Rias secures Insurance Times Bronze Award for safer driving initiative and partnership with Specsavers

• In 2017, Rias and Specsavers joined forces to help keep customers safer on the road, through free eyesight testing, raising awareness and facilitating access to discounted glasses.
• Rias has secured the 2018 Insurance Times Bronze Award in the Customer Champion of the Year category, due to the safer driving initiative and partnership.
  
  

Back in 2017, Rias partnered up with Specsavers to give customers access to free eye tests and discounted glasses. This initiative aimed to help reduce the number of accidents and catastrophic motor insurance claims caused by poor eyesight, which is a large contributor to unsafe driving[1].

Having paid out £34.5 million in claims for motor accidents resulting in serious injury or fatalities in 2015, with 72% of the large losses coming from drivers over the age of 75[2], Rias have decided to call on customers to keep themselves and other road users safe by getting them to check that they are legal and safe before getting behind the wheel.

Since introducing a new eyesight question as part of the quote journey and partnering up with Specsavers in 2017, Rias has had over 50,000 direct conversations with customers about their eyesight with very positive feedback, and over 1,700 customers have benefited from free eye tests and exclusive discounts from Specsavers.

Insurance Times has awarded Rias the 2018 Bronze Award in the Customer Champion of the Year category, recognising that the safer driving initiative and the partnership with Specsavers have resulted in measurable improvements to our end-customer experience by supporting customers to make the right decisions. 

Why are eyesight checks so important?

Eyesight deterioration becomes increasingly common as people get older and can significantly reduce someone’s ability to drive safely.

Although the risks from driving with deteriorating eyesight are commonly known, the Royal National Institute of Blind People has estimated that 13.8 million people don’t have their eyesight checked on a regular basis[3], which poses an even higher risk for older people who are more vulnerable to eyesight deterioration.

Drivers over the age of 70 are required to renew their licence every three years and self-certify that they are fit to drive, but eyesight checks aren’t a mandatory requirement.

With the number of drivers over 70 rising over the coming years, road safety groups and campaigners, along with Rias, have called on the DVLA and the Government to make eyesight testing compulsory every time a driver renews their licence (every 10 years for drivers under 70 and every 3 years for drivers over 70).

You can find some top tips on how to reduce the likelihood of an accident here.