RSA Insurance Group said net written premiums for the first nine months of 2015 increased 1% to £4.4 billion, after the failed US$8.6 billion takeover bid by
Zurich Insurance Group caused a “distraction”.
RSA CEO Stephen Hester said: “Zurich’s unsolicited approach to RSA was a distraction in Q3... It is pleasing that our business continued to perform well despite that.” But he added that insurance “markets remain challenging and financial markets volatile”.
Premiums at RSA were up 4% in Scandinavia and 2% in the UK but fell 4% in Canada.
RSA’s shares were trading near their highest level in almost two years after Zurich made the bid, but have since slumped after the Swiss insurer abandoned the deal.
Zurich said Thursday it plans to cut jobs and exit some businesses as it reorganizes its general insurance unit. The company booked US$275 million in losses from the mid-August explosions in the Chinese port of Tianjin.
Around 200 heads will be cut in the general insurance unit, with reductions in Switzerland, the US, Ireland and the UK taking place this year. The company will exit the North American trucking business line.
