Record year for cash plan provider as turnover hits £12m
CASH plan provider Sovereign Health Care has recorded another year of growth with its highest ever turnover, while paying out a record amount to its customers in claims.
The Bradford-based organisation recorded a pre-tax surplus of £2.2m, with turnover up by £400,000 to £12m during 2015.
Sovereign also paid out more to its customers than ever before. In 2015 it paid out claims worth a total of £7.2m – the highest amount paid to policyholders since Sovereign was founded as the Bradford Hospital Fund in 1873.
Sovereign said its reserves continued to exceed solvency capital requirements, with its investment portfolio and cash deposits worth around £55m at year end, an increase of £2.1m on the organisation’s 2014 figures.
Sovereign Health Care does not have shareholders and any surplus it makes is reinvested in the business or given by Gift Aid to the Sovereign Health Care Charitable Trust. In 2015 the charitable trust received a donation of just under £500,000, allowing the trust in turn to make donations of £691,000 to local good causes, equating to almost 25% of Sovereign’s post-tax profits.
Dr Bob Dugdale, Sovereign’s chairman, said: “Our 2015 results show the great strides that Sovereign Health Care has made, which in turn enabled continued significant donations through the charitable trust. This is my second year as chairman and I am delighted that we have been able to build on past successes in this way.”
Russ Piper, Sovereign’s chief executive, added: “As we entered the final full year of a pricing cycle, an increase in claims was to be expected. However, the level of that increase was unprecedented compared to previous years, and it is encouraging to know that our cash plans are relevant and helpful for our customers.”
“Our charitable trust and the donations and grants we make are very important to us, so it’s essential that our business operates in a manner that enables us to make these donations. Being there for our customers and local communities when they need us most remains a key priority for Sovereign and I’m pleased to say that we certainly achieved that in 2015.”
