This December will see the two entities merge into a single organisation.
Thursday, November 26th 2020, 2:02PM
by Daniel Smith
Richard Klipin
The merger will bring together HFANZ under the FSC banner from December 1, 2020, creating a membership association of close to 90 organisations.
In a major milestone for the sector, the merger will combine advocacy for the health insurance, life insurance, KiwiSaver and investment industries within one organisation with a single, stronger voice.
Richard Klipin, CEO of the Financial Services Council told Good Returns, “The merger allows the FSC to include the health insurance conversation as a part of our broader areas of focus.
“We are going to constitute a new health insurance committee. We are going to be reaching out to regulators and to the government on behalf of the health insurance space. That’s new for the FSC. We’ve done all that through a life insurance lens, but now we are going to broaden that to a health insurance lens.”
While the FSC has long enjoyed a healthy relationship with HFANZ, serious conversations about a merger kicked off in 2020, says Klipin.
“By setting up the health insurance committee we are going to have a focused and targeted discussion around how we can help New Zealanders manage risks in their lives,” Klipin said.
“We want people to be able to better understand how health insurance is good for people, good for families, good for business owners because it deals to a key risk that we all face.
“This is a really exciting milestone for the sector, bringing together that whole conversation of health, wealth and wellbeing outcomes. In that context today is fantastic.”
Rob Flannagan, chair of the FSC said, “The merger is a great opportunity to bring the health and life insurance industry together under one roof and focus the efforts of our joint members on the important issues of the day, and most importantly of all, driving better consumer outcomes.”
Len Elikhis, chair of HFANZ, said, “The private health insurance sector supports 1.4 million New Zealanders to meet their health care costs. We believe that a well-balanced and integrated health system is key to achieving great patient outcomes.”
The merger will officially come into effect on December 2.
