R&SA offshores 1,200 to India

Royal & Sun Alliance (R&SA) has become the latest insurance company to join the exodus from the UK by announcing the offshoring of 1,200 roles to India over the next two years.

The company claims the move will deliver annual cost savings in excess of £10m and shares in R&SA rose on the back of the announcement.

The phased transfer will involve front-line customer service and back-office administration positions across R&SA and its direct insurance arm More Th>n. R&SA finished a six-month pilot in September of 100 More Th>n roles in India.

Duncan Boyle, UK CEO of R&SA claimed the loss of UK jobs will largely be accommodated through "natural turnover and redeployment".

He said in a statement: "We have kept our people informed at all stages and have fully consulted with our union partners and will continue to work closely with them over the next two years."

Boyle said the move is as a result of the increased competitive environment in financial services and that it will help cut costs and provide greater operational flexibility.

R&SA said the operation in India will be run exactly the same as the UK centres with the same performance measures and standards.

Industry body the National Outsourcing Association said that despite the apparent high numbers of jobs being transferred, the actual number of UK jobs being offshored is still relatively small. Figures from analyst firm NelsonHall show 1.4 per cent of service jobs in the UK have been offshored to date, the majority for basic administration and low-level back office positions.