Gravesham Friendly

Gravesham Friendly sells a membership plan built around two things: a weekly cash benefit if illness stops you working, and a pot of discretionary money you can claim against everyday health and household costs such as dental treatment, optical care, physiotherapy and hospital stays. Membership options are available for individuals, families, clubs, societies and group schemes, and the society states there is no medical underwriting, so joining does not involve a health assessment¹.

The plan sits alongside a deals scheme, Gravesham Friendly Extra, which all members can use, and a free will writing service provided through Squiggle Consult¹. The society states that over 80 per cent of members claim discretionary benefits every year and that 100 per cent of eligible claims have been paid¹. It has been supporting family finances since 1877 and describes its focus as providing value to members through practical benefits and financial support¹.

What Gravesham Friendly is: a mutual friendly society

A friendly society is a member-owned financial institution, and Gravesham Friendly describes itself as a mutual society: it exists to provide value to its members rather than to pay dividends to shareholders¹. In practice that means the people who hold its plans are the members the society serves, and its benefits are designed around family finances, weekly income if sickness strikes, and help with health and household costs.

The society has a long history. It states it has been supporting family finances since 1877¹. The name on the high street and in its advertising is Gravesham Friendly, and that is the name the firm behind the society lists as its current trading name on the FCA Register². The firm also appears on the Bank of England's list of insurers incorporated in the UK that are authorised to carry out contracts of insurance³, which tells you the society underwrites the insurance benefits it sells rather than passing them to a third-party insurer.

Friendly societies occupy a distinctive corner of the financial world, sitting alongside insurers but owned by their members. If you are weighing this kind of cover against other options, our guide to protection insurance explains how income and sickness cover generally works.

Membership and the benefits members can claim

Membership of Gravesham Friendly is built on its Sickness Plan, and the society offers membership options for individuals, families, clubs, societies and group schemes¹. The core of the plan is a weekly sickness benefit: if illness or injury stops you working, the plan pays a set amount each week for a period, with the level chosen when you join. The society states there is no medical underwriting, so you do not have to pass a health assessment to join¹.

Around the weekly benefit sit the discretionary benefits, which are what most members actually use. The society states that over 80 per cent of members claim discretionary benefits every year, and that 100 per cent of eligible claims have been paid¹. After 13 weeks of membership, claims can be made for health and everyday medical costs, including dental treatment and dentures, optical care such as eye tests, glasses, prescription sunglasses and contact lenses, medical and therapy costs including physiotherapy, osteopathy, podiatry, reflexology and private consultations, and hospital stays and maternity or paternity support¹. After 12 months of membership, the range widens to include first-time home buyer support, home energy efficiency improvements such as windows, heating, boilers and insulation, and education and training support¹.

The plan also includes a discretionary death benefit, with a higher amount for accidental death, and a free will writing service provided through Squiggle Consult¹. The society reports a member satisfaction score of 4.8 out of 5¹.

All members are also eligible for Gravesham Friendly Extra, a scheme of exclusive member deals on what the society calls life's essentials as well as days out¹. Gravesham Friendly Extra is managed and run for Gravesham Friendly by an outside company, and the society's terms note that neither the scheme's operator nor Gravesham Friendly is part of the same group as the product and service providers whose offers make up the scheme⁵. Each deal has its own terms and conditions, and members are directed to the individual provider for details⁵.

How discretionary benefits and claims work

The word "discretionary" is the most important thing to understand about these benefits. They are not guaranteed insurance payouts triggered automatically by an event. They are payments the society chooses to make from its discretionary fund, and the society decides each claim on its merits. This is a common structure: discretionary benefits paid at the discretion of the scheme's decision-makers appear across member schemes, not only at friendly societies⁶.

At Gravesham Friendly, a discretionary claim works on a reimbursement basis: the society reimburses 75 per cent of eligible costs, which it describes as helping reduce the financial pressure of everyday health and household expenses¹. So if you have a dental or optical bill, you pay it yourself and then claim a share of it back, up to the annual allowance that applies to your membership option. The allowance becomes available after 13 weeks of membership for health and medical claims, and the range of things you can claim widens after 12 months¹.

Because these payments are discretionary, the practical points to hold on to are:

• Eligible costs are reimbursed in part, not in full. The society reimburses 75 per cent of eligible costs¹.
• Waiting periods apply. Health and medical claims can begin after 13 weeks of membership; the wider household and education claims after 12 months¹.
• Payment is not guaranteed. A discretionary benefit is one the society chooses to pay, unlike the contractual weekly sickness benefit¹.
• Claims are not automatic. As with discretionary support schemes elsewhere, you have to apply, and the decision-maker looks at your particular circumstances⁷.

The society's own figures, that over 80 per cent of members claim each year and that 100 per cent of eligible claims have been paid, give a picture of how the scheme behaves in practice¹. Current prices, benefit levels and annual allowances for each membership option are set out on the society's own site, graveshamfriendly.co.uk, and change from time to time.

Who can join Gravesham Friendly

Membership options are available for individuals, families, clubs, societies and group schemes¹, so the plan can be held in your own name, for a household, or arranged through an organisation you belong to. The society states there is no medical underwriting, which means joining does not involve a health questionnaire or medical examination¹.

The plan is designed around people who want a cushion against the cost of being off work sick and against routine health bills. It is not the same as full income protection, which typically replaces a proportion of your salary, and it is not private medical insurance, which pays for treatment. If you are comparing types of cover, the guides to protection insurance and insurance set out how these products differ and what each tends to suit.

Dealing with Gravesham Friendly: online and by contact

Gravesham Friendly's home on the web is graveshamfriendly.co.uk, the website address recorded for the firm on the FCA Register². The site carries the member benefits information, the terms and conditions for the Sickness Plan and for Gravesham Friendly Extra, and the joining details for each membership option¹. Applications and claims for discretionary support of this kind can generally be made online or by phone⁸, and the society's own site is the place to find its current contact details, opening hours and claim forms.

For the Gravesham Friendly Extra deals, the terms note that each benefit has its own terms and conditions and that members should contact the provider of the individual deal for details⁵. So a question about a discounted product or service goes to that provider, while a question about your Sickness Plan, your membership or a discretionary claim goes to the society itself.

How to make a complaint to Gravesham Friendly

If something has gone wrong, the first step is always to complain to the society directly. Give the society the information it needs to assess the matter: your name and address, a clear account of what the problem is, how you want things put right, and any relevant reference details such as your membership number⁹. Include copies of relevant correspondence, and if the complaint follows a claim, the paperwork around it.

A clear, complete first complaint matters, because the society can only investigate what it knows about. Setting out the facts, dates and what outcome you are looking for gives the complaint the best chance of being resolved quickly, and it creates the paper trail you would need if the matter later went to the ombudsman.

Complex complaints: what happens and when

Not every complaint can be answered straight away. Where a complaint raises serious issues, or affects more than one member, complaints bodies review and prioritise each complaint based on how serious it is and how many people may be affected¹⁰. A complaint about a discretionary decision, for example, may take longer than one about an administrative error, because the society has to look at how the discretion was applied.

The rules give the firm a window to respond. As friendly societies' own complaint terms put it, if after eight weeks the firm has failed to issue a final response, you may be able to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service⁴. You do not have to wait the full eight weeks if the society sends its final response sooner, and you do not have to accept it.

Taking a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service

If the society's final response does not satisfy you, or if eight weeks pass without one, you can bring the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service¹¹. The ombudsman is free to use and looks at the complaint afresh; it does not simply review the society's decision.

Time limits apply. The general rule for referring a complaint to the ombudsman is six years from the date of the event complained about, or, if later, three years from the date you knew or ought reasonably to have known you had cause to complain¹². Where the firm has issued a final response, the deadline is tighter: you must refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service within six months of the date on that final response¹³.

Late referrals are not automatically barred. A late complaint may still be accepted where the delay is due to exceptional circumstances, for example serious illness during the referral period, or where there was no valid final response¹⁴. If you have missed a deadline for a reason outside your control, it is still worth putting the complaint to the ombudsman with an explanation.

How members' money is protected and regulated

Gravesham Friendly is the trading name of a friendly society that appears on the FCA Register, where the brand is listed as the firm's current trading name². The firm also appears on the Prudential Regulation Authority's list of insurers incorporated in the UK authorised to carry out contracts of insurance³, so it is regulated on both conduct and prudential sides.

Friendly societies of this kind are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme⁴. The FSCS is the UK's statutory compensation scheme, and its first piece of guidance is to check your provider appears on the FCA Register¹⁵. The FSCS protects qualifying deposits and insurance, and its protection guide explains what is covered and up to what level for each type of product¹⁶. Because the society holds accepting-deposits permissions as well as insurance permissions², what protects you depends on which product you hold, and the FSCS's own guide is the place to confirm the cover that applies to a friendly society plan.

If the society were ever unable to meet claims, FSCS cover is the backstop; if you are simply unhappy with a decision or with the service, the route is the complaints process and then the ombudsman described above. For the wider picture of how UK financial services are supervised, see our guide to financial regulation, and for how protection works across products, our guide to consumer protection.