In Brief

RSA gets into bodyshops
Royal & SunAlliance has followed the lead of rival insurers Direct Line and Churchill by purchasing four bodyshop repairers. They were purchased from Lex Bodycentres, in Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds and Luton. RSA has selected the sites as its highest concentration of policyholders are in those areas.

IT Direct has it Cover-ed
IT Direct, the technology procurement arm of Lloyd's Insurance Services, is to promote the services of Northern Irish technology company Cover.Net within the Lloyd's and London markets. It will enable insurers, Lloyd's and non-Lloyd's brokers to operate Cover.Net's product delivery mechanisms and back office accounting tools, such as credit card clearance services.

Aon arrives in Scots capital
Giant broker Aon has opened a new office in Edinburgh. The office is in the new building at 40 Torphichen Street, and will also display work by the students of Edinburgh College of Art.

E-commerce shows the way
The London Insurance IT 2000 Exhibition will be held at the Baltic Exchange on May 17, 18 and 19. It will concentrate on the importance of e-commerce for both underwriting and broking. More information can be found at www.it-direct.co.uk

LPC served up people award
The London Processing Centre (LPC) has been awarded the nationally recognised Investor in People (IiP) Standard for its customer service and business performance operations. LPC chief executive Mike Hannan said: "We must ensure that our staff are equipped to meet the challenges of processing in a dynamic market."

Heavyweights get personal
Dozens of leading insurance figures will be speaking at a three-day conference on personal lines held at the Savoy, Strand, London on May 17, 18 and 19. Industry heavyweights include Andy Beveridge, head of marketing and development at RSA, and Guy Summerfield, claims manager at Independent Insurance. For more information, contact Caroline Fuller at 020 7453 2097.