Liverpool-based health insurer and corporate health cash plans provider Medicash has reported a net increase of 105,000 new policyholders in 2023.
The company’s annual results also shows the period saw the business witness net growth of more than 100,000 policyholders, largely driven by increased demand from businesses across the UK looking to put a low-cost health plan in place to care for their employees.
In total, Medicash’s policy base increased by 21.7% to reach 586,470 at the end of 2023.
Medicash’s turnover rose by £10m over the period to reach £51m for the first time in the company’s history, while claim pay outs increased by £10.6m. Despite this, Medicash reported a pre-tax profit of £1.8m for the period, turning around a pre-tax loss of £2.2m in 2022.
Medicash added the importance and impact of the intermediary community was also clear in helping it to maintain above industry average growth in 2023, with 68.9% of all new business coming via brokers in 2023.
Commissions paid also grew to £3.3m in 2023, up from £2.4m in 2022.
Paul Gambon, sales and marketing director at Medicash, (pictured) said: “The demand for employee health benefits has surged in recent years as more employers are looking for affordable solutions to support the health and wellbeing of their entire workforce.
“A health cash plan provides the perfect means of doing this, with over 900 new companies signing up to a Medicash health plan in 2023.
“We’re also thrilled with the amount of industry recognition we’ve received for our top-quality customer service and health plans.
“The tremendous period of growth that we’ve seen demonstrates how employers, and their workforce, value our health plans, and coupled with the growing importance of digital technology in everyday healthcare, our continued investment in this area has also played a key factor in our market success.”
The year also saw Medicash acquire One Derby Square, the former Pearl Assurance House in Liverpool, in a deal worth £12m.
Andy Roberts, finance and IT director at Medicash, added: “The diversification of our investment portfolio to include One Derby Square marked a key milestone for the business in 2023.
“Not only does this include high profile tenants such as Tesco, Pret a Manger and Exchange Chambers, it will also deliver a strong and regular income stream going forward.
“Despite seeing such seismic growth in our customer base over recent years, our investment in digital innovation and back-office systems have allowed us to service this growth in policyholders while maintaining our high levels of customer service.
“They’ve also allowed us to maintain one of the lowest operating expense ratios in the industry of just 23.1%, helping us to remain one of the most competitive health cash plan providers in the market.”