LONDON (Bloomberg) — Aviva Plc, the UK’s biggest insurer, said life and pension sales slowed in some overseas markets, damping strength in the UK and keeping gains slightly below analysts’ estimates.New business increased to $19.1 billion ($36 billion) for the nine months ended September 30, up 18 percent from $16.3 billion in the year-earlier period, the London-based company said yesterday. That compares with an average estimate of 19.3 billion pounds, according to 12 analysts surveyed by Aviva.

Chief executive officer Richard Harvey plans to shed jobs in the UK, even as sales rise, to counter overlapping products, increasing competition and slowing growth in some markets outside Britain. Sales in Spain fell four percent, and sales in the Netherlands fell 16 percent, the company said today.

“The UK was fine, but the international business was a little light,” said Kevin Ryan, an analyst at ING Financial Markets in London, who has a “buy” rating on the stock. “They were not blow out numbers and were a little bit average.”

Aviva shares fell 1.9 percent to 777 pence in London, giving the company a market value of $18.8 billion. The shares are up ten percent this year, compared with 11.3 percent for the FTSE All-Share Life Insurance Index.

Aviva “expects double digit growth in the UK this year and more modest growth in 2007,” said UK head Patrick Snowball in a conference call with journalists yesterday.

Aviva agreed to buy AmerUs Group Co. in July for $2.9 billion to boost life-insurance sales in the US. Its attempt to expand in Asia by purchasing UK rival Prudential Plc was rejected in March.

Worldwide, Aviva’s life and pension new business profit for the nine months rose 16 percent to $666 million, the company said. That compares with an average estimate of $672 million in Aviva’s analyst survey.

In continental Europe overall, volumes rose 6.7 percent to $9.3 billion as sales in the UK jumped 31 percent to $8.8 billion. UK Investment fund sales almost doubled to $1.67 billion in the period.