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A massive week for breaking news on insurancetimes.co.uk was dominated by a handful of major announcement that brought online readers flocking to the site.

The most popular story of the week was one of the biggest shocks of the year to date. Web traffic soared as the news broke that RSA UK chief executive Bridget McIntyre was to step down from her position.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, RSA announced her departure after three years at the insurer. The company’s statement said McIntyre had “made a significant contribution to the UK business”, a feeling shared by brokers and rival insurers. RSA’s chief operating officer Adrian Brown will fill her shoes immediately, and will hope to continue the company’s resurgence, in which many believe McIntyre was instrumental, particularly in pushing up rates.

McIntyre’s monthly blog, Bridget’s Blog, proved to be one of the most popular blog entries of the year, while further news that RSA’s share price had again risen to record levels amid takeover speculation, kept the insurer firmly in the news in the past week.

Breaking news regarding LV=’s offer for Highway Insurance Group was a close second on the Most Read list. Initially, Highway had announced it was in takeover talks with an unnamed suitor, and confirmed LV= as the potential buyer the following morning, along with its interim results.

The insurer, aiming to become a top five player in its sector, will pay 73.35p per share in cash as well as an interim dividend of 1.65p for the business, that will give it a firm standing in the motor market.

The third most popular story of the week was Insurance Times’ news that broking giant Aon is believed to be preparing a bid for JLT, following its £844m offer for Benfield. A source close to Aon said the global broker has the spare cash, and the deal would be a natural fit. However, doubts were raised on whether the Competition Commission would allow such a deal. Watch this space.

Also making the top five was Heath Lambert’s latest contract win, after it was appoint as broker to Alstom, a global leader in equipment and services for power generation and rail transport.

It is set to deal with its UK business, including West Coast Traincare, and follows Heath’s previous success when it was appointed as broker for the £15.9bn Crossrail project, a Most Read story back in July.

Finally, Manchester broker Bollington’s appointment of Chris Patterson crept into the top five. He joins from Aviva, and will take charge of the broker’s wholesale operations.

Email: danny.walkinshaw@instimes.co.uk