TORONTO, July 5, 2002 – Royal & SunAlliance introduces knowledgeworks – “an insurance
think-tank” – a new approach to developing specialty insurance products and services.
The knowledgeworks team will focus exclusively on providing insurance solutions that demand the
expertise of highly trained underwriters. The team brings together leading underwriting specialists, to provide
customers with unparalleled service and insurance knowledge.
Part of the challenge of catering to unique insurance risks is being able to guide customers
through the process of developing an appropriate insurance solution.
“We want to provide the same degree of service that specialists in other mission-critical
areas have offered their customers,” says Jim McDonald, spokesperson for Royal & SunAlliance’s
knowledgeworks team.
“When you climb Mt. Everest, you put your fate in the hands of expert guides to get you to
the summit safely. Who do you trust when you need to properly ensure that your customer’s unique and specialty
risks are properly insured? We want to play that role.”
Customers will come from a variety of sources. In many cases customers will be other insurers
that simply do not have the expertise or infrastructure to handle specialty products and services effectively.
“To properly provide something like traditional equipment breakdown coverage, a company
needs to have highly trained underwriters, inspectors and a full range of support services,” says McDonald.
“By offering these skills and services, the knowledgeworks team enables its business partners to focus on
their core business and broaden the products and services available to their customers. In many cases,
knowledgeworks will be invisible to the broker and customers – with the kudos going to the business partner.”
The first product to be launched by the knowledgeworks think-tank is yachtworks. The focus will
be on pleasure-craft that require specialized underwriting knowledge and therefore do not fit neatly into a
personal lines environment. “Too often, this business is handled by brokers and underwriters who are unaware
of the issues that might affect yacht insurance. We want to guide them through the process and make sure they
understand the exposures so they can better serve their customers.”
Other products will be developed in the coming months, with consulting and engineering services
also being introduced.
“Our goal is to put knowledge back into the equation and to use that knowledge to guide
everyone through the process as effectively as possible. We truly want to change the way people think about
insurance providers.”
Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada is part of the Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance
Group plc. Dating back to 1710, the Group employs 50,000 employees and provides a comprehensive range of
insurance and financial services in more than 130 countries.