Channel Four comedian Jason Manford has been confirmed as the celebrity presenter of this year’s Health Insurance Awards.
Manford takes on the mantle from the now infamous Justin Lee Collins, whose hi-jinks are no doubt still fresh in the memory of last year’s 900-strong audience.
Jason is currently team captain on panel show 8 out 10 cats where he fields Jimmy Carr’s questions with the support of celebrity guests.
A northern comedian in the Peter Kay vein, Jason lists family friendly entertainers Tommy Cooper and Eric Morecambe among his favourites. He has performed alongside Jack Dee and Russell Howard on Live at the Apollo on BBC 1, hosted a breakfast show on XFM Manchester and presented his own Channel Four show Tonightly last year.
Freshly returned from a huge 94 date UK tour, Jason will be presenting awards to both intermediaries and providers who have stood out from their competitors over the past 12 months.
Voting is already underway for the hotly-contested Provider Awards, which are being overseen by actuarial and consulting firm Deloitte to ensure that the results represent true intermediary opinion.
Last year saw former Bupa chief executive Val Gooding crowned Health Insurance Personality of the Year, while Bristol-based private medical expenses provider BCWA scooped Health Insurance Company of the Year.
Meanwhile, advisers will shortly find out whether they have been shortlisted for those all-important Intermediary Awards. Jelf Group plc has won the Health Insurance Intermediary of the Year Award for the past two years running so all eyes will be on the competitors vying to steal the crown. This year we are welcoming four new judges to the panel, adding further expertise to the process. They will join industry stalwarts including newly-honoured Peter Le Beau MBE (see page 20) in making tough decisions about who tops each shortlist. Winning a Health Insurance Intermediary Award can add real value to your business, so why not take time out to enter this time around?
The “Oscars” of the health insurance and protection industry is again being held at the Grosvenor House on Park Lane in central London, this year on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22. We look forward to seeing many of you there.