Healthy results for Sovereign as record number paid out

CASH plan provider Sovereign’s finances are in good health after a solid year.

In 2014, the amount paid out to customers in claims increased to over £7m, compared to £6.8m last year.

This is the highest amount since Sovereign was founded as Bradford Hospital Fund in 1873.  

The firm made pretax profits of £1.3m, unchanged from the previous year, and turnover increased from £11.4m to £11.6m.

The firm has no shareholders and its profits are reinvested in the business or given by Gift Aid to Sovereign Health Care Charitable Trust.  

Sovereign’s cash plans mean people pay back towards expenses such as dental treatment, optical bills, prescription charges and physiotherapy costs.

Dr Bob Dugdale, Sovereign’s chairman, said: “I’m delighted that my first full year in post has been another successful one for the commercial business and saw continued significant donations made by the charitable trust.

“Our executive and management team have been tasked with making an annual trading surplus and continue using dividend income to help fund the charitable trust. I’m pleased to report that not only were these objectives achieved during the 12 months but we exceeded our targets for sales growth and surplus.”

Russ Piper, Sovereign’s chief executive, said 2014 had been a positive year for the economy and this had been supported by a significant increase in the usage of its cash plans.

He said: “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.

“Our charitable giving continues to be very important to us, so it’s essential that our business operates in a manner that sustains our ability to make these donations.

“Being there for our customers and local communities when they need us most remains a key priority for us and I’m pleased to say that we certainly achieved that in 2014.”