Aviva has announced in its latest interim report that it will pay out a dividend of nearly a third less than it did before the Coronavirus pandemic.

Aviva reported strong growth in its life and pensions business for the third quarter of the year.

UK and Ireland life insurance new business sales rose 40% in the first nine months of the year to £9.2bn.

The insurers UK savings and retirement business reported a 20% increase in net fund flows to £6bn. Growth was seen in both workplace and retail platforms.

Aviva investors saw third party net fund flows rise from £500m to £1.2bn due to new business wins in the UK and North America.

In its third quarter update, Aviva said it would pay in interim dividend of 7p per share. The insurance and pensions giant also predicted it would pay a final dividend of 14p per share for the tax year ending March 2021.

The total pay-out of 21p compares to a dividend of 30p per share for its tax year ending March 2019.

The insurance giant cut its dividend for the year ending March 2020 to 15.5p per share after the Bank of England wrote to banks and insurers suggesting they should conserve cash due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Aviva appointed a new chief executive, Amanda Blanc, in July this year. She has refocused the business on its UK, Irish and Canadian markets after profits fell at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Ms Blanc said the insurer was making progress in its attempts to simplify its portfolio. Aviva announced the sale of its Italian business earlier this week after having sold its Singapore business in September.

She said: “We are making good progress in our strategy to simplify Aviva’s portfolio and have recently announced the sale of Aviva Singapore and Aviva Vita in Italy for £2 billion.

“The first nine months have demonstrated Aviva’s ability to grow in core markets where we have attractive, long-term growth prospects.

“The response of our people to the Covid crisis has been nothing less than phenomenal and I would like to thank them for all they have done for our customers this year. We continue to work at pace to deliver our strategy, support our customers, and unlock value for Aviva shareholders.”