Manning Selvage & Lee (MS&L) announced today that it has been appointed by Royal & SunAlliance to handle UK corporate PR for its Broker division, which provides commercial and personal insurance solutions distributed via brokers.

Appointed following a competitive pitch process, MS&L will initially focus on promoting the division’s expertise in the property investment and construction sectors, as well as building awareness of the insurer’s commitment to issues such as road safety and climate change in relation to UK businesses.

A FTSE 100 company, Royal & SunAlliance is the UK's second largest commercial insurer and looks after the insurance and risk management requirements of many other FTSE 100 companies. Also one of the UK’s top three personal motor and household insurers, Royal & SunAlliance won General Insurer of the Year at the 2006 British Insurance Awards and was the first UK insurer to become carbon neutral at the end of last year.

Tina Coates, External Communications Manager for Royal & SunAlliance, commented: “MS&L demonstrated a deep understanding both of the broker market place in general and our business in particular, which fed through to some extremely strong and highly relevant ideas. We were also impressed by the strength of the entire team and look forward to working closely with them as a true extension of our communications function.”

The six-strong team at MS&L will be led by Duncan Hart, Head of Financial Services, who commented: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with Royal & SunAlliance to build the profile and position of authority of its Broker division. This exciting win further bolsters our growing portfolio of clients in the financial services sector, which is a key area of expertise for MS&L.”

MS&L London is a full service consultancy with more than 80 consultants who provide a broad range of public relations expertise for both international and domestic clients across key commercial sectors, such as IT & telecommunications; financial & professional services; consumer electronics; government & public sector; ethical & consumer healthcare; food, drink & nutrition; and beauty & wellbeing.

About Manning Selvage & Lee
MS&L is one of the world's leading global public relations firms. Headquartered in New York, MS&L has 41 offices throughout North America, Latin America, EMEA and Asia-Pacific, as well as an extensive global affiliate network. The agency meets the needs of global and local clients by providing best-in-class services in consumer marketing PR, healthcare PR, corporate communications and technology communications, as well as industry-leading work in digital communications. MS&L won PRWeek's Best Use of Internet/New Media Award in both 2006 and 2007.

MS&L is a member of the Publicis Groupe (Euronext Paris: 13057, NYSE: PUB), whose activities span 109 countries on six continents and include advertising, media counsel and buying, marketing services and specialized communications.  For more information, visit www.publicisgroupe.com.

About Royal & SunAlliance
Royal & SunAlliance is one of the world’s leading multinational quoted insurance groups, writing business in 130 countries and with major operations in the UK, Scandinavia, Canada, Ireland, the Middle East and Latin America.  Focusing on general insurance, it has around 24,000 employees and, in 2005, its net written premiums were £5.4bn.  With an almost 300-year heritage Royal & SunAlliance is the oldest insurance company in the world still trading under its original name.

Within the UK, Royal & SunAlliance is the second largest commercial lines insurer, covering the insurance and risk management needs of a significant number of FTSE 100 companies. It has a full multi-distribution capability, writing business through brokers and corporate partners, direct and online. Royal & SunAlliance is also one of the UK’s top three personal motor and household insurers.

Royal & SunAlliance won General Insurer of the Year, Claims Initiative of the Year and International Initiative of the Year at the 2006 British Insurance Awards.

In December 2006 Royal & SunAlliance, became the first insurer in the UK to be carbon neutral. The company has cut its carbon footprint by half since 2000 and has offset the remainder by purchasing voluntary carbon reductions through the CarbonNeutral Company.