After disclosing earlier this year its intention to divest from its wealth management business, ClearView announced through an ASX listing on Wednesday that the process of exiting its wealth sector is currently in progress.
The exit is expected to be realised in FY24 and follows the successful sale of ClearView’s financial advice business to Centrepoint Alliance in 2021.
This strategic move, ClearView disclosed, had been prompted by the identified “lack of scale and growth opportunities” within the wealth business.
Also on Wednesday ClearView revealed a 41 per cent boost in its underlying net profit after tax to $36.5 million. New business, it said, was up 25 per cent to $25.2 million, while its new business market share rose to 9 per cent in financial year 2023. Gross premiums gained 9 per cent to $325.1 million.
ClearView attributed its success to its “simplification and transformation strategy”, which has seen the business emerge as a life insurance business that is focused on protecting and optimising its position as a dynamic challenger.
The firm said that following its wealth exit, its strategy is to “increase its share of the life insurance market”, achieve “operational excellence” in the core life insurance functions of product, underwriting, claims and rehabilitation, and explore “potential growth and diversification opportunities”.
Commenting on the results, managing director Nadine Gooderick said: “Our decision to reset and transform the business in early 2020 by simplifying and investing in our systems, processes and technology, as well as expanding our people capability, is starting to deliver benefits and growth through efficiencies, productivity gains and scale benefits.
“The group’s refreshed strategy is focused on leveraging our competitive advantage in life insurance to achieve our goal of becoming a top player in the Australian market.”
Looking ahead, ClearView plans to see gross premiums reach $400 million in FY26, while its new business market share is expected to land between 12 and 14 per cent.
Clearview really “skirted at the edges” of reasonable behaviour with the bonuses they paid when they first entered the insurance area but it appears to have worked given that is the area they have kept.
Having dealt closely with ClearView for the past 10 years, they are more ‘complicated’ than they have ever been.