The Norwich Union name faces the axe

31st March 2008

AVIVA is said to be giving serious consideration to scrapping the 200-year-old Norwich Union name as part of its plans to become a global giant.

Chief executive Andrew Moss and his fellow board directors are expected to decide fate of Norwich Union by the end of this year.

The move would be part of a global brand shake-up that would also see off other brands famous in their own countries, such as the Hibernian brand in Ireland.

Moss is aware of the need to consider the fate of Norwich Union extremely carefully, given its heritage. However, the name means little outside the UK.

The company currently generates well over half its profits from international operations 11 per cent of them from the fast-growing Asian markets.

Moss has already dropped one historic City brand. Morley Fund Managers was renamed Aviva Investments earlier this year. His strategy for the company is summed up as: “One Aviva, twice the value.”

It is believed, however, that the RAC brand will survive any cull in the shakeup.

The comp­any’s research has shown the motoring organisation’s name enjoys an affinity that Norwich Union’s does not.

“When you’ve been rescued by a company from a freezing roadside, you tend to feel quite warm and fuzzy about them,” said one industry insider.

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