The Norwich Union brand has been revitalised by Aviva after it was dropped a decade ago, it has been confirmed.

The brand will be back in business for the first time since 2009, when it became fully absorbed into Aviva following its takeover in 2002.

The brand, complete with its classic logo, is being used as the trading banner for a new specialist product.

A spokeswoman for Aviva said: "It is good practice to utilise the goodwill in our legacy brand estate when a suitable opportunity arises, to distinguish from the main Aviva brand.

MORE: Ten nurseries close leaving 450 families without childcare"We have brought back previously discontinued brands in the past including the 'General Accident' brand and the 'quote me happy' trademark."

Norwich Union will be used specifically in relation to a new legal indemnity policy which has been launched onto a specialist broker aggregator site.

The site in question is Dual, which is also based in Norwich but has brokers across the UK.

The spokeswoman went on: "We are just using the Norwich Union brand for this specific proposition. Norwich Union has a strong recall for brokers and customers. It will enable us to keep an important part of our brand history."

Norwich Union was taken over almost two decades ago by Aviva, and had operated out of Surrey Street for 200 years prior.

It was founded by merchant and banker Thomas Bignold, the company first offered insurance against fire.

In 1808 it established a second company, the Norwich Union Life Insurance Society.

The Union then floated on the Stock Exchange in 1997, turning it into a FTSE 100 Index company.

The Aviva takeover came five years later, with the decision to axe the Norwich Union brand being announced in April 2008.

At the time Aviva said this was to "emphasise the global nature of the business".

Dropping the name was very complex, and required the change of around 10,000 legal and policy documents, as well as leaflets, security information and other marketing material.