The story
The Post Office Branch of the National Association for the Establishment and Maintenance of Sanatoria for Workers Suffering from Tuberculosis Friendly Society was founded in 1905 to help working class Post Office employees control costs of the tuberculosis epidemic when conventional medical insurance was not widely affordable. The business model of weekly member fees was proposed by a Post Office clerk, Charles Garland.
In 1923, the name became The Post Office and Civil Service Sanatorium Society, as the membership was opened to a new industry. In October 1990, the registered office moved from London to York.
On 1 January 2010, the Society changed its name to the Benenden Healthcare Society.
Membership was restricted to those employed in the public sector, both at national and local level, which led to difficulties as many functions were being outsourced and, consequently, membership began to decline. In June 2012, delegates at Benenden Health's annual conference in Manchester voted to remove restrictions on membership. Also in June 2012, Benenden Health became shirt sponsor of York City Football Club. This sponsorship ended in the summer of 2019.
In early 2018, the Society rebranded using the trading style "Benenden Health".
From Wikipedia’s article on Benenden Health, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4