A tale of two insurance boards

By PAUL PANCKHURST

Old people have bigger medical bills than young people.

Old people are an increasingly large percentage of the population.

Those facts - and their implications - were highlighted in very different ways at two annual meetings in Auckland this week.

The big meeting was at the Ellerslie Convention Centre on Tuesday night when hundreds of unhappy members of Southern Cross - many in their 70s and 80s - confronted the board over big premium hikes.

The room brimmed with discontent. This was one friendly society that did not feel that way.

Chairman Bryan Kensington apologised on behalf of the board and management for the society's mistakes - such as the IT customisation that turned into a long-running bad joke - and for the premium hikes.

He proffered up a sacrifice: a $5000 cut in the directors' fees.

Many members feel hurt and mistrustful after being hit with the hikes after years - or decades - with the society. Some spoke forcefully from the floor of their disappointment and the meeting voted for the board to reconsider the hikes.

Same venue, same topic, next day. A much quieter meeting.

A self-described baby boomer named Alan Clarke reported to a few score shareholders. He is the managing director of the listed company ElderCare.

Some of the slides he showed could have come from the previous day's meeting.

One showed the increases in the percentage of the population aged over 65.

Clarke explained how the ageing of boomers like himself would accelerate that trend.

The bottom line for ElderCare: demand for the company's products and services "will continue and grow each year from now on".

ElderCare operates in the sectors of aged care, rehabilitation, and diagnostics, and is also buying the Geddes Dental Group.

Shareholders approved a three-year share package as the bonus scheme for Clarke.