The insurer said it "is considering measures to strengthen its balance sheet, including raising capital by way of a rights issue" in a statement following a Sunday Times newspaper report that it was poised to launch a 800 million pound rights issue.

It added that no final decision has been made at this time.

The firm will give an update on a business review when it publishes its full year results on Thursday, the statement said.

RSA, reeling from an accounting scandal at its Irish business and facing the cost of recent heavy floods in Britain, is also expected to unveil plans to sell off businesses in eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia, bringing the total cash raised to more than 1 billion pounds, the Sunday Times said.

The firm, led by former Royal Bank of Scotland boss Stephen Hester, has hired JPMorgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch to handle the fundraising, according to the newspaper.

(Reporting by Clare Hutchison; Editing by Louise Heavens)