Forsikringsselskapet svarte raskt.

Because Norwegian usually writes compound nouns as a single word.

So:

• forsikring = insurance
• selskap = company
• forsikringsselskap = insurance company

Then the definite ending is added to the whole compound:

• forsikringsselskapet = the insurance company

This is very normal in Norwegian. English often uses several words where Norwegian uses one compound word.

That s is a linking sound used in many Norwegian compounds.

Here, forsikring + selskap becomes forsikringsselskap.

It does not mean possession here, and it is not a separate word. It is just part of how many compounds are formed. You will see this a lot in Norwegian, but it is not always fully predictable, so it is often best learned as part of the word.

In Norwegian, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun.

For example:

• et selskap = a company
• selskapet = the company

With compounds, only the final part gets the definite ending:

• et forsikringsselskap = an insurance company
• forsikringsselskapet = the insurance company

So -et is doing the job that the does in English.

Svarte is the past tense, also called the preterite, of å svare.

A useful mini-pattern is:

• å svare = to answer
• svarer = answers / is answering
• svarte = answered
• har svart = has/have answered

So this sentence is in the past: the company answered quickly.

Yes, it can, in other contexts.

There is also an adjective svart = black, and svarte can be one of its forms, for example in definite or plural uses.

But in this sentence, svarte is clearly a verb because of its position:

• Forsikringsselskapet = subject
• svarte = verb
• raskt = adverb

So here it definitely means answered, not anything connected to the color black.

Because raskt is being used adverbially, to describe how the company answered.

• rask = quick
• raskt = quickly

In Norwegian, many adjectives add -t when they are used as adverbs:

• Han jobber raskt = He works quickly
• Hun svarte raskt = She answered quickly

Be careful, though: raskt can also be a neuter adjective in other sentences, such as et raskt svar = a quick answer. In your sentence, it is an adverb because it modifies the verb svarte.

This is the normal main-clause word order in Norwegian:

• subject first
• finite verb second
• adverb after the verb

So:

• Forsikringsselskapet = subject
• svarte = finite verb
• raskt = adverb

Norwegian is a V2 language, which means the finite verb normally comes in the second position in main clauses. When the subject comes first, that gives you the straightforward pattern seen here.

For example:

• Forsikringsselskapet svarte raskt
• I går svarte forsikringsselskapet raskt

In both sentences, the finite verb svarte is in second position.

It would be:

Forsikringsselskapet svarer raskt.

That is a useful comparison:

• svarer = answers / is answering
• svarte = answered

So if you want to talk about a general habit or something happening now, use svarer. If you want to describe a completed action in the past, use svarte.