Southern Cross financial results released

Southern Cross Health Society have released their financial results for the year ended 30 June 2023.

• $1.466 billion premium revenue

• $1.295 billion paid out in claims – equal to paying 88.4 cents in claims out of every dollar received in premiums (compared to an industry average of 65.9 cents)

• Premium prices were up approximately 5.1% compared to the previous year

• Southern Cross Health Society had a $5.4 million deficit, while the wider Southern Cross Health Society Group had a deficit of $16.5 million

• Group reserves (net assets) of $597.3 million

• Paid $3.4 million claims

• 99% of claims are now being submitted electronically

• Membership grew by 31,929 to reach 940,105 members

• 223 businesses buying health insurance on behalf of their employees joined this year

• Southern Cross makes up 60% of NZ’s health insurance market

• More than 20,000 members accessed virtual appointments via CareHQ, more than double the year prior

• Members accessed 6,912 online mental health sessions with Raise, 6,324 annual health checks with MedPro and 20,663 virtual GP consultations delivered via CareHQ

• Employee engagement score of 82%

Nick Astwick, Chief Executive, commented on Southern Cross’ goals around keeping premiums affordable and helping members lead healthier lives.

“…the affordability of their premiums is critical. So, we’re going to do a little bit more in prevention rather than just treatment. You’re going to see us be a lot more active with our members and our healthcare providers to prevent high-cost things from happening earlier in the cycle and actually have more affordability options.”

“Also one thing we are going to focus a lot more on in the coming years is making our members aware of how they can live healthier lives and not just be there when they’re sick. So, you’ll see a lot more from Southern Cross around trying to increase the health span – the number of years you have that are healthy – and making our members aware of that.”

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