Health cash plan provider Medicash says its Liverpool-based team has sold a record number of policies in 2021 – its 150th anniversary year. Tony McDonough reports

Liverpool-based national health cash plan provider Medicash sold a record 122,000 new policies in 2021 – its 150th anniversary year.

And Medicash, which is based in Derby Square in the city centre, said it had already made a strong start to 2022, selling more than 33,000 new polices. This takes the total number of policyholders to more than 375,000.

This is sure to offer a boost to the organisation’s bottom line when it reports its full financial results for 2021. Medicash typically posts its annual accounts on Companies House for the previous year in August or September. Its most recent accounts, for the 12 months covering 2020, show turnover of £32.3m and pre-tax profits of £9.7m.

On Sunday, January 8, 1871, the first Hospital Sunday collection was held in Liverpool, raising £4,685 to support the local voluntary hospitals. This provided critical funding decades before the formation of the NHS.

It was the start of an organisation that eventually was to become Medicash. It has been known by many names over its 150-year history including The Penny in the Pound Fund and Merseyside Health Benefits Council, before changing its name to Medicash as it expanded its regional focus to a national one.

READ MORE: Medicash celebrates 150 years of health innovation

Today it offers health insurance policies to people either directly or increasingly through employers. Many companies offer Medicash memberships as an extra benefit for their staff. It offers money for things such dental or optical treatment as well as a number of other treatments. It also offers money for hospital stays.

In October 2020, chief executive Sue Weir reported a surge in new business with the pandemic heightening awareness of staff wellness among employers. She explained: “Few firms would have disagreed that their employees’ health and wellbeing matters – or that the issue was rising up their agenda. The current environment has accelerated this change.”

Among the new services recently introduced by Medicash was Phio, a clinically-led digital physiotherapy app. This has been prompted by data showing 39% of people working from home throughout the pandemic had developed new musculoskeletal problems.

Phio allows Medicash’s corporate policyholders to quickly access MSK triage support from the palm of their hand. Users can then self-manage their physiotherapy journey, controlling their own rate of recovery and tracking progress.

“We’ve been working hard throughout 2021 and the start of 2022 to offer even more accessible and great value services for our customers, and we’re proud to see that our constant focus on innovation has resonated with customers,” says Paul Gambon, sales and marketing director at Medicash.

“With the CIPD reporting that up to three-quarters of senior leaders have employee wellbeing on their agenda following the pandemic, we’ve seen this increased awareness of employee wellbeing translate into more businesses taking active steps to look after their workforce.”

Medicash recently relaunched its website and app to include a range of new features including a series of videos to help customers understand the additional digital health benefits of their plan.

The business picked up a series of industry awards in 2021, including Best Cash Plan Provider at both the Workplace Savings and Benefits Awards and the Corporate Adviser Awards.

“We’re thrilled to receive further recognition of our top-quality customer service,” adds Medicash chief executive Sue Weir. “The tremendous period of growth that we’ve seen at Medicash demonstrates how employers value our health plans, and we’re looking forward to seeing this trend continue.”