Aviva chief executive Amanda Blanc has hailed the transformation of the insurer with growth across all areas of its business.

However, she has expressed concern over the prospect of Chancellor Rachel Reeves making changes to tax relief which amounted to £48.7 billion in 2022-23. There is speculation that Ms Reeves is considering a flat rate of 30% to replace the current tiers.

Ms Blanc said: “We would just caution that if you really want people to save for the long term, pensions are a long-term game.”

Her comments came as Aviva posted a 14% rise in group operating profit for the half year to £875m (HY232: £765m). The board has declared a 7% rise in the interim dividend per share to 11.9p (HY23: 11.1p).

General insurance premiums in Britain and Ireland were up 18% to £3.8 billion.

Ms Blanc said: “Sales are up. Operating profit is up. The dividend is up. Our plan to deliver more for customers and shareholders is working really well.

“We have achieved another six months of excellent trading. We have generated growth right across Aviva, thanks to our leading positions in attractive markets such as workplace pensions and general insurance in the UK and Canada.

“Aviva continues to benefit significantly from the balanced and diversified business we have built and lead. We are the only UK insurer which can look after customers’ entire insurance, wealth and retirement needs, and this is paying off.

“We have 270,000 more customers this year and 4.9 million UK customers have more than one policy with us.

“We are the number one provider of workplace pensions and are planning to launch a new venture and growth capital strategy. This will open up new investment opportunities for our pension customers and could help unlock billions of pounds of investment into unlisted growth companies.

“We remain very positive about Aviva’s prospects. Trading conditions across the UK, Ireland and Canada, are excellent. And the UK market, our largest, is highly attractive and growing. We see many reasons to invest here, including greater economic stability and political certainty.

“This encouraging backdrop – and Aviva’s continued strong financial performance – means we are increasingly confident we can deliver even more for our customers and shareholders.”

Shares were up 3.25p, or 0.7%, to 491.75p