News

Cirencester Friendly is delighted to announce they’ve been awarded “We Invest in People Gold Accreditation” by Investors in People. This is a significant achievement for the Society, which improves on the Silver Accreditation gained in 2020 during their initial assessment. This higher level demonstrates the emphasis the Society places on nurturing and developing its talent and is a vital part of the growth strategy.

Since Investors in People was founded in 1991, with the mission to make work better, thousands of companies have been assessed around the world with only 16% achieving gold accreditation. The assessment looks at three key areas - Improving, Leadership and Supporting - each split into three subsections. Cirencester Friendly achieved an advanced status in eight out of the nine criteria, with an overall score of 775 out of a possible 900. This is significantly higher than both the industry average of 738 and the Investor in People average of 728.

PMS Mortgage Club, part of Sesame Bankhall Group, has enhanced its protection offering with the addition of leading mutual society Cirencester Friendly as one of its partner firms.

The move gives PMS Members access to Cirencester Friendly’s income protection products: Income Assured Enhanced and My Earnings Protected. The products cover up to 65% of a customer’s income should they become unable to work due to illness or injury. They are designed to be both affordable and inclusive, with There is no premium loading for smoking, occupation, or hazardous pursuits., and the products can offer protection against injuries from day one, wWith and a wide range of deferred periods including split deferred. The friendly society also offers added-value benefits to Members outside of its products including year-round support, not just at point of claim. They have an excellent reputation for customer service and claims management, with a pay out rate of over 95% in 2022.

Individual income protection provider Cirencester Friendly paid 95.4% of claims in 2022. This represents a slight increase from 2021 when 93.6% of claims were paid and maintains an impressive record of paying on average more than 94% of claims over the past decade.

Cirencester paid 1,348 claims across their portfolio in 2022. Most claimants (59%) were aged between 31 and 50, but almost a quarter (23%) were aged 30 or under. This demonstrates the value of protection for anyone of working age and that accidents or illness can happen to anyone.

Cirencester Friendly is delighted to announce that Jo Wilkie has been appointed as their new Strategic Partnership Manager, taking up her position on 06 March 2023.

Jo has more than 20 years’ experience in financial services, working at a senior level in both relationship management and business development roles. Much of her experience has been with leading technology providers, having worked at both iPipeline and Iress. In addition to that, Jo has had a variety of roles with product providers, including Vitality, The Exeter and Guardian. She firmly believes that innovative technology is the key to bringing greater accessibility and affordability to the protection market.