TimesLeadershipChallengeAIS

							PRESS RELEASE
Stoke, 3 December 2010


A winning South African adventure for Ageas employee in Times
Leadership Challenge finals
Over £50,000 raised and a new crèche built in village of Luphisi

An employee from Ageas Insurance Solutions, (previously Fortis), has recently returned from
South Africa after competing in the final of the 2010 Times Leadership Challenge, with the team
being named as joint winners.


Andrew Berrow, E-Commerce Manager, took time out from his day job to compete in a number of
gruelling mental, physical and psychological challenges in remote locations across the UK over the last
few months with five other Ageas colleagues, culminating in a five day stretch of expert team work,
collaboration, and emotional discovery in the village of Luphisi.


From over 40 teams at the start of the programme, the ‘Fortissimos’, made up of colleagues from Ageas
Insurance Limited, Ageas Insurance Solutions, Fortis Life and RIAS, was one of four teams who made it
to the ‘Challenge Africa’ final. The four finalist teams, including innocent and TK Maxx, all joined forces to
test their leadership skills to the limit, with the mission of not only raising £50,000 towards building a
children’s crèche in Luphisi whilst still in the UK, but then completely decorating, furnishing, and
landscaping the area during their time in South Africa.


In just five days the Zamokuhle Crèche in Luphisi was completed by the four Times Leadership
Challenge teams.


Andrew Berrow, ‘Fortissimos’ team member from Ageas Insurance Solutions, based at Trentham Lakes,
comments: “From priming and painting walls, digging vegetable patches, and installing swings, to
learning Zulu warrior dances, organising a children’s sports day in the 40 degree heat and planting 400
marula trees, working with the community in Luphisi was an unforgettable experience and will have a
lifelong impact on all of us, in both our professional and personal lives. There were certainly a few tearful
goodbyes when the time came to leave our new friends, and seeing the difference we all made by
working together was invaluable.”




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Andy Watson, Managing Director of Ageas Insurance Solutions commented: “What Andrew and his
Ageas colleagues achieved in such a short space of time was quite phenomenal. Their clear purpose,
belief in ability to deliver and the willingness to adapt to ever changing situations ensured that
‘Fortissimos’ made a sustainable difference to the community of Luphisi. From a leadership perspective,
the team was able to apply their work experiences to a very different set of circumstances and get the job
done. Everyone at Ageas is extremely proud of their achievements.”


The Ageas Team, ‘Fortissimos’, pictured outside the Zamokuhle Crèche in Luphisi, is made up of (left to
right):
         Rob Hopkins, Motor Claims Manager, from Ageas Insurance Limited (Gloucester);
         Joel Markham, Broker Account Executive, Ageas Insurance Limited;
         Andrew Berrow, E-Commerce Manager at Ageas Insurance Solutions (Stoke);
         Andy Rigler, Business Risk Manager, and Charlotte Palmer, Head of Customer Experience, both
          from RIAS (Bournemouth); and
         Kathryn Hundleby, Head of Operations, from Fortis Life, Reigate.




- ENDS -



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Ageas UK (formerly Fortis 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 (RIAS, Ageas
Insurance Solutions, Kwik-Fit Insurance Services, Text2Insure and InsureTech Systems).

Insuring in the region of 7.6 million customers and working with a range of partners, Ageas is recognised for delivering consistent
and high-quality customer experiences. It employs almost 4,000 people with a head office based in Eastleigh and others based in
Belfast, Bournemouth, Gloucester, Haywards Heath, London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Redditch, Reigate and Stoke-on-Trent.

Ageas is an international insurance company with a heritage spanning more than 180 years. Ranked among the top 20 insurance
companies in Europe, Ageas has chosen to concentrate its business activities in Europe and Asia, which together make up the
largest share of the global insurance market. They are grouped around four segments: Belgium, United Kingdom, Continental
Europe and Asia. It is an undisputed leader in the Belgian market for individual life and employee benefits, as well as a leading
non-life player, through AG Insurance. Internationally Ageas has a strong presence in the UK, where it is the third largest player in
private car insurance. The company also has subsidiaries in France, Germany, Turkey, Ukraine and Hong Kong. Ageas has a track
record in developing partnerships with strong financial institutions and key distributors in different markets around the world and
successfully operates partnerships in Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal, China, Malaysia, India and Thailand. Ageas employs more than
11,000 people and has annual inflows of almost EUR 16 billion.



PRESS CONTACT
Louisa Barnard
Tel : 023 8031 3147
E-mail : press.uk@ageas.co.uk



Ageas UK
Ageas House, Tollgate, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO53 3YA
www.ageas-uk.co.uk




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