Central Bank disqualifies former RSA Insurance Ireland chief for 13 years

The 'material understatement' of RSA Insurance Ireland's (RSAII) liabilities ultimately contributed to RSAII requiring a significant capital injection from its parent company

'For certain large loss claims Mr Smith, while chief executive officer, oversaw a process whereby claims handlers were prevented or delayed from recording their recommended estimates on RSAII’s database,” the Central Bank said.

A former chief executive of RSA Insurance Ireland (RSAII) has been disqualified from being in management of a regulated financial service provider for 13 years by the Central Bank of Ireland after he admitted participation in a breach of financial services law by the company.

Philip Smith served as chief executive of RSAII between 2009 and 2013 and during his tenure he is reported to have failed to maintain proper technical reserves in accordance with regulations which posed a significant risk of loss to policyholders.