INSURANCE

Bupa nips at Medibank’s heels

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Original article by Jessica Gardner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 12-Mar-15

Bupa Australia has reported a pre-tax profit of $A517m for calendar 2014, which is 20.1 per cent higher than previously. Premiums revenue was up 8.4 per cent at $A5.3bn, while its gross margin rose from 13.6 per cent to 14.6 per cent. Bupa Health Services MD Hisham El Ansary says the group’s premiums are lower than those of rival health insurers, adding that Bupa aims to ensure that its products are affordable and offer the best value to consumers

CORPORATES
BUPA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, DENTAL CORPORATION PTY LTD

Embrace telematics or lose share, insurers told

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Original article by Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 10-Feb-15

Brian Wallace of IT group CSC believes that the introduction of telematics technology in Australia’s insurance industry is inevitable. He says car insurers in particular will need to implement telematics in order to protect their market share. Insurance Australia Group has ruled out offering such products, but QBE Insurance Group says its telematics product has resulted in cost savings of up to 30 per cent for some customers when renewing their policies

CORPORATES
COMPUTER SCIENCES CORPORATION, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, ACCENTURE, CELENT COMMUNICATIONS LLC, NRMA LIFE LIMITED, CGU INSURANCE AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Health cover costs could rise by 7pc

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Original article by Jessica Gardner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 22-Jan-15

Australian Health Minister Sussan Ley is expected to approve health insurance premium increases as high as seven per cent from 1 April 2015. Health insurance firms argue that rises of up to triple the rate of inflation are justified because of increased use of services, rising care costs and costs associated with technological progress

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, WESTFUND HEALTH INSURANCE, CONSUMER HEALTH FORUM, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Legal loopholes exposed as cyclist runs down pedestrian at crossing

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Original article by Eryk Bagshaw
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 8 : 12-Jan-15

There is no legal requirement in New South Wales (NSW) for cyclists to hold compulsory third party insurance. This has become an issue in a number of cases where these road users have collided with pedestrians, and the latter were then unable to claim for compensation after suffering serious injuries despite the other party having been at fault and charged with negligent driving. The NSW Motor Accidents Authority in 2013 advised Roads & Maritime Services against a proposed scheme under which an insurance levy would apply at the point of sale of new bicycles

CORPORATES
NEW SOUTH WALES. MOTOR ACCIDENTS AUTHORITY, NEW SOUTH WALES. ROADS AND MARITIME SERVICES, NEW SOUTH WALES. MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT, CITY OF SYDNEY, LEICHHARDT COUNCIL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, PEDESTRIAN COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, BICYCLE NEW SOUTH WALES INCORPORATED

Medibank on the way to $3

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Original article by Jessica Gardner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 7-Jan-15

The shares of Medibank Private on 6 January 2015 closed 1.7% lower at $A2.35. The health insurer was recently floated with an issue price of $A2.15 for institutional investors and $A2 for small retail ones. Most analysts have placed negative or neutral recommendations on the stock, and the consensus price target is $A2.30. However Tim Lawson of Macquarie Bank is more bullish with $A2.62 and a "buy" rating, while Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Toby Langley also recommends accumulating the stock and predicts it to reach $A3

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN

The price was right, says Cormann

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 27-Nov-14

Shares in Medibank Private closed 2.1 per cent lower at $A2.10 on 26 November 2014, after peaking at $A2.23 on debut in the previous trading session. Federal Finance Minister Mathias Cormann believes that the pricing of the IPO was appropriate, and has benefited both taxpayers and investors who bought shares in the float. The Australian Government is widely tipped to pursue further asset sales

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEFENCE HOUSING AUSTRALIA

A lot of fizz but no pop for Medibank IPO

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Original article by Jessica Gardner, Joyce Moullakis, Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 26-Nov-14

Medibank Private’s stock closed at $A2.14 on 25 November 2014, after peaking at $A2.23 on its first day of trading. Retail investors paid $A2 per share in the $A5.7bn IPO, while institutional investors paid $A2.15. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the stock was priced appropriately, but Glenn Rosewall of BBY says Medibank shares were priced higher than some market watchers had anticipated. The Federal Government is considering the privatisation of more public assets

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, BBY LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIA. DEFENCE HOUSING AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA POST, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, JAPARA HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX JHC, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, NATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANK, AHM HEALTH INSURANCE, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, MARTIN CURRIE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Medibank IPO fee pool not as lucrative for key bankers

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 25-Nov-14

The three banks that were lead managers for the $A5.7bn IPO of Medibank Private will be collectively paid $A19.7m in fees. They will each receive a base management fee of $A5m, as well as incentive fees. The total fees associated with the IPO tops $A36m when the fees paid to law firms and other advisers are taken into account. IPOs of government-owned businesses are typically less lucrative for bankers, but they tend to be attracted to such floats for the prestige and the potential for similar work in the future

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, AURIZON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AZJ, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, LAZARD PTY LTD, REUNION CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS, ERNST AND YOUNG, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, BELL FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED – ASX BFG, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, UBS WEALTH MANAGEMENT AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ARNHEM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Medibank pressure to perform

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Original article by Jessica Gardner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 24-Nov-14

The Australian Government will gain $A5.7bn from the sale of Medibank Private, after the institutional bookbuild price was set at $A2.15 per share. Jan van der Schalk of CLSA values the health fund at between $A1.55 and $A1.64 per share, noting that Medibank’s management will face a lot of pressure to achieve results due to the high issue price for the stock. Retail investors will pay $A2 per share for Medibank stock, which will debut on the sharemarket on 25 November 2014

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ARGO INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX ARG, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN ETHICAL INVESTMENT LIMITED – ASX AEF, JAPARA HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX JHC, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO

NAB hires Deloitte ahead of stepping up life division sale

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 20-Nov-14

Financial market analysts estimate that the life insurance business of National Australia Bank (NAB) is worth around $A1.4bn. Deloitte has been hired to advise the banking major on options for the business, which could include selling all or part of it. Ross Curran of the Commonwealth Bank believes that NAB’s life business can be sold if it is offered at an appropriate price. The life business is part of NAB’s MLC division

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, MLC LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, METLIFE INSURANCE LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AXA ASIA PACIFIC HOLDINGS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, DAI-ICHI LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, NIPPON LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, ZURICH INSURANCE COMPANY, AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP INCORPORATED, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD