CALLERS got the shock of their lives recently when phoning the Southampton Insurance Services' hotline for a quote.

On the other end of the line was none other than Francis Benali, Saints' club captain, who was ably manning the phones for an afternoon at the company's offices in Royal Crescent Road, Southampton.

The insurance initiative, a subsidiary of Southampton Leisure Holdings, aims to reward all Saints fans with a wide range of competitive insurance products, and Franny was only too pleased to help out.

Although Franny admits to having limited insurance experience, the tough tackling defender was happy to pass each inquiry straight through to Phil Shephard, financial services director of SIS and his team.

Commenting, Franny said: "It was a bit different to how I normally spend my afternoons - but it was great to see how a busy insurance office works.

"My household contents insurance was coming up for renewal, so I was able to give them a bit of business at the same time!"

Phil Shephard said: "It was great to have Franny here for the afternoon and I think it certainly surprised one or two of our callers. I like to think it's part of the added value we strive to offer all our customers!"

Phil added: "We have been very pleased with the response to SIS so far. Saints fans are very loyal and are only too happy to give us business if they can. With all the proceeds reinvested back into the Football Academy to find new players for the future, it's another way fans can support the club."

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.