RSA posts 59 per cent premium growth in UAE

Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance yesterday said it posted 43 per cent growth in premiums in 2008 in the Asia and Middle East region while the UAE premiums rose 59 per cent.

Scott Pickering, CEO for Asia and Middle East, said: "These are a tremendous set of results and demonstrate the positive impact of our continued focus on delivery and sustainable profitable performance."

The results have been led by the Middle East operations which delivered another year of profitable growth driven by the UAE business that grew its premiums by 59 per cent. Overall, the premiums by 50 per cent in the Middle East.

In Greater China, the business grew by eight per cent. The group also received regulatory approval to expand in China with the establishment of a branch in Beijing in 2009.

RSA's Singapore operations contributed to the regional results with strong premium growth of 10 per cent during 2008. Royal Sundaram, the associate company of RSA in India, continued to build momentum with a premium growth of 28 per cent compared to the previous year.

"It is going to be a demanding year, but I believe there will be market opportunities for us to take advantage of in 2009," Pickering said.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.