According to a press release by Post on the 17th April 2013 the BBC’s primary insurers during the 40 years and could face sexual abuse claims of up to £30m as he was in their employ.

The report by Post said they had learnt through a Freedom of Information request that the insurers including RSA and Aviva were among the lead insurers for either employers’ or public liability for the broadcaster from the early seventies to 2006.

According to the a public police report and the NSPCC, Giving Victims a Voice, published earlier in the year, reported offences involving Savile at the BBC date from 1959 until 2006, when the final episode of Top of the Pops was recorded. Allegedly, the peak in offences was between 1966 and 1976.

Savile died in October 2011 aged 84. Operation Yewtree was launched in response to the broadcast of ITV’s Exposure programme on 4 October 2012, which detailed five women’s accounts of being sexually abused by the late Savile in relation to the filming of BBC programmes. All said they had been abused during the 1970s, with two incidents relating to Duncroft School in Staines and three occurring on BBC premises.

Post confirmed in their publication that Commercial Union Assurance Company [now Aviva] provided the BBC with not cheap public liability insurance for 24 years. Also, The insurer covered 55% of the broadcaster’s PL cover from 1971 to 1981 up to a limit of £1m. Its cover then changed to 49% of £5m for 1982 and 1984, before becoming 40% of £5m between 1985 and 1988.

Century Insurance, Royal Insurance Group, Sun Allianz & London Insurance Group and Phoenix Insurance Group who are all part of RSA (as is More Than) – also took a share in the Public Liability cover for 16 years between 1971 and 1988 – with each firm taking between 10% and 25% of the cover (see table). Cover started at £1m between 1971 and 1981 and then rose to £5m.

For 22 of the 40 years of Savile’s employment, the cheap Employers’ liability insurer was National Employers’ Mutual General Insurance Association (Allianz), which was on cover for 100% of an unlimited policy until 1986. In 1989 Commercial Union then took a 40% share in this policy, and from 1996 until 2009 Chubb became the lead insurer, with a policy limit of £15m.

Post report stated that an RSA spokeswoman said: “At various points over the last 40 years we have provided insurance for the BBC. We are unable to comment as to whether these policies will respond to any Savile claims.” A Lloyd’s spokesman said: “Individual policies are commercial arrangements between customer and underwriter. As Lloyd’s is a market, not a company, we don’t talk about specific policies.”

There will be uncertainty over any policy pay out as this will depend on policy wordings.