RIAS Comment on Joan Bakewell Appointment
RIAS Managing Director Janet Connor responds to the news that the Government has appointed broadcaster Joan Bakewell as the UK's 'czar for the elderly'.
Dorset (PRWEB) December 17, 2008
'Any move that promotes a better understanding of the UK's mature population, reducing discrimination against them and promoting the benefits of an active and healthy lifestyle, must be a good thing. RIAS is therefore fully supportive of Dame Joan Bakewell's appointment, and we hope that in her role as spokesperson for the elderly she will help affect a greater understanding and appreciation of this age group within the wider population.'
Janet Connor, Managing Director of RIAS is available for further comment and interview. To arrange an interview with, or photography of, Janet, please call Simon Robinson on 07976 329823 or e-mail srobinson@rias. co. uk.
About RIAS
RIAS was established in 1992 and is a specialist provider of insurance products including home insurance (http://www. rias. co. uk/home-insurance/overview/) for the over 50s age group RIAS negotiates with a panel of insurers to secure competitive, value for money products RIAS has over 970,000 customers and employs over 1,100 people across two locations - Bournemouth and Belfast In December 2007 RIAS won the 'Personal Lines Broker of the year' award at the Insurance Times awards RIAS was ranked 2nd in the 2008 Auto Express Driver Power Survey on motor insurance and was rated best for claims payout In August 2008 RIAS was awarded 2nd place by Which? magazine for home insurance customer satisfaction and rated best for settlement time on claims RIAS received a Commendation at the 2008 CCF European Call Centre awards in the 'best people practice' category RIAS was a finalist at the 2008 UK Broker Awards in the 'Intermediary of the Year' category RIAS was Highly Commended at the 2008 Insurance Times Awards in the 'Personal Lines broker of the year' RIAS is part of Fortis (Insurance UK), a leading provider of award-winning personal and commercial lines insurance solutions in the UK and the 2007 British Insurance Awards 'General Insurer of the Year'. The insurer's successful customer-centric strategy has been founded on aligning its activities to how customers want to buy insurance, combined with delivering high quality products, manufactured at costs better than market norms.
Fortis' unique multi-distribution capability enables it to deliver products face-to-face, by phone (inbound and outbound), over the Internet and via SMS technology. Aligning its business activities with its partners' general insurance strategies enables Fortis to offer end-to-end white label capabilities in product development, marketing, campaign management, sales, fulfilment and claims - providing a seamless integration with partner brands.
Insuring in excess of 6.7 million customers and working with a range of partners, Fortis is recognised for delivering consistent and high-quality customer experiences. It employs 2,901 people as of 31/12/07 with a head office based in Eastleigh and others in Belfast, Bournemouth, Gloucester, Haywards Heath, Redditch, and Stoke-on-Trent. In 2007, its profit before tax and interest (excluding impact of weather related events) was £92.2 million and its GWP was 757.8 million.
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