New Zealanders are turning to private health insurance earlier and more often as wait times in the public health system lengthen and the cost of medical care continues to rise, new data shows.
Chief customer officer Maddie Sherlock said demand for private care had grown considerably.
“We are seeing more people seek private diagnosis and treatment earlier because of public wait times, and people are really looking for certainty and fast access to care,” she said.
Heart claims accounted for $93.5 million of AIA’s total payout of $790 million to more than 789,000 New Zealanders last year. Heart attacks represented the largest share of those claims at 31%, followed by heart disease at 24%, diagnostics at 6%, valve-related diseases at 5%, and cardiac arrhythmias at 3%.
According to the Heart Foundation, heart disease causes one death every 90 minutes in New Zealand, making it one of five major non-communicable diseases, alongside cancer, diabetes, respiratory disease, and mental health conditions, that account for 90% of deaths. Men aged 40–69 face the greatest risk.
High-value claims, including chemotherapy and complex spinal procedures, were also rising, AIA noted, driven by improvements in diagnostic capability, expanded treatment options, and pressure on the public health system.
Financial Services Council chief executive Kirk Hope told RNZ the trend was industry-wide.
“One of the steepest rises recorded in the Asia-Pacific region, and it clearly far exceeds general inflation, which is at about 3.1[%],” he said.
According to Aon’s 2025 Global Medical Trend Rates Report, medical inflation in the region increased from 7.4% in 2024 to 14.5% in 2025. Hope said elective surgery inflation ranged from 10% to 100%, driven primarily by rising technology, facility, and staffing costs, with workforce shortages contributing to the latter.
Despite growing reliance on private cover, Hope said most New Zealanders remained underinsured compared with their OECD counterparts, with insurance still out of reach for many.
“Health insurers paid out more than $2.4 billion in claims in the last year, and that’s against $2.5 billion in premiums – but some of that [is] in the life insurance space as well,” he said, adding that most health insurers were operating at a loss.
The pressure shows no sign of easing. According to the Aon report, medical plan costs in New Zealand are projected to rise by 18% in 2026 – nearly double the global average medical trend of 9.8% and above the Asia-Pacific forecast of 11.3%.
