Health Shield News

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Health Shield announces strong annual results.

Health Shield has announced its 2018 results, revealing another year of impressive growth across all its products and services.

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The friendly society’s premium income rose by 8%, the 18th year in succession it has increased. This was despite the UK economy suffering its lowest level of annual growth since the financial crisis, with continuing uncertainty surrounding the impact of Brexit.

Health Shield achieved revenue of £41.3m, up 8% from £38.1m in 2017. Membership also continued to increase, with 115,000 members joining during the year. The Society now holds the position as the largest corporate cash plan provider*, covering 332,000 employees.

Health Shield key results 2018:
  • 94.9% of claims submitted were paid**.
  • 8% rise in premium income.
  • 11% increase in new members and 11% increase in total members.
  • 79.3% of annual contributions paid back to members in benefits.
  • 14% increase in employees from 154 to 175 staff.
  • Winner of all five of the major industry awards: Health Insurance Daily, Cover, MoneyFacts, Corporate Adviser and Workplace Savings & Benefits.
Claims volumes & speed:
  • 4% increase in number of claims paid to 620,000. Health Shield paid more than 2,450 claims a day, 250 per day more than in 2017***.
  • That equates to more than £30m worth of claims for 2018, an increase of over £1m year-on-year.
  • 99.9% of claims were paid within two working days.
  • 99.7% of claims are paid right the first time.
  • There were more than 500,000 claims for dental, physiotherapy and optical benefits in 2018.
Nearly £8m was paid to members to help with the costs of optical care.
94% of those who claimed in 2018 said Health Shield provided a quick turnaround of claims.

Commenting on the results, Health Shield Chief Executive Courtney Marsh said: “We are very pleased with this set of results. The cash plan market remained extremely competitive in 2018 with significant ongoing price pressure, impacted further by the IPT rise in 2017. Despite the challenging economic climate, it is encouraging to see that employers are still prioritising and investing in employee wellbeing.

“We continued to grow our business and achieved impressive year-on-year growth of 8% gross premium income, making 2018 the 18th consecutive year we have increased our premium income. This is because we listen to what intermediaries, employers and employees want. We differentiate our offering by encouraging employees to take control of their own health and wellbeing, to ultimately reduce and prevent longer term illnesses. The success of this strategy is borne out by our wellbeing service usage data. We’re taking a leadership position on providing integrated physical and psychological support tailored to need. We believe that affordable healthcare should be as accessible to a small construction company in Burnley as a large firm of solicitors in London.

“Over recent years, we’ve been diversifying our product offerings into the wider health and wellbeing market alongside digitising our systems and processes. These changes will be consolidated into an entirely new and innovative proposition for the corporate wellbeing market later this year, leading the business – and the Health Cash Plan market – into a new era and enabling us to continue our impressive recent growth record into the future.

“Health Shield’s aim is to help people lead healthier, happier and more productive lives. We want to be personable and friendly, traditional yet technological, inclusive and good to members and customers alike. We will continue to offer products that provide better healthcare all round, with services that keep companies and their staff in the best of health.”