RSA in takeover talks; Beazley gross written premiums rise

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RSA is in talks to sell itself for £7.2bn to a consortium comprising Canada's Intact Financial Corp and Tryg A/S of Denmark.

The consortium has proposed paying 685p a share in cash for the FTSE 100 insurer. RSA would pay its proposed interim dividend of 8p a share.

Global insurer Beazley said gross written premiums rose 16% in the year to date driven by rate increases across all its divisions.

The company said premiums for the nine months to September 30 came in at $2.5bn, compared with £2.19bn a year earlier.

“Our initial estimate of the costs of the third quarter catastrophe events including hurricanes Laura and Sally and the wildfires in California is approximately $80m net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums,” Beazley said.

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US Close

Wall Street stocks closed higher on Thursday as Joe Biden appeared to be zeroing in on an election victory.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.95% at 28,390.18, while the S&P 500 was 1.95% firmer at 3,510.45 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 2.59% stronger at 11,890.93.