RSA in the UAE reports record growth for Q3 2008

From a group level through to individual country operations, the balance sheet and capital position remains strong and RSA has continued to benefit from a high quality, low-risk investment strategy and a resilient capital position

Commenting on the region's business results, Scott Pickering, CEO Asia and Middle East said:

"The significant growth this quarter is extremely encouraging, especially when we are experiencing challenging market conditions globally. Our success reflects the continued investment we have made in ensuring that our focus remains on hiring top industry talent, researching local markets to ensure that we are giving customers exactly what they need and using our global brand to our advantage."

RSA successfully launched Risk Management Solutions in October 2008, offering customers a comprehensive range of services to mitigate the risks affecting real assets and operations, which has proven extremely popular in the Middle East region. RSA has also continued to form strategic alliances with some of the regions top brands, recently announcing a new affinity partnership forged with Etihad Airways, one of the region's fastest growing airlines.

RSA operations in Oman, KSA & Bahrain have also seen significant business growth. The overall Asia and Middle East region reported a double digit growth, with premiums up by 36%.

Paul Holmes, RSA CEO in the UAE said: "We remain up beat going into the final quarter of 2008. We're committed to providing excellent value to our customers and we are confident we can keep up momentum into 2009. CSR is engrained at the heart of RSA and we are especially proud of our achievements in 2008. Not only have we focused on our green product offering and renewable energy propositions across the world, but we have also launched the inaugural RSA volunteer week, following its success around the world. Commencing on the 16th November for one week, more than 800 RSA employees across the Middle East and Asia will dedicate in excess of 4500 hours to helping with local projects to support their local communities."

RSA continues to build on its ambitious regional growth strategy through senior appointments across a variety of insurance sectors, strengthening its position as the preferred insurer among both individual and commercial customers.