RSA Insurance Group has agreed to acquire the remaining 50 per cent of its joint venture with Direct Insurance Financial Investments (DIFI) in Central and Eastern Europe

RSA Insurance Group has agreed to acquire the remaining 50 per cent of its joint venture with Direct Insurance Financial Investments (DIFI) in Central and Eastern Europe.

The price tag for the remaining 50 per cent interest and full control of Intouch Insurance Group BV is expected to be €70 million (£61 million).

The Intouch group owns Link4, Direct Pojistovna and Intouch, which are direct insurance operations in Poland, the Czech Republic and Russia. For the nine months to September 2008, Intouch reported premiums of some £50 million.

The investment is in line with RSA’s emerging markets’ strategy to develop its direct distribution capability and focus on motor insurance as a core proposition, the company said.

In 2008 the company announced net written premiums of £3.4 billion, up 12 per cent on 2007. During the same period, the company’s profits after tax climbed 23 per cent to £292 million.

RSA is one of the world’s largest multinational quoted insurance groups, with operations in the UK, Scandinavia, Canada, Ireland, Asia and the Middle East and Latin America.