Health insurer nib buys New Zealand-base insurance firm

Kiwi Insurance Limited was bought for a total consideration of NZ$45m.

The Australian health insurer nib has announced that its New Zealand subsidiary has bought the state-owned insurance firm Kiwi Insurance Limited, part of the Kiwi Group, for NZ$45m ($32.19m).

Under the transaction, nib will acquire Kiwi Insurance Limited and will also enter an exclusive relationship with Kiwibank (a wholly owned subsidiary of Kiwi Group Holdings Limited) which will see the bank refer its retail customers to nib for their life and living insurance needs.

According to nib, Kiwi Insurance policyholders don’t need to do anything and will see no change to their current policies as a result of the sale. The staff at Kiwi Insurance is expected to remain business as usual.

The acquisition is expected to be completed by early 2022, subject to regulatory approvals.