Aviva plc is a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It has about 18 million customers across its core markets of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada. In the United Kingdom, Aviva is the largest general insurer and a leading life and pensions provider. Aviva is also the second largest general insurer in Canada. Aviva also has a focus on the growth markets of China and South East Asia through investments and joint ventures with other firms. Aviva has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Name The name of the company upon its formation in May 2000 was CGNU plc and was created when Norwich Union merged with insurer CGU. In April 2002, the company's shareholders voted to change the company name to Aviva plc, an invented palindrome word derived from "viva", the Latin for 'alive' and designed to be short, memorable and work worldwide. The Norwich Union brand, however, was retained for the UK long-term savings and general insurance business. In April 2008, Aviva announced that it would adopt the Aviva name as its worldwide consumer facing brand, and that the Norwich Union brand would be phased out in the United Kingdom. History Aviva can trace its history back to the establishment of the Hand in Hand Fire & Life Insurance Society in London in 1696. It was created by a merger of two British insurance firms, Norwich Union and CGU plc (itself created by the merger of 1998 of Commercial Union and General Accident) as CGNU in February 2000. The Aviva name was adopted in July 2002. Thereafter, most of the group operations, except for some strong local brands, were carried out under the uniform brand "Aviva". In 2002, Aviva purchased Abeille Vie, a French life insurance company. In March 2005, Aviva acquired the RAC plc breakdown recovery operation for around £1.1 billion. In July 2006, Aviva greatly increased its presence in the United States by acquiring AmerUs Group, a Des Moines based financial services company founded in 1896 in a $2.9 billion (£1.6 billion) deal. The launch was supported by a £9 million advertising campaign to promote the rebranding (one of the most expensive ever in the insurance field), with the participation of celebrities including Bruce Willis and Alice Cooper. In June 2009, the company decided to dispose of Navigator, its Australian wealth management