Western Provident Association
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| Type | Provident Association |
|---|---|
| Industry | Health insurance |
| Founded | 1901 |
| Headquarters | Taunton, Somerset, UK |
| Key people | Julian Stainton, CEO |
| Employees | 280 (2008) |
| Website | www.wpa.org.uk |
WPA, or Western Provident Association, is a not-for-profit private medical insurance firm based in Taunton, Somerset. Its subsidiary, WPA Protocol Plc, administers corporate healthcare trusts.
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[edit] History
In 1901, a group of workers founded the Reading Work People's Voluntary Hospital Contributory Fund to cover the costs of health care for their members. In 1939, it merged with the Bristol Hospital Fund, and in 1949 it was renamed the Western Provident Association (WPA). In 1992, WPA moved from Bristol to a specially-designed building in Taunton, Somerset.
It ranks as one of the top five competitors in the private medical insurance market. [1] The Financial Ombudsman Service has not adjudicated a complaint against WPA since 1996. WPA had a 93% retention rate for 2008 and approximately 20% of new individual customers came from recommendations by existing policyholders. [2]
===Provident Status==mariana castro andms Elms
[edit] Coinsurance
WPA was described by the World Health Organization as leading in the development of coinsurance, or "shared responsibility", policies, in which the patient pays a portion of the liability until an agreed limit. [3]
[edit] WPA vs. Norwich Union Healthcare, 2000
In 1997, Norwich Union staff falsely claimed over e-mail that WPA was insolvent. WPA sued for defamation. Norwich Union made a High Court apology and paid £450,000 in damages and costs to settle the case. [4] This was a landmark case because it was the first time e-mail was admitted as evidence in a British court.[5]
[edit] Cancer Drugs and NHS Top-Up
In 2007, WPA launched a new insurance plan which provided a health "top-up", supplementing NHS treatment. The first policy, called mycancerdrugs, was the first of its kind in the world[6] and funded cancer drugs licensed for use by the European Medicines Agency but not available on the NHS, including Avastin.[7] Because of a shortage of NHS dentists, cash plan policies for dental cover were also successful.[8]
Subsequently, other insurance companies have entered the top-up market and criticism has been levelled at the products from the union Unison which stated that the products would undermine the values of the NHS and risk creating a two-tier system in health care.[9]
[edit] WPA Protocol
WPA Protocol administers corporate healthcare trusts. This is an alternative arrangement to private medical insurance whereby larger companies, defined by Protocol as usually those with 400 or more members, can use WPA's infrastructure to administer their own healthcare provisions. Companies provide the funds from a trust, and WPA Protocol provides bespoke literature and telephone lines[10], as well as staff, infrastructure and economies of scale.
Trusts are not charged insurance premium tax and staff are considered to be more likely to claim responsibly from their own company as opposed to an insurer. Savings are estimated to be 7% compared to being fully insured.[10]
[edit] WPA Franchise
WPA is a franchise business, meaning self-employed individuals can buy a franchise to sell WPA products in their local area for a commission. Franchisees must complete a training course, as well as ongoing training, and submit a £2,500 fidelity bond, to ensure that customers are treated fairly, [11] although no franchisee has foregone a fidelity bond. [12]
[edit] Awards
[edit] Data Security
In 2010, WPA became the first UK insurer, and one of the first financial services companies in the UK, to be accredited for the British and International Standard for Information Security (BSI ISO/IEC 27001:2005), which is considered the benchmark for protecting sensitive and valuable information. [13]
[edit] Environment
The company holds the BSI ISO 14001 certification for environmental management. A 15m wind turbine generates electricity for the head office, and the company has a fleet of branded smart cars. It has also increased its use of electronic correspondence, home working, and has reduced the amount of waste sent to landfill by 67%. [14]
[edit] Business Continuity
To allow for continuity of business practice in case of emergencies, WPA has an off-side disaster recovery center. It was awarded the BS 25999 for Business Continuity Management, acknowledging the systems in place to continue normal operations even in the event of an emergency.
[edit] Quality Management and Customer Care
WPA is certified to the ISO 9001 standard, an accreditation which confirms record-keeping, effective monitoring and customer service, continual improvement, and regular management reviews.
The company was voted best UK insurer for Customer Care at the British Insurance Awards in 2005 and 2009,[15] as well as winning the Insurance Times Award for Health Insurer of the Year 2007. [16]
[edit] Innovation
In 2006 and 2007, WPA won the Laing & Buisson National Award for most innovative healthcare provider. This was for the Mycancerdrugs initiative, which was the first product of its kind anywhere in the world.[6]
[edit] Employers
The Confederation of British Industry rated WPA as one of the UK's Top 100 Companies, and it was identified as one of the Top 100 Best Employers in the Sunday Times Awards 2004 [17] and 2005.
[edit] References
- ^ "Datamonitor Research Store - UK Private Medical Insurance 2009"". Datamonitor. http://www.datamonitor.com/store/Product/toc.aspx?productId=DMFS2282. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
- ^ "The Customer is Number One"". Post Online. http://www.postonline.co.uk/post/news/1433590/top-post-stories. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
- ^ "Private Medical Insurance in the United Kingdom"". World Health Organization. http://www.euro.who.int/en/home/projects/observatory/publications/studies/private-medical-insurance-in-the-united-kingdom. Retrieved 2006.
- ^ "Letting Go of E-mail"". Information Age. http://www.information-age.com/article-archive/293161/letting-go-of-email.thtml. Retrieved 2006-02-10.
- ^ "Mail, News and More"". Exeter University. http://services.exeter.ac.uk/cmit/modules/the_internet/slides/sec-nature-of-email.html.
- ^ a b "WPA Insurance wins top national award"". BBC News. http://www.privatehealth.co.uk/news/september-2007/wpa-wins-top-national-award-697/. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
- ^ "Controversial NHS Scheme Launched"". London: The Daily Mail. 2007-04-24. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-450478/Controversial-NHS-scheme-launched.html. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
- ^ "Dental Cover for Children"". Private Health. http://www.privatehealth.co.uk/news/december-2006/dental-cover-children-318/. Retrieved 2006-12.
- ^ "Insurance firms eye top-up market"". BBC News. 2008-11-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7714039.stm. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
- ^ a b "DIY PMI"". Health Insurance Magazine. http://www.hi-mag.com/healthinsurance/article.do?articleid=20000081832. Retrieved 2002-10.
- ^ "Franchisor Data Entry Form"". WhatFranchise. http://www.whatfranchisemagazine.co.uk/featured/wpa.php?buy=4511&c=business_professional_services.
- ^ "Health Insurance Franchise, advice from WPA franchise"". Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZnjNHhGnYQ. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ "Data protected by 'wing and a prayer'"". Investment Week. http://www.ifaonline.co.uk/cover/news/1601184/companies-wing-prayer-protect-clients-wpa. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
- ^ "WPA - reducing our environmental impact"". WPA. http://www.wpa.org.uk/about/environment.html.
- ^ "2009 Winners & Finalists - British Insurance Awards"". British Insurance Awards. http://www.insuranceawards.com/2009-Finalists.html.
- ^ "Insurance Times Awards 2007"". Insurance Times. http://www.insurancetimes.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=13&storycode=368170. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
- ^ "Western Provident Association"". Project Taunton. http://www.projecttaunton.co.uk/business-and-investment/case-studies/383-western-provident-association.html.
