Up to 250 RSA jobs at risk after insurer’s decision to exit personal lines market

RSA has revealed that up to 250 jobs in Peterborough are at risk following the insurer’s decision to exit the personal lines market.

The firm told Insurance Times that it was “briefing our people in Peterborough about a reduction in job numbers that will be phased over the next two years”.

Staff based in the area largely support RSA’s home insurance partnership with Nationwide.

However, in January 2025 it was announced that Nationwide had reached an agreement with Aviva to become the new service provider for its home insurance product.

RSA decided to stop offering home insurance as part of its decision to leave the personal lines market in December 2023.

Following the Nationwide deal, RSA said it had been ”in detailed discussions with Aviva regarding what this means for our people”.

“We have confirmed that Aviva will manage the vast majority of the Nationwide work from its existing offices in Perth and Glasgow when they take over the contract starting in the Autumn,” an RSA spokesperson added.

“Aviva’s partnership business, including travel insurance for Nationwide, is managed from its operations in Scotland.

“RSA currently employs c450 people in Peterborough, 250 of which support the Nationwide contract.

“These people are now entering into an extended period of discussions as we wind down our support to Nationwide over at least the next two years.”

Union response

Unite the union, which represents staff employed across both RSA and Aviva, is pressing for the businesses to work together to ensure all options are explored to minimise job losses.

Unite national officer Caren Evans said: “This announcement will be devasting for the local Peterborough community.

“Unite is working tirelessly to explore every possible alternative to job losses and pressing for redeployment.”

The RSA spokesperson said that there “will be a small reduction in roles in September, with the majority of the reductions throughout 2026 as the ramp down of existing Nationwide business will take at least two years to complete”.

“We will seek to maximise redeployment opportunities, as well as providing a full package of support to our people including outplacement help, hosting recruitment fairs and proactively contacting other local employers,” they added.