Insurer Aviva puts on show of strength

Insurance giant Aviva, owner of Norwich Union, positioned itself today as a source of strength in an age of financial uncertainty, claiming it has dodged the credit crunch.

Finance director Philip Scott said: "Our balance sheet remains strong. This credit crunch has been about lending businesses. We are not in the lending business and we had not been buying these exotic instruments."

Sales for the first three months of the year are up 2% at £9.4 billion. UK sales slipped 3% to £2.77 billion, the first sign of a slowdown in sales growth in the home market for a couple of years.