Experts estimate that 900 UK jobs will be lost in a capital raising exercise by Royal & SunAlliance.
The main components of the exercise, which was announced this morning, are the sale of RSUI in the United States and the demerger of its Australian business. This will float in late 2003.
R&SA said that it will exit or discontinue businesses in which it doesn't have a competitive advantage and deploy the capital in parts of the company where rates are increasing.
These measures will equate to a £3.5bn reduction in gross written premiums. The process, which will be completed by 2004, should free up some £750m of capital. Experts said that this will result in the loss of around 900 jobs.
R&SA is already committed to realising around £800m of extra cash this year from more or less the same sort of process.
In the same announcement RSA said it will bolster its reserves by a further £250m in the final quarter, having already doubled them to £750m earlier this year.
Operating profit for the nine months to the end of September was £471m up from £307m for the same period last year
"The group's results in recent years have been disappointing," said chairman Sir Patrick Gillam.
He added: "We have not executed our strategy as effectively and as quickly as we should have done.
"And we have not produced the results a group like Royal & SunAlliance should be producing. We recognise that we must deliver an improved performance and, as evidenced by the scale and boldness of the decisions we have taken, we
will."
Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
