The Hospitals Contribution Fund of Australia, commonly referred to as HCF, is an Australian private health insurer headquartered in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1932, it has grown to become one of the country's largest combined registered private health fund and life insurance company. HCF is the third-largest health insurance company by market share, and is the largest not-for-profit health fund in Australia. HCF provides private health insurance cover for a full range of health cover including pet insurance, travel insurance and life insurance. History In 1893, the Hospitals Saturday Fund of NSW (HSF) was established by Frank Grimley to serve this purpose. Money was raised by conducting a one-day-a-year drive to collect funds from the public and from businesses. These collections were then distributed among participating hospitals. In 1900, HSF introduced individual subscription hospital insurance, where contributors and their families paid a regular weekly sum to the fund. The early years 1932–1942 In 1932, following negotiations between the Hospital Saturday Fund (HSF) and a newly created Hospital Commission of New South Wales, a new fund was created to better serve the community. The new fund – called the Metropolitan Hospitals Contribution Fund (MHCF) – was launched on Thursday 16 June 1932, with the Lord Mayor (Ald. S. Walder) presiding. The fund's first office was established on the first floor of Adyar House (later the Savoy Building and now demolished) in Bligh Street. At the end of the first two years of operations, it had enrolled more than 100,000 contributors drawn from 3,290 employment groups and some 5,000 honorary agents, although its area of operations was confined to about around the City of Sydney. Contributions were 6d. a week (family) and 3d. a week (single). Benefits paid for hospitalisation in participating hospitals were £2/9/- per week. Further rapid growth in the Fund's business led to a need for more accommodation and, in December 1934, the Fund removed to offices on the fourth floor of the new Asbestos House in York Street, Sydney. By 30 June 1935, the fund had 156,230 contributors on record. The opening of additional offices on the ground floor of the same building in 1937 set the pattern for HCF's contributor services offices. In 1941, HCF moved to its first "home-of-its-own" in Hamilton Street. This building, duly named MHCF House, has now long since been demolished to make way for yet another high rise development in