RSA is preparing for the exit of its chairman John Napier by planning a boardroom overhaul.
RSA has already hired City headhunter Anna Mann of MWM Consulting to begin the search for a new chairman and a number of new non-executive directors, according to The Telegraph.
Napier's term of office at RSA comes up for renewal in 2012, although a final decision has not been taken as to whether he will stand down at that point or remain for another year.
Possible contenders for the role could include John Varley, the former chief executive of Barclays, and Clara Furse, the former chief executive of the London Stock Exchange.
The reported said a source with knowledge of Mann's appointment said that she is "looking across the piece" ahead of a refresh of the board.
It added that the current board, including Napier, is thought to want to ensure an orderly succession for Napier and the other board members who will be departing.
The move is not thought to be a reflection of RSA's audacious but ultimately unsuccessful 5bn bid to buy Aviva's general insurance arm last August.
Aviva is currently in the final stages of appointing its own new chairman to replace Lord Sharman.
An announcement on his replacement – Barclays deputy chairman Sir Richard Broadbent is believed to be the main contender – could come as early as Wednesday this week, when the company holds it annual general meeting, the paper said.
Napier, 68, has been on the RSA board since January 2003, and was appointed chairman two months later.
Napier hit the headlines last year when he lashed out at President Obama for his public treatment of BP following the Deepwater Horizon explosion.
Other non-executives who are likely to take their leave from the company include Edward Lea, the senior independent director, and John Maxwell, the former director general of the Automobile Association. Both joined the board in 2003.
RSA declined to comment.
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