Dedicated to serving the over-50s

Focusing on understanding and serving the needs of a specific customer base is the secret of success for Retirement Insurance Advisory Service, specialist provider of insurance products for the over-50s and winner for the second year running of the best home insurance provider category.

Part of Fortis, one of Europe's biggest insurance groups, RIAS operates as an independent insurance broker, negotiating rates and cover with a panel of insurers exclusively for the over-50s. RIAS offers its own home contents and buildings insurance contracts and, depending on a customer's needs, then finds the best premium from its panel of insurers which include Canopius, Legal & General, AXA, Link, Principal Choice, ACE, FamilyPlus and Fortis Group.

Because it concentrates on negotiating bulk deals purely for the over-50s - deemed by insurers as a low-risk category of householders - RIAS claims that anyone switching to its home insurance contract is likely to cut their premium by up to 35 per cent. 'But it's not simply about saving money,' says operations director Oliver Shaw. 'It's also about having a quality product and the associated customer service back-up to go with this.'

The company's standard contents policy benefits include up to £50,000 new-for-old cover and standard accidental damage for contents, £2 million personal liability and limited cover for high risk property such as jewellery and works of art.

All policyholders have access to a 24-hour legal and domestic advice line. But it's the optional extras that particularly reflect the target market. These include, garden insurance at £2 a month, caravan cover from £11 per month and home emergency cover at £4.99.

Particularly appealing to many older people is the personal accident home help extra, which costs £1 per person per month, and pays out up to £50 in cash per week for eight weeks towards the cost of home help needed if a customer, say, breaks a leg.

Recognising that its customers prefer to communicate by phone or mail, RIAS has dedicated departments set up to handle this. No targets are set on call lengths, so customers won't feel rushed. And RIAS has made a commitment to keep its call centres based in the UK.

RIAS now has 750,000 customers, and last year notched up income growth of 37 per cent and 44 per cent growth in profit.