UK insurer Aviva doubles CEO's pay to £5.6 million in 2015

LONDON (Reuters) - British insurer Aviva more than doubled chief executive Mark Wilson's pay to 5.67 million pounds last year, from 2.6 million in 2014, after the purchase of rival Friends Life, Aviva's annual report showed on Tuesday.

Aviva completed the 5.6 billion pound acquisition in April 2015, creating a market leader in life insurance. It posted a 20 percent rise in operating profit for 2015.

Wilson received a bonus of 1.78 million pounds or 182 percent of his basic salary, compared with a maximum possible 200 percent payout, due to "strong financial performance" and progress on strategic objectives last year, Aviva said.

The CEO, who joined Aviva at the beginning of 2013, also received 2.56 million pounds from a long-term incentive plan (LTIP), based on three-year performance to end-2015. Wilson did not get any LTIP payments in 2014, the report showed.

(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Alexander Smith)