Summary:
- HBF welcoming around 79,000 new members and 63 Brisbane-based employees after acquiring private health insurer CUA Health from Great Southern Bank.
- Acquisition aligned with HBF’s national growth strategy, building market share to approximately 8%, with 17% of members living outside of WA.
- HBF and Great Southern Bank entered into a five-year distribution agreement whereby Great Southern Bank will have an exclusive distribution agreement to offer HBF’s health insurance products to its customers.
- No changes to existing CUA Health cover, premiums and benefits.
HBF is pleased to announce it has formally acquired 100% of the shares in CUA Health Pty Ltd, the owner of the private health insurance business known as CUA Health, from Great Southern Bank. HBF has also partnered with Great Southern Bank under a five-year distribution agreement that will see HBF’s health insurance policies marketed to Great Southern Bank’s banking customers including through the bank’s branches.
The acquisition delivers on key strategic priorities for both organisations. For HBF, Australia’s second largest not-for-profit health insurer, it adds further scale outside of WA, building on its national growth strategy. For Great Southern Bank, it ensures the organisation can focus on its core banking business and help achieve its purpose of helping all Australians to own their own homes.
For the approximately 79,000 CUA Health members joining HBF, they will see no immediate change and the majority are expected to benefit from lower premiums, enhanced benefits, or both in the future as HBF members. All former CUA Health employees were offered and accepted roles with HBF in Brisbane, with HBF today welcoming 63 new employees.
HBF Chief Executive Officer John Van Der Wielen said:
“I am proud to warmly welcome our new members and Brisbane colleagues. Since we announced the acquisition in May 2021, we have been working closely with Great Southern Bank to ensure a smooth and positive transition for all. With the acquisition now complete, we look forward to showing our new members and colleagues the value of being with HBF.
“The acquisition and our exclusive distribution agreement with Great Southern Bank adds significant fire power to HBF’s national growth plans, which have been gaining momentum since we launched our quokka advertising campaign nationally in 2020.
“The addition of CUA Health means we now have well over 1 million members, with approximately 17 per cent living outside of WA, up from around 11 per cent, and a team of almost 100 outside of WA with fantastic growth opportunities.
“Our desire to expand nationally is all about building economies of scale so that we can continue to provide competitively-priced health insurance which delivers real value for all of our members when they need it most.”
Mr Van Der Wielen said as a purpose-driven organisation HBF was committed to doing the right thing by its members – as seen with its recent $41.9 million return of surplus deferred claims provisions from COVID-19 to members – and would apply this same ethos to CUA Health members.
Paul Lewis, CEO of Great Southern Bank, said:
“This is a great outcome for our customers. CUA Health members are joining another customer-focused organisation that shares many of the same values as Great Southern Bank. Most importantly, we both believe in putting customers at the heart of everything we do. This move also allows both HBF and Great Southern Bank to focus on our respective key strengths. For Great Southern Bank that means pursuing our core banking business and helping customers with all aspects of their home ownership journeys.”
The terms of the acquisition remain confidential, with the purchase price funded by HBF’s existing strong cash reserves.
Contact HBF: Adrian Watson, adrian.watson@hbf.com.au / 0419 040 807
Contact Great Southern Bank: Michael O'Toole, michael.otoole@gsb.com.au / 0428 051 754
About HBF
HBF was founded in Perth in 1941 and has provided private health insurance to generations of Western Australians. In 80 years HBF has grown to become Australia’s second largest member-based not-for-profit health fund, providing hospital and ancillary insurance to around one million members nationwide. HBF is also becoming a more active participant in health services, with the establishment of its Pharmacy 777 alliance and the recent launch of HBF Dental. HBF is committed to actively connecting with and supporting the communities in which it operates as a trusted member-based organisation. Visit hbf.com.au
About Great Southern Bank
For over 75 years, we’ve been putting our customers first, and today we look after the financial and insurance needs of over 420,000 Australians. We changed our name from CUA to Great Southern Bank but we’re still the same customer-owned bank focused on helping Australians own their own homes with clever products that match the many ways we now live and work. Something we think is pretty neat. After all, we too believe in the great Australian dream and we’ll do our best to help you achieve it. Visit greatsouthernbank.com.au