HBF, Australia's second-largest not-for-profit health insurer, has announced the addition of Queensland Country Health Fund (QCHF) to its organisation.
Established in 1977 as the MIM Employees' Health Society, QCHF was focused on assisting MIM employees in protecting themselves against the potential financial burden of hospital and medical costs. In 1999, the health fund merged with Queensland Country Credit Union to form Queensland Country Health Ltd. Today, it has worked in conjunction with Queensland Country Bank to meet all insurance and financial service needs of people in regional Queensland.
In an announcement, HBF confirmed it has entered a binding sale agreement to purchase QCHF from Queensland Country Bank. It expects the acquisition to generate considerable tangible benefits for the member-based organisations and their policyholders, including providing QCHF policyholders with the support of a large, specialist, not-for-profit private health insurer. The deal also enables HBF to extend its presence in Queensland following its purchase of Queensland-based CUA Health (CUA) last year.
“Bringing QCHF under the HBF banner simply makes sense for both organisations. By building economies of scale at a national level and through our not-for-profit status and values, we will continue to provide competitively priced products and maintain high-value health cover for every one of our members,” said HBF chair Diane Smith-Gander AO. “HBF is pleased that QCHF's confidence to join HBF was supported by the success of our CUA Health acquisition. That's a testament to the seamless integration of CUA Health into HBF and our unwavering commitment to always do the right thing by our members.”
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As part of the deal, QCHF's approximately 70,000 members will see no immediate change – they will retain and continue to benefit from their current QCHF health policies. Meanwhile, its entire workforce of approximately 100 employees will be offered continued employment at HBF at their current locations.
Queensland Country Bank group CEO Aaron Newman commented: “QCHF and HBF are both highly compatible organisations with a clear cultural alignment, both having a member-first ethos and proven track record in delivering excellent health cover outcomes for the regional community. The success of the CUA Health acquisition was a key driver in our decision to join HBF.
“The acquisition will enable our approximately 70,000 members to leverage the benefits from HBF's robust scale while maintaining the member-first focused business model QCHF's members strongly favour and are accustomed to. Crucially, all of our employees have the opportunity to continue their existing roles and will be warmly welcomed by the HBF team.”
The combination of CUA and QCHF is expected to make Queensland HBF's second-largest state in terms of market share and will see HBF policies outside its home state of WA increase to over 22%.
