New Zealand health insurance industry has recorded $1.2 billion in claims paid and 1.385 million lives covered for the year ending in March 2018, new figures show.

According to the Health Funds Association of New Zealand (HFANZ), health insurance saw an 8.6% increase in paid claims to $281 million for the March quarter, and a 5.4% surge to $1.207 billion year-on-year.  It also saw an increase of 2400 lives covered for the March quarter and an increase of 1.5% year-on-year.

“This is the twelfth straight quarter of growth in lives covered, with 2017 showing the strongest annual growth in lives covered since 2001,” HFANZ chief executive Roger Styles said. “Much of this growth appears to have come from an increase in the numbers of people with employer-subsidised health insurance as part of an increased focus on wellness in the workplace.”

Premium income for the March quarter totalled $373 million, up $4 million from the previous quarter.  Annual premium income for the year ended in March sits $1.454 billion, up 5.5% from the previous reporting year.

“People now have access to both a greater volume and a wider range of services and treatments through health insurance,” Styles added. “Given media coverage is dominated by various demands on the public health sector budget, it’s easy to overlook the significant and growing contribution to healthcare funding which health insurance provides in New Zealand.”

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