Major health insurer Southern Cross Health Society has released its latest financial results – revealing that it posted a surplus of $10.7 million for the year ending June 30, 2019.
It paid out $963.7 million in claims, a 6% increase from last year –significantly more than its 62% market share at 73% of all private health insurance claims.
Last financial year, the Health Society made sure to return 89 cents in claims per dollar to its members instead of an average of 67 cents in the dollar among the remaining health insurers in the country, with some returning as little as 60 cents in the dollar.
Greg Gent, chairman at Southern Cross Health Society, said the surplus reflects the firm’s careful balancing of income from premiums with outgoing claims.
“The Society continues to deliver excellent value for members with an outstanding claims ratio compared with other health insurers. We’re always conscious of the fine balance between offering maximum value for money to our members and ensuring the affordability of premiums,” Gent said.
Southern Cross Health Society retained its Standard and Poor’s A+ financial strength rating for the 17th consecutive year.
Nick Astwick (pictured), chief executive at Southern Cross Health Society, said the great results prove that they can continue to look to the future with confidence.
“We’ve made some decisions over the past year that have delivered a sound result. We estimate our Affiliated Provider programme has saved an impressive $56 million and expect to see those savings continue. Digital adoption is also up significantly, with logins to My Southern Cross up 151%,” Astwick said.
“We’re now turning our minds to our goal of helping Kiwis live their healthiest lives; investing further in the business to deliver continued benefits and exceptional value for members in years to come.”
