Auckland - 27 July 2010 - AA Insurance has today announced its partnership with youth charity Blue Light to support young New Zealanders, helping them to make good decisions and develop strong self esteem.
AA Insurance will be the principle corporate sponsor of Blue Light, a New Zealand organisation that aims to raise the self esteem of young people, reduce youth offending numbers and build better relationships between police, young people, their parents and the community.
"It's important that young people get started on the right track, so they grow up to be positive people who make sensible life decisions," says Suzanne Wolton, Head of Corporate Affairs, AA Insurance. "We chose to support Blue Light because it has a great community focus. It really strives to make our young people stronger and our communities safer, by running programmes that expose youth to different, healthy experiences. It's a really remarkable organisation and we're proud to be helping them reach more young people."
AA Insurance will provide funding to extend Blue Light's programmes, such as leadership camps and handbooks for youth, support national office projects and help raise Blue Light's profile.
"Although it's not a main focus, our support also extends to teaching young people about being good and responsible drivers. More than any other age group, our research has found that younger drivers take bigger risks on the road," says Suzanne.
"At Blue Light we aim to build up our young people, so they can become strong individuals who are positive members of the community, and we really focus on being alcohol, drug and violence free," says Rod Bell, CEO, Blue Light. "It's a big job working with over 200,000 youth each year so we're very pleased to have AA Insurance on board to help boost the work we do."
According to the 2010 AA Insurance Drivers Index, 25 percent of 18-24 year olds have been involved in an accident where their driving was considered to be the cause. AA Insurance surveyed 4,336 New Zealand drivers aged 18-65 for the Index.
"We realise that teenagers are faced with a lot of decisions when they reach adulthood, and safe driving responsibilities are just some of them. We hope that with Blue Light we can make these decisions less confusing and educate young people on how to be responsible drivers" says Suzanne.
"Young people often don't understand the benefits of car insurance, especially as they may drive older cars that are of less value. But if you damage someone else's car and you don't have insurance you will have to pay for it. One accident could leave a young driver with a long-term debt."
ENDS
For more information please contact:Kate Webby, Botica Butler Raudon Partners, (09) 303 3862, 021 403 503 or email Haydock, AA Insurance Limited, (09) 966 8403 or email
About AA InsuranceAA Insurance was launched in 1994 and is a joint venture between New Zealand Automobile Association and Suncorp-Metway Limited.
AA Insurance has over 300 staff servicing 150,000 plus customers and manages over 300,000 policies. Over half of those policies cover motor insurance risks including cars, bikes, caravans and motor homes, and the remainder are house and contents insurance.
In 2008 and 2009, AA Insurance was a finalist in the unlimited/JRA Best Places to Work Survey in the medium-large workplace category, making it one of the top places to work in New Zealand.
AA Insurance Limited has an A+ (Strong) Insurer Financial Strength Rating given by Standard and Poor's (Australia) Pty Ltd on 8 January 2010. For further information visit,
About Blue LightNew Zealand Blue Light is a registered charity and community youth and policing initiative that runs programmes and activities for youth throughout New Zealand free from drugs, alcohol and violence. Blue Light aims to reduce the number of young people becoming offenders or victims of crime and to build better relationships between the police, young people, their parents and the community.
Blue Light programmes and activities include sporting, cultural, educational, community and crime reduction. There are currently 70 branches of Blue Light throughout New Zealand. This year is the 27th anniversary of Blue Light.Each year over 200,000 young people and their families are involved in Blue Light programmes. Although the Police and community support Blue Light through the delivery of man-hours the actual costs of programs are met by grants, donations and sponsorship. For more information visit,
About the 2010 AA Insurance Drivers IndexThe 2010 AA Insurance Drivers Index is an independent internet survey of 4,336 drivers aged 18 to 65 from around New Zealand.
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