When Royal and Sun came together, how did that shift the way things worked in the sector?
Mr. Mendelsohn: When Royal & Sun merged in 1996, it was the first major step, within the UK market, of what has now become a trend toward industry consolidation. In the years subsequent to 1996, we have seen a whole variety of mergers throughout the sector, both in the non-life and the life side and as well now involving banks and other financial institutions. So RSA here in the United Kingdom was the beginning of what has become a real trend toward consolidation within the industry. TWST: After that consolidation and your coming back over from New York, what kind of business model have you tried to adapt? In what direction, specifically, have you tried to point the company? Mr. Mendelsohn: We have changed the business model dramatically. Royal & Sun operated under what I would call the traditional British composite model. It essentially was a very centralized model in which decision-making was made in London and then disseminated around the world. In some ways it was the British colon
