Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Co. of Canada is investigating the unauthorized use of its name and the apparent fraudulent offer of insurance and financial products through print advertisements and the Internet.

The move follows the discovery of newspaper advertisements in the U.S. and a Web site — www.royalandsunalliance.20m.com — that purports to sell insurance and personal loans under the name “Royal and Sun Alliance International Loans and Insurance Group” or “Royal and Sun Alliance”. This problem was first reported by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.

Products being offered by this group include auto and gap insurance. The advertising includes telephone numbers and addresses in or near Toronto. None of the purported products and services provided by this group have been underwritten or issued by any member of the Royal & Sun Alliance group.

In addition, neither the Web site nor the telephone numbers and addresses included in the solicitation are in any way connected with the Royal & SunAlliance group’s operations in Canada or the U.S. The group running this operation is not licensed to sell insurance in Canada.

Royal & Sun Alliance says it is pursuing all available means to protect its valuable name and trademarks and has reported this matter to Canadian regulators and police.