The above video is a message from Aviva & Railway Children in response to our 1 Day charity campaign which took place throughout June – for more information, please visit www.aviva.co.uk/1day

As we enter the final stretch of our 1Day charity initiative, we’ve been staggered by the amazing effort our brokers have made throughout the month.

We’re almost there – nearing our target of £80k.

Don’t forget, as well as 1%* of every sale, you can make a difference to children’s lives by signing up for our Recognition Wall  in which we’ll donate £10 to Street to School on your behalf (hurry – just over 100 bricks left!). If you wish, you can also make a personal donation by Clicking here.

We’ll be announcing the final total next week. Until then, please keep up your hard work in supporting this initiative.

Thank you

*1% calculated on the average Aviva General Insurance daily broker premium net of commissions in June 2010.

What’s new?

Why not check out our new specialist Commercial Property Owner’s insurance. Whether your client owns one property or ten, we have the policy and options to suit their individual needs. We cover most commercial properties, from office blocks and shops to warehouses and factories.

You can also now deal with mid term amendments on Fast Trade.  We plan to introduce more products and functionality to the site soon, so watch this space.

If you want to take a look now, just click here.

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It’s great news because members can now look to Facility 110 to provide underwriting solutions for risks that fall outside of Aviva’s remit.

A great start

We’ve seen a fantastic response from members since the launch, with over 120 signing up and using the facility.

Here’s a sample of what they’ve been saying,

“The service has been excellent, with a really fast turn-around on quotes. Documents for cases bound also seem to come through quickly.”

“We like the fact we can discuss complex cases with people who understand our needs and react accordingly”.

“It’s fair to say it has made a big difference to our business. Already we have secured orders for approx £50 k of premium, which would have been difficult to place without the new facility.”

“One of our account executives was trying to obtain terms for his local rugby club and Facility 110 proved very helpful. The service was good and saved us time in getting the business placed.”

“We’ve already used Facility 110 to quote for high risk/hazardous industrial cleaning, heavy haulage, scrap metalworker and even an off-road centre for quad bikes & ATVs”

Facility 110 is set to get better and better

Since the launch we’ve added specialist trades such as Residual value. Watch this space for more news and please keep sending us your feedback, we use it to improve the service.

If you reckon you could beat John Kitson in a penalty shoot out and you fancy a new iPod touch as your latest super-gadget, remember to play Flick It; our celebratory finger footy game!

To celebrate the switch to Aviva, we launched a great new game of finger footy, with a fantastic iPod touch as the prize.

Just get 5 out of 5 shots past John Kitson and enter for the premier prize draw before the 15th June deadline to be in with a chance.

There’s no limit to the number of entries. So, to maximise your chances of winning the iPod touch, keep nailing those shots – 5 out of 5 and keep submitting your entries.

Can they flick it?

See if your friends can take on John Kitson too – use the Challenge a Friend section to pass them the ball.

Flick It now and start your bid for the premier prize trophy.

Don’t forget, entries for the competition close 15th June 2009.

Ta-daaaa, www.aviva.co.uk/broker, your new website is here. Take a look around. As you’ll see, it’s all about you. Your needs as a broker, what makes your job easier and which navigation works best for you.

Seeing as our brokers contributed so much to the new design, now seems like the right time to give yourself a pat on the back – good work.

What’s new?

First off, finding your way around the site is refreshingly easy – no-nonsense navigation that’s intuitively laid out makes browsing a breeze.

Bespoke contact details for individual brokers identify you when you log in, so that membership services and benefits are automatically displayed in an easy-access tab titled ‘Exclusive’.

Key features

Put aviva.co.uk/broker to work and see what it can do for you:

•    let us know your agency details (under ‘My Profile’ and we’ll give you all the relevant contact details)
•    search smarter, including looking for products based on your clients’ occupations
•    double quick downloads for stationery and other documents
•    get step-by-step help at ‘How do I?’
•    find answers to common questions in our FAQs section – fast
•    easy-peasy reports and claims management
•    stay up-to-date on all things insurance with ‘The Loop’ – product updates, current promotions, breaking industry news and key-note opinions
•    receive just the communications you want from us – no more, no less

Speed to Fast Trade

From aviva.co.uk/broker you can jump straight to Fast Trade, our new commercial online trading platform.

As well as the existing five-package products, you can now quote and buy our new Commercial Property Owner’s package there too.

Quotes are much easier thanks to straightforward navigation. Plus, we’ve improved our quotability rates so if you do get referred, we’ll get back to you quicker.

Fast Trade provides copies of all quotes and new business documentation instantly, so you can secure cover for your clients in minutes.

Coming soon

Super-fast access to online mid-term adjustments, renewals and cancellations are on their way so there’s yet more great stuff to look forward to.

Over 200 years, any insurance company is bound to have a few bizarre claims to investigate. We dug into the archives and found some extraordinary claims.

These were my favourites – and clients love these stories of the more colourful side of insurance, too.

A racing pigeon had to be retired after being involved in a road accident, leading to a payout of £250 – for emotional distress! The poor bird just wasn’t itself after the truck carrying it ran into an estate car from behind, and never raced again…

One policyholder severed his own toes and then claimed they’d been crushed in an accident – needless to say we didn’t pay his claim (and nor did the 5 other insurers involved!). It turned out he’d also lopped off 3 fingers in an earlier attempt at fraud…

Board members at a building society’s new head office were mystified by rattling teacups in the top-floor boardroom. It turned out that the building’s deep steel foundations were vibrating like tuning forks as trains from a local quarry passed nearby…

Test your knowledge

English law dictates that a pigeon fancier must wear a flat cap. True or false?

If you think you know the answer comment below.

Our newly erected Aviva Tunnel

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The BIBA conference in Manchester was a huge success. Just imagine – 1,400 brokers under one roof. Awesome.

The aisles were bursting at the seams. There were brokers, insurers and other interested parties all getting the low down on the main events of the year.

The place was really buzzing. In fact, it had the kind of atmosphere you wouldn’t normally associate with a conference.

Time for some networking

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Better still, our own Aviva stand was a big hit and every one of our team got chatting to countless brokers. It was great to get feedback on how they would like to see us develop as a company.

The whole event was rounded off nicely by an emotional talk by Erin Brockovich who gave us an account of her legal battle against a giant Californian utility company over water pollution.

I just can’t wait for the next BIBA conference at London Excel.

Famous Norwich Union employees. Some surprising colleagues from the archives…

Ever wondered what your regular Norwich Union contacts do outside work? It turns out we’ve got quite a record of celebrity employees.

Past Norwich Union staffers who turned up in my research included Olympic ice dance champion Jayne Torvill, artist LS Lowry, and a pair of TV comedians: Leonard Rossiter and Cyril Fletcher of the BBC’s ‘That’s Life’.

Admittedly we did at one point employ John George Haigh, the notorious “Acid Bath Murderer” of the 1940s – but we sacked him for embezzlement.

Norwich Union’s star-studded customer list. Who’s keeping your customers company on our books?

I discovered a few illustrious policyholders as I dug around in our 200 years’ worth of archives – so your clients are in good company. Churchill was a little worried about getting hurt in the army, and Newton seems to have been very aware of the physics of fire…

John F Kennedy
General Accident (later to merge with Commercial Union) provided motor insurance for the Kennedy family until 1972, including US President John F Kennedy.

Sir Robert Walpole
The Hand-in-Hand Fire and Life Insurance Society (later to become part of Commercial Union) insured the house of Robert Walpole in 1710. Walpole went on to become Britain’s first prime minister (although the term didn’t exist back then).

Sir Isaac Newton
The Hand-in-Hand Fire and Life Insurance Society insured a house belonging to the famous mathematician and physicist in 1717.

Sir Walter Scott
Our archive includes an 1824 policy on the life of this famous novelist, taken out with the Edinburgh Life Assurance Company (later acquired by the Commercial Union Assurance Company).

Sir Winston Churchill
In 1896, as a young officer in the 4th Queen’s Own Hussars, Churchill took out a personal accident policy with the Accident Insurance Company (later acquired by Commercial Union).

Freddie Mercury
Insured by the Norwich Union Life Insurance Society Ltd in the 1980s.

Agatha Christie
In the 1950s the Norwich Union Life Insurance Company Ltd insured the crime writer under her married name of Agatha Mallowen.

Test your knowledge:

Which Englishman was a pioneer of photography?

A: Fox Talbot
B: Hound Talbot
C: Port Talbot

If you think you know the answer comment it below.