nib acquires NZ insurance subsidiary

On Monday (8 November), nib NZ holdings agreed to acquire 100 per cent shares in the group for $43 million (NZ$45 million).

The transaction, which is expected to be completed early next year, will also see the bank refer its retail customers to nib for life and living insurance purposes and will immediately add around 34,000 new members.

“In New Zealand, living, life and health insurance are complementary products so often purchased as a package. We’re responding to this preference with what should be a more integrated and seamless experience for members and customers,” nib managing director, Mark Fitzgibbon said.

“And it means more people will benefit from the investment we’re making in more personalised health risk assessment and management.”

Mr Fitzgibbon added that nib NZ has been exploring opportunities for some time in a bid to enhance its market penetration in both health and life products, as the local living insurance is now twice the size of the health insurance market.

“While in a regulatory sense we distinguish health and life, they are both about meeting the needs of people for personal security,” he said.

“Our personalisation strategy or what we’ve dubbed P2P (Payer to Partner), is taking this to another level by offering greater health security in addition to financial security.”

The acquisition is still subject to regulatory approvals.