by Benn Bathgate
Chief executive Roger Styles said the June 2012 quarter saw a decline of 0.1% in lives covered, or 1,600 people, bringing the total number of lives covered to 1.34 million.
This was a decrease for the full year of 1.3%, or 17,300 people, compared with June 2011.
"The last few quarters haven't been that flash but this one seems to have stabilised, there hasn't been that much change at all so I think there's a bit of cautious optimism," Styles said.
He said take up and retention of private health insurance has historically been linked to the economic conditions, and that the figures offered "a reasonable barometer of the economy."
"We've seen over the last decade and the 2000s increased quarter-on-quarter [health insurance uptake] until we got to 2008, and from then on its declined a bit, it certainly does jump around with the economy."
Premiums earned in the June quarter were $271 million, virtually unchanged from the $270 million paid in the March quarter. Premium income for the full year ended June 2012 totalled $1.07 billion, an increase of $67 million, or 6.7%, on the June 2011 year.
HFANZ said the increased premium income was a reflection of adjustments following a rapid growth in claims costs over recent years.
Claims paid in the June 2012 quarter totalled $221 million, taking the total for the 12 months to the end of June to $854 million. This was an increase of $27 million, or 3.2%, on the previous June year.
Benn Bathgate is a business reporter for ASSET and Good Returns, email story ideas to benn@goodreturns.co.nz
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