Misplaced Pages

#893106

45-549: RSA Insurance Group Limited ( trading as RSA , formerly RSA Insurance Group plc and Royal and Sun Alliance ) is a British multinational general insurance company headquartered in London , England. RSA has major operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia and Canada. It provides insurance products and services in more than 100 countries through a network of local partners. It has 9 million customers. RSA

90-420: A DBA must be registered with a local or state government, or both, depending on the jurisdiction. For example, California, Texas and Virginia require a DBA to be registered with each county (or independent city in the case of Virginia) where the owner does business. Maryland and Colorado have DBAs registered with a state agency. Virginia also requires corporations and LLCs to file a copy of their registration with

135-467: A DBA statement, though names including the first and last name of the owner may be accepted. This also reduces the possibility of two local businesses operating under the same name, although some jurisdictions do not provide exclusivity for a name, or may allow more than one party to register the same name. Note, though, that this is not a substitute for filing a trademark application. A DBA filing carries no legal weight in establishing trademark rights. In

180-465: A UK accounting watchdog into financial irregularities at the firm in 2012. In January 2002, Royal & Sun Alliance became involved in litigation over claims for injury arising from asbestosis among workers in Clyde shipyards. The workers alleged that between 1972 and 1977 RSA had issued insurance certificates to asbestos manufacturer Turner & Newall but excluded cover for asbestosis, in breach of

225-516: A businessperson writes a trade name on a contract, invoice, or cheque, they must also add the legal name of the business. Numbered companies will very often operate as something other than their legal name, which is unrecognizable to the public. In Chile , a trade name is known as a nombre de fantasía ('fantasy' or 'fiction' name), and the legal name of business is called a razón social (social name). In Ireland , businesses are legally required to register business names where these differ from

270-436: A deal to acquire NIG (insurance company) and Farmweb in £520 million deal from Direct Line Group while at the same time announcing they are considering the next steps for the remaining part of the personal lines business, including a potential sale. RSA operates in 28 countries and provides insurance products and services in more than 140 through a global network of local partners. It has over 20 million customers around

315-490: A legal action in Britain against the company. The attitude of management, combined with the absence of trade unions or an effective regulatory authority meant that work conditions at Havelock were harsh. It moved its Head Office from Rochdale to Manchester in 1949. After World War II it diversified into components for the automotive industry including gaskets. In 1953, the company bought Porters Cement Industries Ltd ,

360-621: A major producer of chrysotile asbestos products, based in Salisbury and Bulawayo in Southern Rhodesia , and changed its name to Turnall Fibre Cement (Pvt) Ltd . Turnall Fibre Cement Ltd still operates in Zimbabwe but as an independent company, mainly producing asbestos cement sheets and pipes. According to the company, "there is not an industrial, agricultural or residential area of Zimbabwe that does not have one or more of

405-515: A major restructuring of RSA to bolster its finances. Many non-core overseas operations were sold, disposals almost halving the size of the group, with the aim of aligning its strategic focus with its core markets. In September 2015, RSA divested all its Latin American insurance operations to the Colombian insurance company Grupo Sura for £ 403 million. In November 2020, the company received

450-458: A registered legal name and a fictitious business name, or trade name, is important because fictitious business names do not always identify the entity that is legally responsible . Legal agreements (such as contracts ) are normally made using the registered legal name of the business. If a corporation fails to consistently adhere to such important legal formalities like using its registered legal name in contracts, it may be subject to piercing of

495-460: A subsidiary within the motor claims process to inflate profits. Several insurers are now refusing to pay RSA's requests for payment without sight of the original invoice. On 15 June 2012, RSA Insurance was successful in a High Court ruling; the company said the ruling meant "its practices have been deemed legal and its stance vindicated". Within hours, Allianz Insurance lodged an appeal against RSA. Since then RSA has started to make bilateral agreements,

SECTION 10

#1732783865894

540-750: A £7.2 billion offer from Danish insurer Tryg and Canada's Intact Financial Corporation . This deal was considered one of the biggest takeover bids in Europe in 2020. The transaction closed on 1 June 2021. Under the deal, Intact acquired the main international RSA entity as well as its businesses in Canada and the UK, while Tryg took control of RSA's units in Sweden and Norway. Intact and Tryg initially took joint control of RSA's Danish subsidiary Codan Denmark, but shortly thereafter announced plans to sell it to Alm. Brand , which

585-454: Is also sometimes used. A company typically uses a trade name to conduct business using a simpler name rather than using their formal and often lengthier name. Trade names are also used when a preferred name cannot be registered, often because it may already be registered or is too similar to a name that is already registered. Using one or more fictitious business names does not create additional separate legal entities. The distinction between

630-617: Is called a razón social . Turner %26 Newall Turner & Newall was a manufacturing business based in Manchester , United Kingdom . At its peak, it was a constituent of the FT 30 index of leading companies on the London Stock Exchange . As part of their business, the company was one of the first to industrialise asbestos , and its eventual demise in 2001 left an aftermath of asbestos litigation . The business

675-588: The 11 September attacks , wiped out its 2001 profits. RSA put up seven of its subsidiaries for sale in an attempt to raise a further £ 800 million to cover liabilities for asbestos insurance claims in the United States. Friends Ivory & Sime subsequently acquired RSA's UK asset management subsidiary in May 2002 for £240 million. The situation was further compounded by RSA having to reserve £1.2 billion against liabilities for guaranteed annuities ,

720-550: The Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 . RSA responded that asbestos-related injury was excluded from the policy because it was a risk the company was not willing to underwrite, that Turner & Newall was instead self-insured against asbestosis and should therefore be responsible for any compensation. In February 2002, RSA set aside £ 384 million to double its reserves available for asbestos claims which, combined with claims of £ 215 million arising from

765-466: The United Kingdom , there is no filing requirement for a "business name", defined as "any name under which someone carries on business" that, for a company or limited liability partnership, "is not its registered name", but there are requirements for disclosure of the owner's true name and some restrictions on the use of certain names. A minority of U.S. states, including Washington , still use

810-559: The Hillsborough Independent Panel access to its material. Strenuous efforts were made to persuade the company to allow the Panel confidential access to the material, but it maintained its refusal. RSA were entitled to do this as they are under no obligation to release information relating to the amount of compensation paid out to victims and families; in any case the release of that information would not have affected

855-487: The T&;N Entities have legal responsibility. The trust was created December 27, 2007 as a result of the confirmation of The Federal-Mogul Chapter 11 Joint Plan of Reorganization. The purpose of the trust is to provide fair, equitable and substantially similar treatment for all Trust claims that may presently exist or may arise in the future in substantially the same manner. The Trust Distribution Procedures (TDP) approved by

900-418: The U.S., trademark rights are acquired by use in commerce, but there can be substantial benefits to filing a trademark application. Sole proprietors are the most common users of DBAs. Sole proprietors are individual business owners who run their businesses themselves. Since most people in these circumstances use a business name other than their own name, it is often necessary for them to get DBAs. Generally,

945-594: The UK to 4000. The case was heard at the High Court of Justice in January 2003. RSA argued that a policy clause which excluded cover for pneumoconiosis also excluded other asbestos -related disease such as asbestosis and peritoneal mesothelioma . Colin Edelman QC , representing T&N, told Mr Justice Lawrence Collins that the defence which RSA had the "temerity" to put forward was "just ridiculous" and that

SECTION 20

#1732783865894

990-703: The UK. The company operated a plant in Leeds where the Armley asbestos disaster occurred and which only closed in 1959. From 1939 until 2001, the company operated an asbestos mine at Havelock in Bulembu in the Kingdom of Eswatini , Southern Africa. Since the company left, former employees have experienced sickness in their lungs because they lacked safety-wear to protect them from the hazardous material. The miners of Havelock have recently failed in their efforts to bring

1035-400: The bankruptcy court provide for resolving all asbestos-related personal injury and death claims caused by conduct of, and/or exposure to products for which Federal-Mogul Entities are responsible in the manner set forth for the specific Federal-Mogul Entity. For claimants whose principal exposure to asbestos was in the United Kingdom or one of several other non-US countries, a UK Asbestos Trust

1080-475: The company was one of the first to industrialise asbestos , and its eventual demise in 2001 became entangled with issues of asbestos litigation . Asbestos-related disease had itself become recognised due to a coroner 's report into the death of Nellie Kershaw , a worker at their factory, in 1924, and various parliamentary inquiries and reports into asbestos-related disease thereafter. The company had directed their lawyers to strongly defend all such claims, due to

1125-467: The company's many [asbestos cement] products in use or on display". In 1998 the business was acquired by Federal-Mogul which itself got into financial difficulties and filed for Chapter 11 protection as a result of asbestos claims. In the United Kingdom the business went into administration in October 2001 leaving a pension fund deficit estimated at £ 400 million. As part of their business,

1170-484: The corporate veil . In English , trade names are generally treated as proper nouns . In Argentina , a trade name is known as a nombre de fantasía ('fantasy' or 'fiction' name), and the legal name of business is called a razón social (social name). In Brazil , a trade name is known as a nome fantasia ('fantasy' or 'fiction' name), and the legal name of business is called razão social (social name). In some Canadian jurisdictions , such as Ontario , when

1215-534: The county or city to be registered with the State Corporation Commission. DBA statements are often used in conjunction with a franchise . The franchisee will have a legal name under which it may sue and be sued, but will conduct business under the franchiser's brand name (which the public would recognize). A typical real-world example can be found in a well-known pricing mistake case, Donovan v. RRL Corp. , 26 Cal. 4th 261 (2001), where

1260-487: The first announced on 29 June 2012 with Cooperative Insurance. A fatal event at an English FA Cup match, widely known as the Hillsborough disaster , implicated RSA. A human crush resulted in 97 fatalities and 766 injured persons. The Royal Sun Alliance Insurance Company (which, as Sun Alliance, was the insurer for Sheffield Wednesday Football Club in 1989) refused to waive its entitlement to privilege, thus denying

1305-480: The insurer was trying to "wriggle out of its liability". On 9 May 2003, the court ruled that RSA was liable for the compensation claims. In September 2003, RSA cut 1,000 jobs in the UK and asked shareholders for £960 million to cover further asbestos claims. In September 2011, Judge Platt of the Romford County Court in his judgement attacked the method in which RSA recovered their costs by putting

1350-402: The law is to protect the public from fraud, by compelling the business owner to first file or register his fictitious business name with the county clerk, and then making a further public record of it by publishing it in a newspaper. Several other states, such as Illinois , require print notices as well. In Uruguay , a trade name is known as a nombre fantasía , and the legal name of business

1395-461: The named defendant, RRL Corporation, was a Lexus car dealership doing business as " Lexus of Westminster ", but remaining a separate legal entity from Lexus, a division of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. . In California , filing a DBA statement also requires that a notice of the fictitious name be published in local newspapers for some set period of time to inform the public of the owner's intent to operate under an assumed name . The intention of

RSA Insurance Group - Misplaced Pages Continue

1440-582: The product which caused the collapse of Equitable Life , and was also facing a fine from the Financial Services Authority for failure to meet the deadline in the pension mis-selling review. Two months later, Friends Provident acquired RSA's offshore life unit International Financial Services Limited, based on the Isle of Man , for £133 million. In July 2002, RSA sold its group risk business to Canada Life for £60 million. RSA

1485-405: The remaining 50% being sold and becoming a subsidiary of National Life & General on 15 July 2022. On 28 March 2023, Intact Financial announced that RSA would leave the UK personal lines motor market. Their More Than customers were introduced to Swinton Insurance , a brand of Atlanta Insurance Intermediaries and part of Ardonagh retail. On 7 September 2023, it was announced that RSA had agreed

1530-636: The result on who was to blame for the Hillsborough disaster. Doing business as In a number of countries, the phrase " trading as " (abbreviated to t/a ) is used to designate a trade name. In the United States , the phrase " doing business as " (abbreviated to DBA , dba , d.b.a. , or d/b/a ) is used, among others, such as assumed business name or fictitious business name . In Canada , " operating as " (abbreviated to o/a ) and " trading as " are used, although " doing business as "

1575-493: The risk of litigation. Following the demise of the business, UK victims of the company's asbestos pollution, such as those near to the former J.W. Roberts factory in Armley , Leeds , were offered a fraction of the compensation to which they were entitled. The T&N Subfund of the Federal-Mogul Asbestos Trust was organised to process, liquidate, and pay all valid Asbestos Trust claims for which

1620-459: The surname(s) of the sole trader or partners, or the legal name of a company. The Companies Registration Office publishes a searchable register of such business names. In Japan , the word yagō ( 屋号 ) is used. In Colonial Nigeria , certain tribes had members that used a variety of trading names to conduct business with the Europeans. Two examples were King Perekule VII of Bonny , who

1665-469: The term trade name to refer to "doing business as" (DBA) names. In most U.S. states now, however, DBAs are officially referred to using other terms. Almost half of the states, including New York and Oregon , use the terms assumed business name or assumed name ; nearly as many, including Pennsylvania , use the term fictitious name . For consumer protection purposes, many U.S. jurisdictions require businesses operating with fictitious names to file

1710-631: The world. RSA owns the More Than direct home and pet insurance brand in the United Kingdom, recognised widely for its former Lucky The Dog advertisements and its "MORE IS ..." campaign. RSA also owns the Johnson brand in Canada, 123+ brand in Ireland, Trygg-Hansa brand in Sweden and Insurance Corporation brands in the UK. Three former RSA Insurance Ireland staff were fined a combined £182,000 (€206,090) under sanctions tied to an investigation by

1755-516: Was Trafford Tile asbestos cement sheets, which were widely used for roof and wall construction in industrial and agricultural buildings. In 1920 it merged with the Washington Chemical Company, Newalls Insulation Company (founded as Magnesia Coverings by Frederick Newall) and J. W. Roberts to become Turner & Newall and became listed on the London Stock Exchange in that year. The third (Sir) Samuel Turner (1878–1955)

1800-538: Was chairman from 1929 to 1944: he endowed a School of Industrial Administration at Manchester Municipal College of Technology as well as a Dental School at the Victoria University of Manchester (the Dental School and Hospital donation was £99,000 ) The company's development under the third Samuel was rapid: it acquired Bells' United Asbestos Companies and several asbestos insulation companies in

1845-465: Was completed on 2 May 2022. On 23 July 2021, it was announced that the Motability scheme would be leaving the company and migrating to Direct Line Group with them taking over from 1 September 2023. On 4 April 2022, Tryg and Intact Financial announced the sale of 50% of its stake holding in its Middle East subsidiary RSA Middle East to National Life & General . This was then followed up with

RSA Insurance Group - Misplaced Pages Continue

1890-567: Was forced to close its life business, with the loss of 1,200 jobs, in August 2002. In November 2002, Turner & Newall launched a suit against RSA on behalf of former employees who had suffered asbestos-related disease, claiming that the insurer was liable because it provided employer liability policies to the engineering firm. In an effort to reduce costs, RSA chairman Sir Patrick Gillam said it would sell its US business RSUI and "float most of its Asia Pacific operations", bringing total job losses in

1935-505: Was formed by the merger of Sun Alliance and Royal Insurance in 1996. RSA was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Danish insurer Tryg and Canada's Intact Financial Corporation in May 2021. The transaction closed on 1 June 2021. RSA was formed by the merger of Sun Alliance and Royal Insurance in 1996. On 4 February 2014, it was announced that Stephen Hester , former CEO of RBS Group , would become CEO of RSA with immediate effect. In 2014/15, Hester led

1980-518: Was founded in 1871 in Rochdale as Turner Brothers by John, Robert and Samuel Turner to manufacture cotton-cloth-based mechanical packing . In 1879 it became the first business in the United Kingdom to weave asbestos cloth with power-driven machinery, and the company changed its name to Turner Brothers Asbestos Company . Shortly before World War I the business opened an asbestos cement plant at Trafford Park . One of its major products

2025-553: Was known as Captain Pepple in trade matters, and King Jubo Jubogha of Opobo , who bore the pseudonym Captain Jaja . Both Pepple and Jaja would bequeath their trade names to their royal descendants as official surnames upon their deaths. In Singapore , there is no filing requirement for a "trading as" name, but there are requirements for disclosure of the underlying business or company's registered name and unique entity number. In

#893106