RIAS Partners With Yours Magazine To Launch Its First Ever 'Grandparent Of The Year' Awards

Today, Over 50s insurance provider RIAS is announcing it has linked up with Yours magazine, to launch its 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.

The public have until Friday 2 September 2011 to enter their parents, friends or grandparents into any of the five following categories:

Active Gran (or grandad)

Fun Gran (or grandad)

Hero Gran (or grandad)

Glam Gran (or grandad)

Grandad of the Year

Each winner in these five categories will then go forward to be in with a chance of being crowned the overall 'Grandparent of the Year' 2011.

The judging panel includes celebrity grandparent Janet Ellis, well-known broadcaster and grandmother to singer Sophie Ellis Bextor's children; Chief Executive of charity Grandparents Plus Denise Murphy; Chief Executive of Grandparents Association Lynn Chesterman; RIAS Managing Director Janet Connor and the Editor of Yours Magazine Valery McConnell. The panel will review all the nominations and decide on the category winners (with the exception of the winner 'Active Gran' category, who will be exclusively chosen by RIAS customers), who will then attend a makeover and photo shoot at the luxurious Park Lane Hilton Hotel on 7 October 2011.

Janet Connor comments: "RIAS is proud to sponsor the first ever Yours 'Grandparent of the Year Awards' 2011 that honour the vital role of grans and grandads. Our research has found that in the past year, over a quarter (26%) of grandparents have had to increase the amount of childcare they provide. From holiday childcare to ad-hoc favours such as picking up children from school or looking after them when they're ill, today's grandparents are saving families time and money, as well as making life easier. These awards give family members the chance to say thank you and give something back."

The five finalists of each category will enjoy a delicious afternoon tea, makeover and photoshoot, after which the overall 'Grandparent of the Year' 2011 will be announced. The lucky winner will receive a £1,500 Thomas Cook holiday to reward them for their achievement and the runners up will each receive £100 worth of M&S vouchers, all courtesy of the specialist insurance provider RIAS. Nominations will be drawn from readers and users of Mother & Baby, Yours magazine, askamum.co.uk and Magic FM.

Janet Ellis, spokesperson for the awards, adds: "Being a grandparent is a very special role and I'm able to really enjoy my grandchildren without all the pressures of doing the hard bit – the parenting. I know it's nice for Sophie to know that she can count on me if she needs a break from being mum, but I hope it's nice for the boys, too, to have me around to provide some extra love, support and fun as they grow older."

For more information about the 'Grandparent of the Year' Awards 2011 and to enter visit www.yours.co.uk/grandparentoftheyear2011. To find out about RIAS and the range of products and services it offers, visit www.rias.co.uk.

Notes to Editors
1 Research commissioned by RIAS and carried out by Opinium between 27 and 29 June 2011. The total sample size was 2,135 grandparents aged over 50 with at least one grandchild. The survey was carried out online.

For further information, please contact:
Alex Kennedy, Claire Wood, Fiona Boston or Georgia Wilkinson at Seventy Seven PR on 020 7492 0977 or email rias@77pr.co.uk
Alternatively, contact Lucy Pope, Consumer Communications Manager, RIAS on 01202 254445 or email lpope@rias.co.uk or Blair Catchpole, Consumer Communications Executive, RIAS on 01202 254489, blair.catchpole@ageas.co.uk


About RIAS

RIAS was established in 1992 and is a specialist award-winning provider of insurance products for the over 50s age group.

Part of Ageas (Insurance UK) Limited, RIAS has nearly a million motor, travel and house insurance customers and employs over 1,100 people across two UK sites. RIAS negotiates with a panel of insurers to secure competitive, value for money products.

Ageas UK is a leading provider of award-winning Personal, Commercial and Protection insurance solutions in the UK. Ageas UK distributes both its Non-Life and Life products through a range of channels including brokers, IFAs, intermediaries, affinity partners and the Internet, as well as through its retail strategy via its wholly or partially-owned companies (Ageas Insurance Solutions, Ageas Protect, Castle Cover, Kwik Fit Insurance Services, RIAS, Tesco Underwriting and Text2Insure).

Insuring around 8 million customers and working with a range of partners, Ageas is recognised for delivering consistent and high-quality customer experiences. It employs over 4,500 people with a head office based in Eastleigh and others based in Belfast, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Glasgow, Gloucester, London, Reigate and Stoke-on-Trent.
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