Spotlight on Norwich Union, the largest UK car insurance company

Norwich Union is one of the best-known car insurance companies in the UK and its own statistics reveal that it supplies motor insurance to one in five Brits. Read more about the largest car insurance companies in the UK.

However, it is not only in the area of car insurance that Norwich Union has enjoyed significant accomplishments; life and fire insurance have also been a crucial part of this firm's path to success.

A history of Norwich Union

Norwich Union was established over two centuries ago, back in 1797. It was started by a merchant named Thomas Bignold, who saw an opening in the market for a fire insurance company when he moved to the city of Norwich, which at that time was built mostly of wood. He named the insurance firm the none-too-catchy "Norwich Union Society for the Insurance of Houses, Stock and Merchandise from Fire." Read more about the history of insurance.

The early 1800s saw a devastating winter cause thousands of deaths in the UK and Bignold once again saw a market need. He soon founded the Norwich Union Life Insurance Society which would protect families from financial hardship following the death of a provider.

1824 marked an important year for Norwich Union, when they set up their first venture outside the British Isles. Portugal was the location and it turned out to be the first of many international enterprises for Norwich Union. It would lead to branches being set up in the rest of Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand throughout the 19th century.

In 1908, Norwich Union acquired the Norwich & London Accident Insurance Association. This was a significant point in Norwich Union's history, since it opened up access to the motor insurance industry. This was to prove important in the coming years, especially since the introduction of mandatory car insurance in the 1930s.

Following several successful acquisitions in the wartime era and the 1950s, Norwich Union went on to work with notable Swiss insurance company the Winterthur Group. Norwich Winterthur Holdings was established in 1976 in order to provide international insurance and reinsurance services.

Two years after this, Norwich Union reached an impressive milestone. The company was now responsible for more than five million policies, ranging from life insurance and marine insurance to car insurance and home insurance. At this time, the assets of The Life Society reached more than £2 billion.

1989 saw Norwich Union set up a second administrative centre, this time out of the city of Norwich. Instead, they chose Sheffield as another base from which to work and it has since been dubbed the company's "second head office".

Norwich Union Direct was formed in 1996, a year after Norwich Union took a 50% share in Virgin Direct. This move allowed Norwich Union to provide direct insurance for the first time in their long history.

The millennium marked a big change for Norwich Union as it merged with CGU. The resulting company was named CGNU but in 2002 this was changed to Aviva, which means "spring" in Hebrew. Although Aviva is the name used around the world, the name "Norwich Union" was kept in the UK for products such as car insurance and home insurance.

Norwich Union made front page news in 2006 after it launched its pay as you drive car insurance policy. Under this unusual policy, motorists do not get a standard type of car insurance quote. Instead, their driving habits are monitored through a black box installed in their car and then transferred to Norwich Union. Their car insurance bill is then calculated on a monthly basis depending on the exact details of their journeys over the past 31 days.

Today, Aviva employs approximately 64,000 people across the world and serves more than 25 million customers with all kinds of insurance policies. It is the largest car insurance company in the UK and the 78th largest company in the world. Read more about the five largest insurance companies in the world.

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*A replacement car can normally be arranged under one of the following conditions: (1) Comprehensive policyholders – a replacement car may be available under the terms of your insurance policy. Please check your policy details for more information. (2) Non fault accident – where we have the name, car registration number and insurance details of the person who caused the accident, we can supply a replacement car. This is done on a credit hire basis which means the costs for this service will be passed onto the insurance company of the person who caused the accident. We may not be able to arrange a replacement car where we are unable to get an admission of liability from their insurance company, or where the driver is untraceable or uninsured. (3) Repair garage – if your car is booked in for repairs following an accident, the repair garage may be able to provide a replacement car (subject to availability).