Aviva makes pensions promise after profits surge

Britain's biggest insurer Aviva revealed its best-ever performance in general insurance today to shatter market expectations for annual profits.

The group benefited from improved trading conditions and the acquisition of motoring group RAC as it posted an operating surplus of £2.9bn (€4.2bn), well ahead of the £2.65bn (€3.9bn) consensus forecast of analysts and 29% higher than 2004.