Fee and commission income (2003): £361m.
Pre-tax profit (2003): £4.5m
Address: Rias House,
Deansleigh Road,
Bournemouth,
Dorset BH7 7DU
Tel: 0845 234 0011
Fax: 0845 234 0112
Email: mail@rias.co.uk
Website: www.rias.co.uk
Year established: 1994 (as Retirement Insurance Advisory Services)
History: The firm began trading in 1977 as part of Aspen Insurance Brokers and in 1992 launched the Retirement Insurance Advisory Services brand from its offices in Poole, Dorset. The company was acquired by Fortis (UK) Ltd in 1997. The Retirement Insurance Advisory Service brand was retained and the company changed its name to Insurance Advisory Services plc.
In April 2004 the company undertook a rebranding exercise to increase customer awareness and recognition within its local community and is now known as RIAS plc.
RIAS is a successful specialist general insurance intermediary that focuses on the over 50s age profile.
Major shareholders: RIAS is a 100% subsidiary of Fortis (UK) Ltd. Ultimate holding company is Fortis Utrecht NV, which is jointly owned by Fortis NV and Fortis SA/NV.
Main lines of business: home, motor, travel, caravan, legal expenses, personal accident, home and motor breakdown and garden cover.
Chief officer: Andrew Marchington, managing director
Biography: Andrew Marchington spent his early career in consumer goods marketing. This included five years at Black & Decker, where he was the UK group marketing manager and launched a number of original products.
There followed a move into financial services, initially with HFC Bank as its marketing director, then going on to become the managing director of its insurance subsidiaries.
Marchington joined Lex/RAC in 1994 and worked on a number of business development opportunities. This included three years expanding the leasing operation. After a short period at Prudential he joined RIAS in January 2003 as managing director.
Over the past 18 months the company has significantly expanded its new business through attracting new affinity partners and direct methods.
The company is poised for further expansion in home, motor and travel.
