that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . november 2011 learn how and when to remove this template message nib health funds limited type public traded as asx nhf industry insurance founded 1952 founder bhp steelworks workers headquarters newcastle nsw australia key people steve crane chairman mark fitzgibbon ceo and managing director products health insurance travel insurance life insurance revenue 1.5 billion profit 72.3 million number of employees more than 800 website www.nib.com.au nib health funds nib formerly newcastle industrial benefits is one of australia s largest health insurers providing health and medical cover to more than 1.1 million australian and new zealand residents . 1 established in 1952 by workers at the bhp steelworks in newcastle the fund s early membership centered on the nsw hunter region before expanding operations in 1993 into queensland victoria south australia and act . 2 contents 1 history 1.1 privatisation 1.2 international expansion 2 nib new zealand 3 whitecoat 4 nib options 5 nib global health 6 nib foundation 7 reputation 8 sponsorship 9 nib brand ambassadors 10 references 11 external links 11.1 corporate websites history edit privatisation edit in 2007 nib became the first private health insurance fund to list on the australian securities exchange asx . 3 a series of meetings of eligible policyholders and company members held in newcastle on 19 july 2007 voted overwhelmingly in favour of demutualisation of the health fund . 4 the federal court of australia then approved the vote the following week with the demutualisation completed on 5 november 2007 . the share price opened at aud0 .85 . international expansion edit in 2010 nib set about expanding the business globally entering into the international workers and international students market . 5 6 to support this expansion nib purchased iman international pty ltd a specialist provider of health cover for temporary migrant workers in australia for approximately 25 million . 7 nib new zealand edit the most significant acquisition in nib s history occurred in november 2012 when the company purchased new zealand health insurer tower medical insurance limited tower medical for approximately nz 102 million a 80 million . 8 nib new zealand is the country s second largest health insurer providing health and medical insurance to around 160 000 new zealanders . 9 the board of nib new zealand is chaired by alan clarke managing director and chief executive of abano healthcare . whitecoat edit whitecoat 10 is a free online search and comparison service that was developed and launched by nib in 2013 . healthcare professionals have to opt out from the website as they are included automatically . in 2014 whitecoat allowed reviews from the public for the first time . previously the website was sold to healthcare professionals as a review from members who were sent emails for review rather than a company owned website that allowed public reviews . the service is available to all australians across the country and is designed to enable nib to strengthen their marketing to determine which modalities strengthen their position in a competitive market . nib options edit launched by nib in march 2014 nib options is a fee for service product that provides safe and reliable choices for consumers wishing to undertake cosmetic and major dental procedures in australia or overseas . 11 it is a bundled one stop service from the initial medical consultation assessment actual surgery and post surgery care as well as travel arrangements accommodation concierge services for consumers who go overseas . customers have a choice during the early assessment stage about where they would like to seek treatment with nib options accessing leading australian plastic surgeons as well as fully qualified and credentialed plastic surgeons and dentists in overseas facilities . nib has leveraged its existing capability in developing the product offering that aligns with its commitment to helping people finance their health care and to capitalise on the growing medical travel sector . as of financial year 2014 ceo mark fitzgibbon admitted in his annual address to staff that nib options had only accrued 4 customers . this was despite substantial investment and advertising . nib global health edit in september 2014 nib partnered with leading global medical insurer axa ppp international in launching a global health cover pilot product in new zealand . nib global health provides comprehensive health and medical insurance cover to kiwis in most countries around the world . 12 under the strategic alliance nib underwrites the cover with axa to service the product including providing 24 hour customer assistance claims management and access to their worldwide provider network . nib is looking to expand the product offering to australians in calendar year 2015 . nib foundation edit one of the greatest legacies of nib s demutualisation was the establishment of nib foundation . 13 it was launched in 2008 following a 25 million donation from nib health funds raised through the issue of new shares at the time of listing nib on the australian securities exchange asx in november 2007 . each year the foundation aims to provide up to 2 million in funding to support a range of multi year partners and community partners . since inception more than 12 million in grant funding has been provided to aid the development and delivery of unique and practical health and wellbeing initiatives . the foundation has already made a positive difference to the lives of more than 45 000 australians through its partnership with 60 australian charities at a local and national level . reputation edit nib is ranked sixth of ten health insurance companies by social media service quality ranking website servicerage with 19 % of all comments being positive . 14 sponsorship edit nib sponsors a number of major sporting organisations in australia and new zealand including the geelong cats afl newcastle knights nrl 15 nsw state of origin team nrl and the auckland blues super rugby . 16 nib is also the naming rights partner of perth s premier rectangular venue nib stadium which is home to western force super rugby perth glory a league wa reds rugby league and the south sydney rabbitohs when playing in perth . 17 nib brand ambassadors edit rugby league legend paul harragon has been the face of nib in australia for more than 20 years . references edit nib health funds nib health funds company history asx nib holdings limited nib shares debut at healthy premium . the age . 5 november 2007 . retrieved 25 november 2014 . nib health funds oshc nib health funds overseas visitors nib enters migrant insurance market . ninemsn . 5 july 2010 . retrieved 25 november 2014 . nib completes nz tower medical acquisition . australian financial review . 30 november 2012 . retrieved 25 november 2014 . nib buys nz health group . australian financial review . 2 november 2012 . retrieved 26 november 2014 . new website whitecoat lets nib users compare physiotherapists dentists and chiropractors . news.com.au . 7 november 2013 . retrieved 26 november 2014 . nib health fund to offer medical tourism . the australian . 26 october 2013 . retrieved 26 november 2014 . nib press release kiwi company launches international health insurance cover 5 september 2014 nib foundation http servicerage.com health insurance nib knights and nib announce extension . newcastle knights . 31 july 2014 . retrieved 25 november 2014 . nib backs the blues . the blues . 30 january 2014 . retrieved 26 november 2014 . nib signs naming rights deal . business news . 9 june 2010 . retrieved 25 november 2014 . external links edit corporate websites edit nib health funds http www.nib.com.au nib new zealand https www.nib.co.nz nib shareholders http www.nib.com.au home shareholders pages default.aspx whitecoat https www.whitecoat.com.au overseas students http www.nib.com.au overseas students overseas visitors http www.nib.com.au home newtonib overseasstudents pages overseas visitors.aspx nib options https www.nib.com.au nib options nib foundation http www.nibfoundation.com.au whitecoat proving popular with consumers nib health funds media release . retrieved june 27 2014 from http www.nib.com.au home newtonib about mediareleases whitecoat % 20holiday % 20media % 20statement % 20dec % 209 % 20 embargoed . pdf retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title nib health funds & oldid 722286974 categories healthcare in australianewcastle new south wales1952 establishments in australiacompanies established in 1952insurance companies of australiahidden categories articles with a promotional tone from november 2011all articles with a promotional tone navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 27 may 2016 at 03 21 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view