General & Medical Healthcare

Press Release

A dose of medicine in these hard times

Staff at General and Medical Finance plc.

The recession has proved a business tonic for General & Medical Finance plc, the Peterborough firm which has continued to expand and even to employ people who have been made redundant elsewhere in the city.
It has built a considerable reputation for its excellent private medical insurance (PMI) and first class customer service.

There are plans afoot for new products in 2010, possibly the expansion of the firm's existing premises, and a greater input in the community, by the sponsoring of two football teams and one hockey team.

"We are a local, Peterborough company in the same marketplace as huge organisations such as BUPA, Aviva and Prudential," said managing director David Wildman. "But we compete effectively, our smaller size gives us a number of advantages in terms of speed and flexibility.

"Our USP has to be our outstanding customer service. People can speak to a real person at the other end of the line and every new member is assigned to their own client relations co-ordinator – this is the person they will deal with for every aspect of their cover with General & Medical."

Proof of General & Medical's solid performance in the marketplace, both in terms of cost and level of benefits, is demonstrated on comparison websites notably DEFAQTO, where several of its products are in the top five, including the number one position.

The firm's core client base is individuals and families who buy medical cover through the General & Medical website.

Specialist insurance brokers also generate business for General & Medical from corporate clients and sports clubs, including some rugby league Super League clubs – a significant factor in General & Medical's healthy growth.

Staff numbers at General & Medical have more than doubled in the last three years and there is no let-up to this development. A sizeable IT department ensures the ability of the firm to automate processes and maintain a visible presence on the web, thereby assisting the working practices of both sales and administration. This is an integral part of the corporate philosophy of being self-sufficient, with skilled people in the right place within the company to be able to take the next step forward.

Initially run from offices near Oundle, in 2005 Mr Wildman relocated the business to larger premises in Peterborough to facilitate not only the additional workspace required, but also to make staff recruitment easier from within the large and growing Peterborough area.

This year, celebrating 21 years since he founded the company, General & Medical goes from strength to strength, and in September took delivery of four new cars for some of the sales team, with more cars already on order.

The company continues to provide a raft of strong PMI products for individuals and families, corporates large and small, and sportspersons at both individual and club levels.

Alongside this core business are innovative ideas such as Opt-in – a way of buying healthcare online which can, for instance, enable charities to reward their supporters' loyalty by offering them a discount on General & Medical PMI policies while the charity benefits from income generated by the introduction of the business. This scheme can apply to schools, clubs, associations and many other worthy causes.

The full article contains 535 words and appears in Peterborough ET newspaper, published on 29 September 2009.

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General & Medical Healthcare are a division of General & Medical Finance Plc - Registered in England No 2421641
General & Medical Finance Plc are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA)
Our firm reference number is 306094 and this may be checked at www.fsa.gov.uk/register/