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10th April 2008

Welcome return for fund-raising cancer patient

68-year-old RIAS employee and Bournemouth resident, Bill Balaam, could easily have given up hope of a normal life after suffering two life-threatening illnesses in quick succession. But thankfully, after many months in and out of hospital, some normality was restored this week when Bill returned to work at Bournemouth based insurance company RIAS. He was warmly welcomed by colleagues after his long absence, though it wasn’t quite business as usual as Bill celebrated his return by handing over a substantial fund-raising cheque to the hospital staff who had nursed him through his dual ordeals.

Bill, now well on his way back to good health, commented: “I am absolutely delighted to be able to hand over this cheque for £500 to Poole Hospital for its ‘Wish List’ campaign, and I thank all the staff there for everything they’ve done for me over the last year. Now I just can’t wait to get back to work and repay everyone at RIAS for all their generosity too!”

Bill’s idea for the fund-raising came as he sat at home in Poole recuperating after surgery. “I was just sitting looking out at the harbour, when I thought to myself, apart from a bit of physio, Bill, you’re not really doing a lot, so let’s try a bit of fund-raising.”

As a company keen to support charities in the local community, RIAS was pleased to contribute to Bills’ fund raising efforts.

Bill’s string of bad luck began back in 2003 when, at the age of 63, he was made redundant and left struggling to find another job. Bill worried about whether his advancing years would count against him in the job market, but eventually took a friend’s advice and approached RIAS, a company which specialises in providing insurance products for the over 50s.

“I applied for a job with RIAS,” remembers Bill, “and joined them just before my 64 th birthday. Everything was going really well until, in early 2007, I was diagnosed with bowel cancer. My first thought was that I’d be out of a job again at the age of 67, but I needn’t have worried as RIAS kept the job open for me.”

Although Bill managed to get through the cancer treatment, tragedy soon struck again after he returned to work at RIAS in December 2007 when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. “I thought to myself, oh dear, what next?” says Bill. “I had managed to get back to work after the cancer, but almost straight away I didn’t feel too good. A rapid response from the health professionals meant I was back off work again, and on my way to Poole Hospital for major brain surgery.”

Despite the potentially fatal illnesses Bill has suffered, good fortune has clearly been on the side of this feisty pensioner in the form of first class care from the medical team and full support from an understanding employer. Bill says of RIAS: “It’s a company unlike any I’ve ever experienced before. It’s the way they care about their customers and their employees just the same. Other companies are trying to copy, but I would never be tempted to change.”

Poole Hospital’s Wish List campaign is an on-going project, raising funds for essential equipment and facilities as identified by the various wards. To donate to the fund, you can contact Kim Coleman, Fundraising & Membership Assistant at Poole Hospital Tel: 01202 448449

About RIAS

• RIAS was established in 1992 and is a specialist provider of insurance products 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 1,200 people across two locations - Bournemouth and Belfast

• In July 2007 RIAS’ home insurance contents and buildings policies received four ‘Best Buy’ awards from Which? magazine

• In December 2007 RIAS won the ‘Personal Lines Broker of the year" award at the Insurance Times awards

For further information:

Sadie Sheppard RIAS Public Relations 01202 254489 ssheppard@rias.co.uk

www.rias.co.uk