As part of a scheduled meeting with investors and analysts the UK 's Royal & SunAlliance Insurance Group plc has issued a bulletin detailing how it plans to "drive profitable performance" and how it plans to achieve its new targets. R&SA hopes to realise a further £130 million of annualised expense savings, which it said represents approximately nine percent of the 2005 cost base, to be delivered by mid 2008. "These savings will be driven in part by a reduction in headcount of 1,550, including 1,000 in the UK," said the announcement. The other cuts include 350 in Scandinavia, 160 in International units and 40 in its corporate centre.

R&SA said it has "consulted fully with its union partners in the UK and Scandinavia and will continue to work closely with them over the next two years to minimise the number of compulsory redundancies. The costs of realising the expense savings of around £100 million will be funded by the expected savings over the next two years and will not adversely impact profitability."

The bulletin referred to R&SA's 2003 plan to restructure the Group, which it said has now been achieved. It is now concentrated on "businesses in the UK, International and Scandinavia with strong market positions, market leading underwriting and claims expertise and best in class technology. The Group target of achieving £270 million of annualised expense savings by the end of 2006 has now been delivered ahead of schedule."

The Company announced new targets for these core regions including: "annual double digit growth in International, doubling premiums in the Baltics and growing its UK affinity business by more than 50 percent.