What Cirencester Friendly does

Cirencester Friendly Society Limited is a UK mutual friendly society founded in 1890 and authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registration number 109987). Operating from Mutuality House in South Cerney, Gloucestershire with approximately 90 staff, the Society provides individual income protection insurance, paying members a regular income if they are unable to work due to illness or injury. The company's stated claims payout rate averages 94% over the last 10 years.

The product portfolio centres on two core income protection contracts — Income Assured Enhanced and My Earnings Protected — both distributed exclusively through regulated UK financial advisers and Appointed Representatives. The Society supplements these contracts with an ecosystem of added-value benefits: GP24 (a 24/7 virtual GP service), Friendly Voice (a confidential nurse support line), Children's Critical Illness Support (£2,500 lump sum), Your Halo (a personalised health and wellbeing service), Member Perks (a discount programme operated through the wholly-owned subsidiary Cirencester Friendly Member Rewards Limited), and the 125 Foundation (a community and hardship award programme established in 2015 to mark the Society's 125th anniversary).

As a mutual, Cirencester Friendly is owned by its members rather than external shareholders, with profits reinvested for member benefit. Revenue is generated through recurring subscription-style premiums, with all business conducted within the UK. Distribution is entirely intermediated, supported by dedicated member and adviser portals, an adviser Resource Hub and active social channels. The Society has no disclosed parent company, no external funding rounds and no recorded M&A activity.

Name

Cirencester Friendly

Legal name

Cirencester Friendly Society Limited

Website

https://cirencester-friendly.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1890

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cirencester Friendly Society Limited is a UK mutual friendly society founded in 1890, providing individual income protection insurance through regulated financial advisers. It offers two core products — Income Assured Enhanced and My Earnings Protected — alongside a portfolio of added-value health, wellbeing and rewards benefits.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Income Protection Insurance

NAICS

Other Insurance Funds (52519)

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)

akta.pro primary industry

Standalone Critical Illness Insurance (FSAIAKAA)

Keywords

• Income protection insurance
• Mutual friendly society
• UK insurance provider
• Financial adviser distribution
• Claims payout services

Headquarters

HQ city

Cirencester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Income Protection Insurance Premiums: Cirencester Friendly generates revenue through subscription-based income protection insurance premiums paid by members. Members pay regular premiums in exchange for coverage that pays a regular income if they cannot work due to illness or injury.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cirencester Friendly is a mutual friendly society that provides income protection insurance to UK individuals. Members pay recurring premiums in exchange for regular income payments if they are unable to work due to illness or injury. The core offering consists of two income protection products (Income Assured Enhanced and My Earnings Protected), supplemented by member benefits including GP24, Children's Critical Illness Support, Friendly Voice, Your Halo, Member Perks and the 125 Foundation community awards.

Product overview

Cirencester Friendly is a mutual Friendly Society offering income protection insurance products, including Income Assured Enhanced and My Earnings Protected, which pay members a regular income if they cannot work due to illness or injury. The company supplements its core insurance products with a range of added-value benefits including GP24 (virtual GP service), Children's Critical Illness Support, Friendly Voice (nurse support line), 125 Foundation (community awards), Member Perks (discounts), and Your Halo (health and wellbeing service). The product architecture consists of two primary income protection insurance products supported by multiple member benefits.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 125 Foundation: Exclusive financial support foundation established in 2015 to celebrate the Society's 125th Anniversary, providing awards to individual members in hardship and community projects.
• Income Assured Enhanced
• My Earnings Protected

Products and services

• Income Assured Enhanced An income protection insurance product that pays members a regular income if they cannot work due to illness or injury. Sold to individual members through regulated financial advisers.
• My Earnings Protected An income protection insurance product that insures part of a member's earnings to provide financial protection if income stops due to illness or injury. Sold to individual members through regulated financial advisers.
• GP24 Added-value benefit providing members, their partners and children with telephone and video access to a qualified GP 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Children's Critical Illness Support Added-value benefit providing a £2,500 lump sum if a member's child falls ill with one of ten listed illnesses.
• Friendly Voice Confidential telephone service staffed by a Personal Nurse offering practical help, emotional support, therapies and second medical opinions for members and their partners.
• Your Halo A personalised health and wellbeing service available to members.
• 125 Foundation Established in 2015 to mark the Society's 125th anniversary, the 125 Foundation provides exclusive financial support through Individual Awards for personal needs and Community Awards for local projects and causes.
• Member Perks Discount and rewards program offering members savings on brands such as M&S, EE, Apple and Halfords, plus cinema tickets, gym membership and grocery savings. Operated by wholly-owned subsidiary Cirencester Friendly Member Rewards Limited.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• Guardian 180: Smaller UK income protection specialist targeting professional and higher-earner segments via advisers. Comparable specialist IP focus but at earlier growth stage and with a more niche customer profile.

Broad incumbents

• AIG Life: UK subsidiary of global insurer offering income protection and other protection products through advisers. Comparable intermediary distribution and IP product focus, but backed by the balance sheet of a major global insurer.
• Legal & General: One of the UK's largest life insurers with a broad product range including group and individual income protection. Competes in the same adviser channel but at vastly greater scale and with a multi-line portfolio.
• Royal London: Large UK mutual life and pensions provider with income protection offerings. Comparable mutual ownership ethos but a much broader product portfolio and significantly larger scale than Cirencester Friendly.
• Aviva: Major UK life and general insurer offering individual and group income protection through advisers and direct channels. Overlapping product and customer base but at substantially larger scale with diversified lines of business.
• LV= (Liverpool Victoria): UK mutual insurer with life, retirement and protection products including income protection. Comparable mutual structure and adviser distribution, though operating across a much wider product set.
• Vitality Life: UK life and health insurer with shared-value protection products including income protection. Overlaps on UK protection market but with a distinctive wellness-linked pricing model and broader health insurance offering.

Direct peers

• British Friendly: UK mutual friendly society specialising exclusively in income protection insurance. Direct head-to-head competitor to Cirencester Friendly in the intermediary IP market, with a comparable mutual structure and similar product proposition.
• Holloway Friendly: UK friendly society focused on income protection for professionals. Closely comparable mutual, single-line IP specialist competing for the same adviser-distributed business as Cirencester Friendly.
• Shepherds Friendly: UK mutual friendly society offering income protection alongside savings and investment products. Comparable mutual structure and adviser-led distribution model, with overlapping target market of UK consumers seeking IP cover.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Ciren_friendly
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/cirencesterfriendly
• Facebookfacebook.com/cirencesterfriendly
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cirencester-friendly
• Instagraminstagram.com/cirencesterfriendly

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cirencester Friendly