Press
release
Castle Cover expands with
ntl:Telewest Business
- Poole-based insurer looks
to grow bandwidth to meet demand
- Internet forms major part
of business going forward
- Internal company processes
sped up
7 June, 2007. Castle Cover has turned to
ntl:Telewest Business, part of the Virgin Media group, to grow its
internet and inbound caller capabilities as its business expands
rapidly. The Poole-based specialist insurer, which provides home,
travel and motor cover for the over-50s, is growing fast and needed
a communications network capable of carrying increasing amounts of
calls and data without compromising the company’s ability to
operate efficiently. It turned to ntl:Telewest Business to provide
its internet and voice capabilities.
Castle Cover, which employs 140 people at its
single Poole site, currently receives more than 2,000 calls in a
single day. It also sells an increasing amount of its services over
the internet.
“A high performance network is critical for us
to be able to offer an excellent service to our customers,” said
Andy Boyes, Castle Cover’s IT Director. “To handle a large volume
of calls, perform secure credit card transactions and other back
office logistics, we need a resilient network.”
ntl:Telewest Business provides 120 ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital Network) lines into Castle Cover. The
insurance group also receives its 0800 and 0845 numbers from
ntl:Telewest Business to cover in-bound calls.
Andy Boyes further stated: “We’re growing
rapidly and are looking at hiring new staff and expanding into a
second site. We need a network that can handle growing call and
data traffic without downtime to deliver exceptional customer
service. As it is, the network is reliable and performs
brilliantly, which in turn enables us to plan for our future as a
business.”
Gerry Arthurs, Head of Business Markets in the
South East for ntl:Telewest Business, said: “Fast, reliable
communications are critical to business success, especially in a
highly competitive market such as the insurance industry. As
ntl:Telewest Business rolls out its national network upgrades
across the country, we now offer the most technologically advanced
communications network of any service provider in the UK.”
About ntl:Telewest Business
ntl:Telewest Business, part of the UK’s second
largest fixed-line telecommunications company, is a leading
communications provider to businesses, public sector organisations
and service providers in the UK. It delivers a complete portfolio
of voice, data and internet solutions nation-wide.
ntl:Telewest Business sales and support
teams are located across the UK, in close proximity to our
customers, as part of a commitment to deliver superior customer
service.
ntl:Telewest Business delivers services over
the Group’s £13bn investment in its state-of-the-art
infrastructure giving business customers access to the largest
alternative network in the UK.
ntl:Telewest Business is trusted to provide
critical communications to high profile customers
including: Heathrow's Terminal 5, Birmingham City Council and
Cambridge County Council.
For further information go to http://www.ntltelewestbusiness.co.uk/
Rebecca Tyrer, PR
Manager
ntl:Telewest
Business
T: 01256 754
715
E: rebecca.tyrer@virginmedia.co.uk
Chris Lee, Press Office
Rainier PR
T: 020 7494 6578
E: clee@rainierpr.co.uk
About Castle Cover
Castle Cover launched on 31st July
2006 as a new entrant in the ever growing over-50s general
insurance market.
Castle Cover is led by well-known industry
expert, Andrew Marchington and is backed by HSBC Bank and Asset
Ventures Ltd., part of the family investment vehicle that controls
Primary Group, the Bermuda-based insurance distributor.
The launch is supported by a £10m annual
marketing budget and Marchington and his team plan to hit Gross
Written Premium levels of over £100m and sign up over half a
million customers within a five-year period.
Launching with a blue chip panel that includes
AXA, RSA and L&G, Castle Cover believe they have a great
advantage in neither being tied to one supplier nor owned by an
Insurer.
Castle Cover do not believe that the over 50s
have historically received a fair deal on price and are delighted
that 71% of their customers have joined Castle Cover due to a
better value offer with 17% saving up to £100 on policy
price. 89% claim they have received excellent service and 98%
would recommend Castle Cover to a friend.
Castle Cover is based in Poole, Dorset where
over 400 jobs will be created within four years and will offer a UK
based customer service. For more info, visit http://www.castlecover.co.uk/