LAUNCHING THE ‘GRANDPARENT OF THE YEAR’ AWARDS 2011 WITH YOURS MAGAZINE

We are proud to announce that we are partnering with Yours magazine to launch our first ever ‘Grandparent of the Year’ Awards. The awards celebrate the value of grandmothers and grandfathers to UK families and recognise the important role they play, offering wisdom, experience, support and love.

Click here to find out more

On 24 March 2011 Ageas, parent company to Bournemouth-based over 50s insurance provider RIAS, announced the acquisition of Castle Cover Limited, the UK’s third largest over 50s insurance specialist.

Castle Cover will continue to be a separate brand operating as a subsidiary company of Ageas UK.

Being focused on our customers needs is important to us and we will continue to provide a wide range of products and deliver the same high standards you have come to expect from us.  For existing Castle Cover customers, the acquisition has no impact on your policy and you should continue to contact Castle Cover in the normal way.

Fortis Rebrand Update

Previously, we announced that the brand name of RIAS’ parent company, Fortis, will change to Ageas. This follows the approval of shareholders earlier in the year to adopt the new name Ageas, reflecting Ageas’ status as a standalone global insurance group following the disposal of its banking assets.

Fortis has now commenced its rebrand to Ageas, which is due to complete by the end of the first quarter of 2011. During this time you may see some reference to both Fortis and Ageas on websites and materials.

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 communication will change but it will not impact customers’ cover at all.

What has happened?
From 4 October 2010, Fortis has started using its new name ‘Ageas’ for its general insurance business. This means many items such as its advertising, website and e-mail addresses will be using the new Ageas name and logo. Other items, such as policy literature, will rebrand over a period of time and it is expected the process to be completed by the end of the first quarter in 2011.

What does this mean for Fortis in the UK?
All of Fortis’ companies in the UK where the brand name ‘Fortis’ appears will change to Ageas over time.  The plan is to do this in a controlled way and to complete the process by the end of quarter 1, 2011. We will update on progress on our website.

Why ‘Ageas’?
Ageas represents Fortis’ 186 year history and where Ageas wants to be in the future. The ‘Ag’ refers to the name of Fortis’ parent Belgian company founded in 1824. The ‘eas’ refers to Fortis’ core markets in Europe and Asia.

What is the correct pronunciation for Ageas?
The name is pronounced “a-jee-as”. Pronounce the ‘a’ as in ‘agenda’.

As a RIAS customer, what does this mean for me?
The change of brand 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 is delighted to support Cancer Research UK as its 2011 Employee Charity of the Year.

Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading charity dedicated to beating cancer through research. They have saved millions of lives by discovering new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. Their vital work, funded entirely by the public, will help ensure that millions more people survive.

Keep an eye out for updates on this page to see what daring challenges RIAS employees are completing as part of their fundraising programme to raise £20,000.

RIAS 'Still Giving at 50'

Grandparents Report

Escape of Water Campaign

The Great Escape

Post Thaw Check

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.