INSURANCE group RSA today hailed the performance of its UK business today as it delivered an update on premiums.

Nov 6 2008 by Henryk Zientek, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Total written premiums for the first nine months of 2008 were ahead by 11% of £4.85bn – helped by growth in Canada and Scandinavia.

In the UK, the figure of £2.03bn for the first nine months of the year was achieved in a “competitive market” and came after RSA said it targeted profitable areas of business and stuck to tight underwriting rules.

In personal lines, premiums rose by 1% to £824m, despite the economic downturn on the house market and new car sales.

Commercial premiums of £1.21bn were in line with last year as growth in marine and commercial motor business offset lower capacity in areas such as corporate property.