Our Business

Our products and services can encourage customers to adopt behaviours that have environmental and social benefits, such as cutting energy use and promoting safer driving. Insurance products for disadvantaged groups protect those who are most vulnerable. For example:

• We are committed to improving road safety by offering a range of products and services that encourage safer driving and road safety awareness;
• We are one of the biggest insurers of social housing in the UK. In developing markets we work closely with government bodies and micro-finance companies to boost the number of products for disadvantaged communities; and 
• We offer a range of services that encourage customers to adopt more environmentally friendly behaviour such as discounted insurance for fuel efficient vehicles and policies that replace damaged goods with more environmentally friendly alternatives.

We aim to get customers back on their feet as soon as possible in the aftermath of an emergency or natural disaster.

Our emergency response teams are often the first on site offering support and advice to customers. We provide emergency payments for customers most seriously affected by large-scale incidents such as floods and earthquakes, and additional helpline support, advertising and media interviews to advise customers when making claims.

Improving satisfaction levels, resolving claims quickly and easily and dealing with complaints efficiently are all part of our commitment to customers.

We strive to ensure we are clear and transparent in our dealings with customers, using jargon free language in our policy documents and that any reasons for declining cover are understood.

We conduct surveys to get customer feedback throughout the claims process, including cancellation procedures. These insights help us to improve customer satisfaction and reduce unnecessary calls. If customers are disappointed with our products or service we ensure it is easy to raise a concern. We take all complaints very seriously and have robust processes in place to ensure they are handled fairly and in a timely manner.

Our Responsible Procurement Principles (see page 68 of our 2010 CR Report) govern our interactions with suppliers and set out the social and environmental standards we expect them to meet. Supplier assessments identify whether they represent significant risks but also how they can help us improve our environmental performance.

We support and encourage sustainable practices through our network of service providers, such as motor vehicle repairers and construction companies. We are also developing new products and services which encourage our customers to make responsible choices following their claims.

The majority of our UK equity investments are managed by F&C Asset Management which applies a responsible engagement overlay to RSA equity funds. F&C has one of the largest Governance and Socially Responsible Investment teams in Europe, enabling it to follow a policy of active engagement across its portfolios on environmental, social and governance issues.

RSA actively encourages fund managers to provide details on how they comply with the Financial Reporting Council UK Stewardship Code.

A request for information has been circulated to both UK and overseas fund managers relating to activity on the principles of the Code. Our response to the Code is available.

Principle 1 – Institutional investors should publicly disclose their policy on how they will discharge their stewardship responsibilities.

RSA encourages all material fund managers to provide details of where their stewardship policy is publicly located and how they will discharge their responsibilities.

Principle 2 – Institutional investors should have a robust policy on managing conflicts of interest in relation to stewardship and this policy should be publicly disclosed.

RSA encourages all material fund managers to provide details of where their conflict of interest policy is publicly located and how they will discharge their responsibilities. RSA expects any fund manager to give notification of any conflict of interest in writing as soon as they become aware.

Principle 3 – Institutional investors should monitor their investee companies.

RSA requires material fund managers to provide at minimum an annual report on their engagement activities with investee companies and where a material issue is found to be notified in writing as soon as they become aware.

Principle 4 – Institutional investors should establish clear guidelines on when and how they will escalate their activities as a method of protecting and enhancing shareholder value.

RSA requires material fund managers to provide at minimum an annual report on their guidelines on escalation and details of where this has occurred to protect and enhance shareholder value for RSA.

Principle 5 – Institutional investors should be willing to act collectively with other investors where appropriate.

RSA supports the decision of fund managers to collectively engage where practicable and material with disclosure of their collective engagement policy.

Principle 6 – Institutional investors should have a clear policy on voting and disclosure of voting activity.

RSA encourages material fund managers to provide their policy on voting and publicly disclose their records.

Principle 7 – Institutional investors should report periodically on their stewardship and voting activities.

RSA requires material fund managers to provide at minimum an annual report on their compliance with the code including voting records and engagement activity. Fund managers are encouraged to consider an independent audit if a signatory to the Code.