Health insurer nib released its full year results yesterday, and director Mark Fitzgibbon said he was “very pleased” with the company’s overall growth, particularly in New Zealand.
nib New Zealand’s premium revenue increased by 9.8% on the previous year, and Fitzgibbon said that one of nib’s key areas of focus going forward would be on its social responsibility and sustainability strategy, particularly when it comes to promoting good health outcomes within communities.
“We’re very pleased with the growth and overall commercial results, in what were very difficult market conditions,” Fitzgibbon commented.
Read more: nib announces full-year financials
“Underneath all of this has been significant levels of innovation and productivity. It’s been a busy year with lots of progress, and some impressive financial results in our view.”
“Underneath our progress is our conviction around the principles of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), not just because of regulatory requirements or investor expectations, but because we genuinely believe that our sustainability as a business lies in our contribution - however small - to making the world a better place,” he explained.
“We have an important contribution to make in terms of in population health, and it’s by far the most significant element of our ESG sustainability agenda.”
Fitzgibbon noted that this year’s numbers should be seen within the context of last year’s dip, driven by the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and a significant amount of deferred claims. He said NPS scores were also a “weakness” in the results, having dropped by 10 points in comparison to last year.
“In terms of the numbers, comparisons with last year are, of course, slightly confounded by the provisions we made for deferred claims,” Fitzgibbon said.
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“Nevertheless, the figures this year show some terrific results. I would particularly note our high New Zealand growth and profitability, cost reductions across the group, minimising losses in those areas most impacted by COVID-19 - international students and travel in particular - and powerful investment.”
“Probably the only weakness in our results there is the drop-off in NPS, but we’re already seeing that recover quite quickly this year,” he said. “We do need to pull our socks up in that regard, but we recognise that and we’re pursuing improvement.”
