Insurance

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded no movement in the March quarter, and rose just rose 1.3 per cent in the 12 months to the March quarter 2019. So why do so many Australians feel like life is getting dearer? Research by my former colleagues at Fidelity Investments might give the answer. continue…

by Andreas Lundberg Posted in Consumer discretionary, Health Care, Insurance.

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The market has viewed the private health insurers as one of the biggest winners from this month’s Federal Election. This is due to the market having factored in the likely impact of Labor’s stated policy of limiting average policy premium increases to 2 per cent on 1 April 2020 and 2021. With this risk having been removed from the outlook, the share prices of Medibank Private (ASX:MPL) and NIB (ASX:NHF) have increased around 14 per cent since the election. continue…

by Stuart Jackson Posted in Companies, Health Care, Insurance.

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The proportion of Australians with private hospital cover has fallen to its lowest level in 10 years. This is largely because younger people are opting out, shifting the mix of insured people towards older, higher claiming age groups. The resulting cost pressures could be too much for some health insurers, leading to industry consolidation.  continue…

by Stuart Jackson Posted in Insurance.

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You may not be too familiar with Steadfast Group (ASX: SDF) and AUB Group (ASX: AUB), but these insurance brokers are high quality businesses in an industry with high barriers to entry. Which is why we are very happy to hold them in our funds. continue…

by Lisa Fedorenko Posted in Insurance, Stocks We Like.

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Australia’s largest mortgage insurer, Genworth (ASX: GMA) has just released its financial results for 1H17. The results highlight the continuing growth of loan delinquencies, particularly in WA and Queensland – another sign of household stress. continue…

by Stuart Jackson Posted in Insurance.

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The Federal Government is currently conducting a number of reviews into the healthcare industry. These include the Reform of the Federation White Paper, the Private Health Insurance Review, the Primary Health Care Advisory Group, and the Medicare Benefits Schedule Review. You might have seen recent media stories about an online government survey that the public can take to provide feedback on a range of issues and options for private health insurance reform. continue…

by Stuart Jackson Posted in Health Care, Insightful Insights, Insurance.

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In the next few weeks a small New Zealand based insurer – CBL Corp Limited – lists on ASX and NZX. CBL is a slightly odd beast in the insurance world: it focuses on small but profitable specialist niches, where it is able to earn significant underwriting profits. In contrast, mainstream insurers tend to write as much business as they can, even if it means taking on business that earns little to no underwriting profit. They do this because in the period between receiving an insurance premium and having to pay out claims, they can earn investment returns on the premiums written. continue…

by Tim Kelley Posted in Insightful Insights, Insurance.

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NIB Holdings (ASX: NHF) has reported hospital claims inflation of 17 per cent for the first half of the 2015 financial year, which we believe demonstrates the inferior position of the smaller funds in the health care chain. continue…

by Ben MacNevin Posted in Health Care, Insightful Insights, Insurance.

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by Ben MacNevin Posted in Insurance, Video Insights.

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We’ve been looking into the Medibank Private IPO (apologies readers, I won’t be giving out any hints as to our intentions) and noted a small but quite interesting detail. As the firm lists, its management will be receiving a generous increase in their pay packets. continue…

by Scott Shuttleworth Posted in Health Care, Insurance.

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