There were surprises all round last week when British insurance giant CGNU announced it would change its name to the palindromic Aviva. The change, which was announced by Sunrise Exchange News within hours of the announcement being made in London – we even beat CGU’s internal announcement – is a clever marketing move.

It will bring some 50 companies together under a name that not only reads backwards and in mirror-image, but also sounds lively and is acceptable in any language. That’s what CGNU spent $2.7 million getting right.

 “We are creating a new and powerful international financial services brand,” Group CEO Richard Harvey said. “The CGNU name [created when CU and Norwich merged] was a pragmatic solution that was right for its time, but it was never part of our longer-term plans.”

Aviva will be applied to all companies except those in New Zealand, the Netherlands, Poland and Ireland. The solid brands of NZI, Hibernian, Delta Lloyd and Commercial Union will remain in those countries. 

CGNU seems to have done their research too, with positive results from consumers around the world. Mr Harvey said the new name brings with it “associations of life, vitality, and living well – this matches the aspirations we have for our customers”.  

The change is still subject to shareholder approval at the group’s AGM on April 23, and is scheduled to be completed in October.