| Biography | Foresters Friendly Society is a British friendly society which was formed in 1834 as the Ancient Order of Foresters. At 31 December 2012 the society had 65,221 members. Its head office is in Southampton, England.
The Society was formed in Rochdale in August 1834, when over 300 branches of the Royal Foresters society (established in the 18th century) formed the new Ancient Order of Foresters.
In 1874 the American and Canadian Foresters seceded from the Ancient Order of Foresters and set up the Independent Order of Foresters (IOF). The IOF's UK operation is now called Forester Life, based in Bromley, Greater London.
The society became incorporated on the 1st January 2003, (in accordance with the provisions of The Friendly Societies Act 1992), and since this date they have taken over two smaller Friendly Societies, the first, in 2003 being the Tunstall Assurance Society, and then in 2005 the Leek Friendly Society.
The society's local branches are termed Courts, rather than "Lodges" as in other friendly societies. They were named after the law courts of the royal forests, and performed the Ancient Ritual of the Society. The most famous was Court LUD No. 10,100, which was formed in 1947, by members of the London District Management Committee. However, owing to lack of members willing to take office, this Court was closed in 2004.
The society had its own magazine Foresters Miscellany which ran from 1862 to 2008, when it was incorporated into a replacement called The Forester. The magazine is available on-line; it has been reduced in size and frequency, and only one edition has been produced in 2012.
The society provides its members with insurance policies against sickness and death. There are also policies for children, including an Ethical Child Savings Plan, Child Tax Exempt Savings Plan and Ethical Child Trust Fund. In addition to this, it is also the provider of group insurance to several Police forces in the United Kingdom, the Police Service of Northern Ireland being one of the largest, and its Guernsey business mainly consists of medical insurance.
The society is regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority.
The total combined assets of the Courts' (including Guernsey) in 2012 was £180.0 million |