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Aviva (LSE:AV.) shares have been a breath of fresh air in my portfolio since I bought them in late 2023 at 413p apiece. Not only have they appreciated in value to 644p, they’ve also pumped out lovely growing dividends.
But I was wondering recently how many Aviva shares it would take to pay for the average monthly energy bill. According to EDF Energy, this is currently £147 for a medium-sized household.
Let’s take a closer look at this FTSE 100 insurance stock to find out.
Strong performance
After more than a decade in the wilderness following the financial crisis, Aviva stock has burst back into life in recent years. Under CEO Amanda Blanc, the insurer has exited nearly all international markets to focus on more profitable businesses in the UK, Ireland, and Canada.
Importantly, Aviva has pivoted towards wealth management and general insurance in the UK — products that require less cash sitting on the balance sheet than life insurance. This asset-light strategy has been paying dividends, quite literally.
We are accelerating our growth in capital-light areas, in line with our strategy, and now expect our business to be over 75% capital-light by the end of 2028. This is good news for shareholders, as we deliver stronger growth and better returns, using less capital. The outlook for Aviva has never been better.
CEO Amanda Blanc, Q3 2025
In Q3, general insurance premiums rose 12% to £10bn, while its wealth business secured net flows of £8.3bn, bringing assets to £224bn. In the UK, there was a 24% jump in personal lines (motor, home, travel insurance, etc), which largely reflected Aviva’s £3.7bn acquisition of Direct Line.
Encouragingly, Direct Line’s £100m cost-cutting plan was finished three months early, and Aviva is now targeting £225m of additional synergies by 2028. The combined businesses forms the UK’s largest motor and home insurer.
Passive income plan
Turning to income, the latest 12-month forecast puts Aviva’s forward-looking dividend yield at a very respectable 6.4%. This represents a FY25 final dividend in May and a FY26 interim dividend expected around October.
So, to earn £147 per month — the equivalent of £1,764 per year — to pay for an energy bill, an investor would need to spread these two payments out across the year. The shares would cost around £27,000 at today’s market price.
Naturally, that’s an unaffordable sum for most people. However, it’s possible to build towards it by investing, say, £600 per month in Aviva shares.
In this scenario, it would take just under three and a half years to accumulate enough shares to pay £1,764 in annual dividends. This assumes payouts are reinvested during this period rather than spent.
Unfortunately, UK energy bills will probably be higher in three years’ time, but hopefully Aviva’s dividend will rise to offset that.
For simplicity’s sake, I’ve also assumed a stable share price across this period, which is unlikely (ideally, it will rise).
Diversification
No stock is risk-free, of course, and Aviva could underperform if the UK economy hits the rocks over the next couple of years. This might see consumers cancel certain insurance policies.
Also, it would be best to not put all eggs in one Aviva-shaped basket. But as part of a diversified high-yield ISA portfolio, I think this FTSE 100 stock is well worth considering today.
