Aviva said this was driven by a strong response to its flexible repayment proposition.
The performance made equity release one of the strongest performing areas within Aviva’s retirement division, alongside individual annuities, which saw sales rise by 11%.
Individual protection declines
Protection new business sales increased by 1% in HY26 to £173m, compared with £172m a year earlier. Growth was driven by group protection, which offset a decline in individual protection sales.
Group protection sales increased by 6% to £86m, up from £81m in HY25, with Aviva attributing the growth to strong new business performance, particularly within the large corporate segment.
Meanwhile, individual protection sales fell by 4% to £87m, compared with £91m in the previous year.
Despite the modest overall sales growth, Aviva said it remained focused on “value over volume”, which supported higher new business margins.
This was reflected in a 7% increase in protection value of new business.
However, protection operating profit declined by 14% to £49m, down from £57m in HY25.
Aviva said this was driven by adverse experience and continued investment in propositions, partly offset by higher contractual service margin releases.
