Aviva, the UK's largest insurance group, may be forced to move more jobs abroad because of costly red tape, it has emerged.
Aviva, the UK's largest insurance group, may be forced to move more jobs abroad because of costly red tape, a leading national newspaper has reported.
Patrick Snowball, the chief executive of Norwich Union Insurance, part of the Aviva group, said an increase in regulations and taxes could force the company to relocate parts of its business to countries where costs are lower.
"Technology has allowed financial services companies to go overseas in the way that manufacturing did some 20 years ago," he said.
"We are under pressure to get costs down and quality up and technology allows us to go to the areas where service is best and costs lowest."
Earlier this year, Aviva shifted jobs to new call centres in Delhi and Bangalore. It plans to employ 1,000 more people at its India sites by the end of 2003.
Mr Snowball warned that more offshore centres could open unless new rules covering employment rights were removed.
