nib buys medical arm of OnePath life for $24.67m

Rob Hennin, nib New Zealand chief executive, aims to target younger people. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The New Zealand arm of insurer nib holdings is buying the medical insurance business of OnePath Life (NZ) for about $24.67 million.

OnePath Life NZ is owned by the ANZ Bank New Zealand and nib has also struck a distribution deal with the bank.

The acquisition is subject regulatory approvals from the Reserve Bank, an ASX notice said.
Completion of the deal is due December and nib will fund it through existing available capital.

Mark Fitzgibbon, nib managing director, said the purchase was consistent with nib's strategy to grow the New Zealand private health insurance market and its overall share.

"Since acquiring Tower New Zealand's medical insurance business in November 2012, we have been investigating a number of growth opportunities in the New Zealand health insurance market. The purchase of OnePath Life NZ's medical insurance business meets our strict investment criteria, and importantly provides us with additional scale and scope to grow and leverage our existing New Zealand operations," he said.

"The purchase also reinforces our commitment to the adviser market, with the majority of the OnePath Life NZ's medical insurance products being distributed by financial advisers," he said.

nib NZ and ANZ New Zealand also announced the establishment of a distribution agreement for nib to sell its health insurance products through ANZ's network of wealth specialists for five years.

Rob Hennin, nib New Zealand's chief executive, said the leveraging of ANZ New Zealand's specialist wealth advisory network provided a significant opportunity.

"ANZ is one of New Zealand's most trusted and recognised brands, we are obviously excited about the opportunity to tap into their network of wealth specialists. With around 50 per cent of all health insurance in New Zealand distributed by wealth and financial advisers we expect this relationship to be very successful," Hennin said.

The nib brand is relatively new to many New Zealanders, so the acquisition of OnePath Life NZ's medical insurance business will provide nib in New Zealand with additional scale and scope to further grow the business and deliver advantages to consumers, he said.