New findings from Southern Cross Health Insurance indicate that many New Zealanders feel positive about their health but may underestimate how long they are likely to live with illness or impairment. The insurer is using the results to call for a wider discussion on what it describes as “claiming back” healthy years. Southern Cross has introduced its inaugural Feel Good Index, an annual survey tracking how people in New Zealand view their present and future health. The results can be read alongside Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) indicators that place New Zealand slightly above the OECD average for life expectancy and health spending, providing additional context for insurers looking at long-term risk and system capacity.
The Feel Good Index, based on research conducted in March 2026, examines self-reported health and wellbeing, willingness to invest in health, and confidence about the future. Nick Astwick, Southern Cross Health Society chief executive, said the findings point to a clear difference between how long people live and how long they live in good health. “The average lifespan, or how long we live for in New Zealand, is 82 but the actual healthspan – or how many of those years we live in good health – is 70. That’s a significant period of time we lose to poor health,” Astwick said.
According to Southern Cross, 84% of respondents were unaware of how many years the average New Zealander typically spends in poor health at the end of life, suggesting low familiarity with the concept of healthspan. The survey reported that:
Astwick said the data show that respondents place considerable emphasis on financial planning relative to their confidence in managing health over the long term. “Of those surveyed, 81% said they felt confident about managing their finances for the future compared to 72% who expressed confidence in their ability to stay healthy and improve their long-term health,” he said. After the healthspan concept was explained, 75% of respondents said they wanted more information on how to improve their future health. At the same time, 79% agreed they already know what they should be doing to stay healthier for longer. “While it’s encouraging that six in 10 New Zealanders feel their current lifestyle is setting them up to be healthy and pain free, that still leaves a significant proportion who don’t,” Astwick said.
Respondents cited cost and affordability as the main barrier to taking action to improve long-term health (32%), followed by motivation or willpower (19%) and lack of time (10%). Astwick said Southern Cross aims to play a broader role in long-term health, beyond funding treatment. “At Southern Cross, we see our role expanding beyond providing our members with access to healthcare when they need it. We’re also investing in and incentivising healthy behaviours as we deliver on our ambition to be the health partner of choice for more New Zealanders. Over time, the Feel Good Index will provide a useful measure of how we’re feeling as a nation, and it’s my hope through conversation and action, we can claim back our healthy years,” Astwick said.
The OECD’s “Health at a Glance 2025” country note for New Zealand provides a comparative picture of health outcomes, risk factors, access to care, and system resources that insurers can set alongside the Feel Good Index results. The OECD reports that life expectancy in New Zealand is 82 years, about 0.9 years higher than the OECD average. New Zealand performs better than the OECD average on six of 10 core metrics of health status and risk factors, though comparable data are not available for some indicators, including treatable and preventable mortality and self-reported obesity. Mental health remains a concern. Suicide rates in New Zealand stand at 13 deaths per 100,000 population, compared with an OECD average of 11 per 100,000. By contrast, only 2.9% of people in New Zealand rate their health as bad or very bad, versus 8.0% across the OECD.
Risk-factor data show:
On access and quality of care, the OECD notes that New Zealand provides core service coverage to the entire population, compared with average coverage of 98% across OECD members. Sixty-three percent of New Zealanders report being satisfied with the availability of quality healthcare, similar to the OECD average of 64%.
Clinical quality indicators in the country note include:
On spending and resources, New Zealand devotes US$6,097 per capita to health, versus US$5,967 on average across the OECD, equal to 10.1% of gross domestic product, compared with 9.3% across the OECD. The country has 3.7 practising doctors per 1,000 population (OECD average 3.9) and 11.7 practising nurses (OECD average 9.2). New Zealand has 2.5 hospital beds per 1,000 population, compared with an OECD average of 4.2 beds. It has 65 CT, MRI and PET scanners per million population, compared with an OECD average of 51, and generic medicines account for 76% of the pharmaceutical market by volume, versus 56% across the OECD.
The combination of Southern Cross’s sentiment data and the OECD’s system metrics points to several areas of potential focus. The 12-year gap between life expectancy and years lived in good health, alongside limited awareness of time spent in poor health, may be relevant to products and services that support earlier intervention, lifestyle change, and chronic condition management. The finding that respondents express higher confidence in managing their finances than in managing long-term health, and that cost is a leading reported barrier to health-related behaviour change, could be considered in benefit design, funding approaches, and communication about preventive services and wellness programs.
OECD data showing full population coverage, relatively high health spending, fewer hospital beds, and high uptake of generics describes a system where efficiency and primary care are important levers. In that setting, private health insurance and workplace benefits continue to play a role in access to elective treatment, diagnostics, and complementary services. The research may inform the development of offerings that link health outcomes and financial security, align with national health priorities, and reflect a broader industry shift toward supporting long-term health as well as paying claims.
