Two years before the 1875 Public Health Act was introduced, to combat unsanitary living conditions in urban areas, the Hospital Fund of Bradford was already up and running.

It later became Sovereign Health Care and this year the Manningham-based company celebrates 140 years of providing healthcare cash plans by giving £140,000 to charities playing a vital role in the health and wellbeing of Bradford communities. Sovereign’s Charitable Trust is running an online public vote, at goodallround.org until October 31, deciding how the cash should be divided among 14 charitable organisations.

It’s not the only way Sovereign is supporting Bradford causes this year.

As the principal supporter of the Telegraph & Argus Bradford Crocus Cancer Appeal, the Sovereign Health Care Charitable Trust has pledged to donate £50,000 for every £200,000 raised - a potential total donation of £200,000.

The T&A has teamed up with the University of Bradford, Yorkshire Cancer Research and Sovereign to raise £1 million towards a high-tech mass spectrometer, a tumour-blasting machine allowing scientists at the university's Institute of Cancer Therapeutics Institute (CTI) to further their pioneering work in cancer research.

“Cancer touches everyone and can be devastating, but a diagnosis doesn’t necessarily mean the death sentence it perhaps was 20 or 30 years ago,” says Sovereign chief executive Russ Piper. “The work at the CTI, and this new technology, will go a long way to finding out more about the illness and treatments.

“I’m a Londoner and I know it’s easy for people who don’t know Bradford to knock it, but the city should be very proud of its pioneering work in cancer research.”

Sovereign started out as a fund for hospital services, evovling into a medical and health benefits scheme. Back in 1873 common health complaints in Bradford included tuberculosis, cholera and typhoid. Today they’re more likely to include allergies, heart disease, arthritis, diabetes and cancer.

Russ, who worked in insurance for 27 years before joining Sovereign in 2006, says that, while health issues and healthcare have changed over 140 years, the company aims to strike a balance between retaining its traditions and principles and offering a contemporary service.

“Sovereign is steeped in history, we're very proud of that. Our services evolve to meet changing health needs,” he says.

”Many diseases have been eradicated since Sovereign began; we now have a society that is generally healthier, but the irony is that we now have an ageing population that brings its own health issues. The longer we live, the more pressure there is on GPs and hospitals.”

Sovereign has always supported local charities and now takes a more formalised approach. “All the applications we get are reviewed by Jo Habib (Sovereign's Charitable Trust co-ordinator) who puts together a proposal for the Trust sub-group to consider,” says Russ. “It’s quite a robust process - if you’re going to give away half a million pounds a year, it has to be done properly.

“The charities we support tend to be related to health and wellbeing, preominantly in Bradford and West Yorkshire. We sometimes support national charities if there’s relevance to Bradford, and for some charities we provide regular support, reviewed after three years.”

He adds: “When the financial crisis started in 2008, with all the financial pressures on us as a regular business in the insurance sector, we looked outwards and supported more charities than ever before. When more applications came in, we stood tall and gave as much back to the community and customers as we could. I can put my head on the pillow at night knowing that’s still the case.”

The Crocus Appeal and the charities benefiting from Good All Round were chosen because of their contribution to communities.

“Looking at each one, you don’t know when you may need any of them in future. We get very blase about our health, until something goes wrong,” says Russ.

“The Good All Round online vote is a way of engaging the public. Social networking has helped it take off.

“We know that for some of these charities the money is like a sticking plaster, but if we can widen awareness of them that has to be a good thing.”