RSA Ireland chief quits claiming to be ‘fall guy’ for alleged irregularities

Insurer RSA has begun the search for a new chief executive in Ireland following the surprise resignation yesterday of Philip Smith, who was suspended recently pending the outcome of investigations into issues around claims and finance.

In a statement, Mr Smith said he had been made the “fall guy” for issues that have arisen at the insurer.

“My family and I have been truly traumatised by recent events and I have taken this most difficult of decisions in the best interests of my family,” he said. “Resigning not only eases the stress and strain on them, but also offers me the opportunity to pursue justice outside the current flawed process which I am certain was established to arrive at a pre-determined outcome.”

A spokesman for Mr Smith declined to comment on whether he now intends to take legal action against his former employer.

In a statement, RSA said no severance has been paid to Mr Smith following his resignation. “We continue to work constructively with the CBI [Central Bank of Ireland] on this investigation,” RSA added.

Adrian Brown, currently chief executive of RSA’s UK and western Europe operations, will continue to lead the Irish business as an interim measure.

Mr Smith and two other senior executives - chief financial officer Rory O’Connor and claims director Peter Burke -were suspended earlier this month pending the outcome of an internal investigation into problems with its claims and provisioning functions.

It is understood that Mr O’Connor and Mr Burke remain under suspension.

The issue uncovered forced the insurer’s UK-listed parent company to advise the stock market that its operating profit would be £70 million lower than market expectations.

Mr Smith said that since becoming chief executive of RSA in 2007, he had “served the company well, operating at all times under group direction and policy and to the best of my professional judgement and integrity”.

He said the business in Ireland had delivered “strongly” for the group over this period, becoming the largest general insurer in Ireland.

“Throughout my time as chief executive, RSA in Ireland has been lauded for its strong regulatory and control environment with consistently favourable outcomes achieved in all internal and external audits,” Mr Smith said.

“I am certain that when the recent issues arose, that I quickly became the ‘fall-guy’ for all issues. It is my firm belief that this opinion was arrived at irrespective of my involvement or otherwise, making it impossible for me to achieve justice and fairness. I have therefore been left with no other option but to resign.”

The insurer has said no findings have yet been made against the three executives at its Irish subsidiary. It reiterated that no policy holders had been affected and RSA Ireland’s business continues to “operate as normal”.

PwC has been appointed to investigate the matters at question.

Last week, Mr Smith agreed to “step back” from his role as president of Insurance Ireland, the national representative body for the sector pending the outcome of the internal process at RSA.

In his statement, Mr Smith said it had been his “privilege to serve as president of both the Insurance Institute of Ireland and Insurance Ireland” without indicating if he had formally resigned from the body.