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RSA Insurance to unveil deeper cost-cutting plan - FT

(Reuters) - RSA Insurance Group Chief Executive Stephen Hester is set to unveil a deeper cost-cutting plan at the London-based general insurance provider as it works to turn around its business, the Financial Times reported.

RSA, which according to the report had earlier set a cost-saving target in excess of 180 million pounds, will be updating the market on its progress on Thursday, RSA spokeswoman Louise Shield said in an emailed statement.

Hester is likely to unveil a more explicit, increased expense reduction target when he presents RSA's full-year results this week, the Financial Times report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The company has hired consultants at McKinsey as its adviser for its cost-cutting initiatives, the report added.

RSA, best known for its More Than home and motor insurance brand, has been undergoing a series of restructuring initiatives after the firm was hit weather-related claims and an accounting scandal at its Irish unit in 2013.

Under the former Royal Bank of Scotland boss Hester, who was appointed in February 2014, the company has raised fresh capital and is selling non-core units and restructuring its business.

The firm's sell-off has included businesses in Asia, central Europe and Italy, with future disposals focussing on emerging markets other than Latin America.

Last week, the company said it had sold its 26 percent holding in Indian insurer Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Company for 46 million pounds in cash to its joint venture partner Sundaram Finance.

(Reporting by Zara Mascarenhas in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Brown)