The Health Insurance Shop first opened for business on January 14th 2005. It was set up by Michael Webber an insurance broker with more than 40 years experience who was unhappy with the way the industry was very rapidly contracting down to just a few large players. Banks were purchasing or joining up with Building Societies, who were in turn purchasing or joining up with insurers.

AXA now own or control Secure Health, Health-On-Line, Den Plan, Saga and PPP. A life policy with Tesco’s is in reality a Norwich Union policy. Who in turn own the RAC and a large majority of the so called independents advertising on the television nightly? Direct Line, Churchill (the one with the bulldog), Privilege & Nat West are all Royal Bank of Scotland. Michael found it increasingly difficult to offer his clients an independent and unbiased service. Apart from never being able to unravel who owned or had a bias towards who then came the offers of incentives or attempts to restrict him to only offer his clients a particular insurers products and policies.

With just his savings, no loans or overdrafts whatsoever (who’s going to lend you money to set up in competition to them) The Health Insurance Shop was opened.

The objectives were to employ and train agents to know their subject. Obtain agencies with every possible provider in the UK. I.E Make sure all our agents have no reason to be biased towards a particular insurer, and make this service available to as wider range of the public as possible. Now two and a half years later the industry has contracted down even further to the point where we are fast becoming the last remaining truly independent broker in our field. We have many thousands of satisfied clients. A head office with 4 full time staff and a 90% computer on-line submission capability in Dorset. A fully staffed  office in Manchester. Regional Managers in London, Cambridge, Birmingham, Norwich and Edinburgh and close to 40 agents in the field.

The shareholders of The Health Insurance Shop are its directors and staff and these directors and staff are not directors or shareholders of anybody else. We have no allegiance, financial or otherwise to anybody other than ourselves and our clients.

The Health Insurance Shop is regulated by The Financial Services Authority. You can check our authorisation by visiting http://www.fsa.gov.uk/register  Our licence number is 304494