Aviva’s Jason Storah: ‘Personal lines market needs a bit of rope’

Following personal lines rates dropping by “about 11%” over the past 12 to 18 months, this marketplace “needs a bit of rope” – otherwise “the industry just can’t last too long”, according to Jason Storah, general insurance chief executive for UK and Ireland at insurer Aviva.

Speaking exclusively to Insurance Times following the publication of Aviva’s 2025 full-year financial results on 5 March 2026, Storah explained that Aviva has taken the decision to increase its personal lines rates “a point or two” above the market average because the “overall personal lines market needs rate”.

He added: “We have put rates up a little bit recently and we are going to [continue to do so]. Last year, rates were down about 11% – we were up about a point or two [on that].

“The overall personal lines market needs rate. Long term, the personal lines market needs a bit of rope.”

Storah used the example of the motor insurance market, citing figures from professional services firm Ernst and Young (EY) that were published in December 2025.

EY’s market update predicted that the UK motor insurance market would “be loss-making in 2026”, with a net combined ratio of “101% and 111% respectively forecast for the next two years”.

And despite EY estimating that motor premium prices would improve by 3% over the course of 2026, the organisation still believes that this line of business will “fall deeper into the red” this year “as escalating claims costs outpace the level of price increases”.

Storah added: “Rate has been going down in the personal lines market for 12 to 18 months across the whole market. [But] let’s say inflation is in the low to mid-single digits.

“So, as soon as you’re into year two of low to mid-single digit inflation, if [personal lines] rates are going down 11% a year and inflation’s gone up 3.5% in one year alone, you’ve created a 14.5% delta.

“The industry just can’t last too long [in these conditions], particularly when EY data is that the industry combined operating ratio for motor is going to be 111%, so that’s not a healthy motor market.”

The year ahead

Aviva confirmed in its trading update this month that its UK personal lines premiums grew by 50% in 2025 – the insurer attributed this uptick to its July 2025 purchase of Direct Line Group (DLG), as well as ongoing broker support.

With this positive growth in mind, Storah is optimistic about what Aviva can achieve in its personal lines book for 2026.

He said: “We’ve got some massive inherent and strategic advantages as Aviva given our size and scale. So, things like artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, all of that – we’re good with that.

“We’re not knee jerking on any of the speculative comments that are out in the media and people thinking that there’s doomsday or whatever. [Aviva had a] good 2025, but that is in the rear view mirror – everybody’s focused on this year.”