RSA sells UK Healthcare & Assistance business to management
Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA) has sold its UK Healthcare & Assistance business in a management buy-out. Former managing director of the business Tim Ablett and current managing director Steve Wood acquired the business for £147m, in a deal backed by Barclays Private Equity.
The new business ' named FirstAssist, a brand inherited from RSA ' aims to rival industry giants such as BUPA and CIGNA.
All 12,000 RSA staff will be moved to the new company and will operate from the same offices to limit disruption. Product-wise, although the firm will continue to provide individual private medical insurance (PMI), it will con- centrate on group PMI, in addition to cash plans, personal accident and legal expenses cover.
According to Ablett, who will move from his current role as managing director at Groupama Insurances to become chief executive of the new firm, it is on rehabilitation services that FirstAssist will stand out. It aims to focus on a holistic approach to rehabilitation and employee risk ' helping companies with health and safety issues to drive down sickness absence. The firm is also not ruling out working with income protection insurers to provide external rehabilitation services.
'We want to provide a more holistic approach and joined-up thinking to the way we do business. I think there are signs of other providers ' especially BUPA ' trying to provide this kind of service. But there is definitely a gap in the market,' said Ablett.
The firm will also remain an IFA-driven company, according to Ablett.
Commenting on the reasons behind the buy-out, Ablett said: 'It was partly opport-unistic and partly because it was a business I was responsible for when I worked at RSA. The business is an area I have had interest in for a very long time ' it has so much market potential. When I heard last autumn that RSA was disposing of the business, I decided to get involved in the auction process.'
Ablett said FirstAssist is due to officially launch in mid- May, when the firm will unveil more detailed plans of its proposition.
