rebranding as Aviva plc in 2002 to create a unified global financial identity.