Fortis Rebrand

Today RIAS’ parent company, Fortis Holdings, confirmed its previous announcement that the Fortis brand name will change in due course. The proposed change of name does not affect any RIAS customers who are insured with Fortis or their policies in any way.       Over time, policy documentation and other communications will change but, it will not impact our customers’ cover at all.

Today’s announcement sets out the proposed new name, ‘ageas’, and the process involved in changing to it. The new name will be presented to Fortis Holding’s shareholders at the end of April for their approval. If this approval is given, the process of rebranding will begin. In the UK, Fortis will rebrand in a controlled and gradual way over a period of time, with the plan to complete the process in Q1 2011. We will post regular updates on progress on our website, with any relevant information for RIAS customers.

What has happened?

During 2009, Fortis Holding (Fortis UK’s parent company) confirmed to the market that it will rebrand over time as part of its transition from an international banking and insurance group to a global insurance company. This followed the disposal of its banking assets in 2009. 

On March 10, 2010 Fortis Holding set out its proposed new name, 'ageas'.  This will require shareholder approval and should that be given, the process of rebranding will begin.

What does this mean for Fortis in the UK?
Subject to shareholder approval, all of Fortis’ companies in the UK where the brand name ‘Fortis’ appears will change over time. The plan is to do this in a controlled and gradual way and to complete the process by Q1 2011.

As a RIAS customer, what does this mean for me?
The proposed change of name does not impact RIAS customers who are insured with Fortis or their policies in any way. You can continue with your same policy and insurance certificate and be reassured that should you need to claim, you can do so in the normal way, by using the telephone contact numbers detailed on our website http://www.rias.co.uk/make_a_claim/

RIAS employees abseil to raise cash for Macmillan Support!

March saw the start of the RIAS pledge to raise money for its 2010 employee charity of the year, Macmillan.

The fundraising event took place on the 7 March at the iconic Poole Water Tower in Dorset.  15 employees attended the event which is pledged to raise over £1000, all participants successfully abseiled down the side of the tower.

This event was a great start to RIAS’s fundraising campaign for Macmillan with many more events planned for the upcoming months.

Donations to this worthy cause can be made at: www.justgiving.com/RIAS-PLC

RIAS 'Still Giving at 50'

Grandparents Report

Escape of Water Campaign

The Great Escape

Post Thaw Check

As severe weather warnings have been issued across the UK, please ensure you have your policy number and insurer details to hand in case you need to refer to them in an emergency.

If you are affected by flooding, please refer to your schedule of insurance to confirm who your insurer is and call:

Building & Contents Insurance Claims:

Fortis – 0845 122 3281
Canopius – 0845 122 3285
AXA – 0870 850 3516
Legal & General – 0845 674 0753
J.R. Clare – 0870 420 1262

Car Insurance Claims:  

08451 256 850

All the above insurers are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If you are unsure who your insurer is please call RIAS on 0845 234 0117 and an advisor will be able to help you. Our opening hours are 8.30am to 8.00pm Monday to Friday and 8.30am to 4.00pm on Saturday.

For further advice and information on areas affected please visit the Met Office’s website www.metoffice.gov.uk/.

• Client of the Week (Sarah Howe) - Marketing Direct

RIAS held a free fashion show, in association with Castlepoint Shopping Park, Marks and Spencer and Next, to raise funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) on Saturday 15 August at Castlepoint.  See some of our staff 'in-action' below.

Rising fear of burglary is a key safety concern for over 50s - Home Safety Tips

Ten top tips for safe winter driving

Because of the professional commitment and high performance levels of managers, teams and individuals within RIAS, we have received the following awards and accolades:

2010

RIAS is celebrating after winning a triple accolade at the inaugural 2010 thisismoney.co.uk awards.  The recognition, from the Daily Mail's personal finance website users, honours the UK's top financial service providers.

The thisismoney.co.uk Awards, new for 2010, invited 5,000 thisismoney.co.uk users to rate the providers they consider to be the most trusted and deliver the best customer service experience across insurance, banking and savings.  RIAS has been named as the 'Most Trusted Home Insurance provider', the 'Best Home Insurance Provider for Customer Service', and the 'Best Overall Home Insurance Provider'.

2009

• Finalist – 2009 Insurance Times Awards recognised RIAS in the ‘Customer Service Initiative’ category.
• Finalist – 2009 UK Broker Awards recognised RIAS in the ‘Customer Servce Provider’ category.
• Finalist – 2009 British Insurance Awards in the ‘Customer Care Award’ category, where we were particularly recognised for our customer-centric culture and service innovation, including the launch of ‘Voice of the Customer’, an online system allowing all employees to feedback customer comments.
• Winner: Highly Commended – 2009 CCF European Call Centre Awards in the ‘Best Centre for Customer Service’ category, highlighting that the Customer Service teams at RIAS are among the best in Europe. 
   

2008

RIAS was voted 1st for Claims Payouts and 2nd for Overall Performance by the readers of Auto Express, Britain’s biggest car weekly.

We received a Commendation at the CCF European Call Centre awards in the ‘Best People Practice’ category.

RIAS was Highly Commended at the UK Broker Awards in the ‘Intermediary of the Year’ category.

2007

RIAS won the prestigious Insurance Times Personal Lines Broker of the Year award. The panel of industry judges picked RIAS not only for its outstanding year-on-year business performance, but also for its provision of value for money products allied with high levels of customer service.

RIAS was ranked 3rd out of 45 insurers by the readers of Auto Express. Our customer satisfaction rate was 84%. Summarising our performance, Auto Express concluded, ‘according to [our readers] reviews, the insurance on offer is hard to beat.’

We were shortlisted for the CCF European Call Centre Awards for Best Outbound Campaign.

2006

RIAS won the DMA People’s Choice Award for General Insurance Direct Marketing.