Southern Cross has named a new director for Southern Cross Medical Care Society and a new chief risk and legal officer for Southern Cross Travel Insurance.
Southern Cross Medical Care Society has appointed Keren Blakey (pictured) to its board, effective Feb 1. Blakey has more than 30 years’ experience in governance, audit, and risk, including 18 years as a partner at PwC and a term as chair of PwC New Zealand. Her current external roles include serving on the Financial Markets Authority’s (FMA) Auditor Oversight Committee and acting as a trustee of the University of Auckland Foundation. Her professional background spans multiple sectors and large organisations, with a focus on audit, risk oversight, and organisational change. Blakey is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors.
Chris Black, chair of the Southern Cross Medical Care Society board, said Blakey’s appointment reflects the society’s focus on governance as a member-owned Friendly Society. “We’re delighted to welcome Keren to the board. She brings considerable governance experience, deep audit and risk expertise, and a collaborative leadership style developed over three decades supporting organisations through complexity and change. As a member-driven Friendly Society, Keren’s focus on ethical leadership, strong governance frameworks, and future-focused strategy will add valuable perspective to our board and the broader Society,” Black said. Southern Cross Health Insurance, part of the health society group, has operated in New Zealand since 1961 and provides health insurance to close to one in five New Zealanders. The business is structured as a member-based organisation rather than a shareholder-owned entity. In its most recent financial year, it returned 94% of premium income in the form of claims.
Blakey joins the board following a year of record claims activity for Southern Cross Health Society Group for the financial year ended June 30, 2025. The group processed 3.8 million claims in FY25, a 16% increase on the previous year and the highest level recorded by the organisation. Southern Cross has attributed the increase to ongoing pressure on the public health system, with members across age groups making greater use of private cover for diagnostics and treatment. Employer-sponsored health schemes remain a key channel. About 40% of Southern Cross’s roughly 950,000 members receive subsidised health insurance through 2,600 employer arrangements, extending private cover to employees and, in many cases, their families.
In FY25, the society paid $1.706 billion in claims from $1.811 billion in premiums, equating to 94 cents in claims for every premium dollar. The group reported a net deficit after tax of $51.8 million. The health insurance arm recorded a $56.9 million deficit, while subsidiaries produced a combined net surplus after tax of $13.9 million and investment income totalled $43 million. Membership stood at 951,808 at year end, a reduction of 3,493 on the prior year, against a backdrop of cost pressures for households and employers. Operating expenses in the health insurance business fell by 3% year on year.
In the group’s travel segment, Southern Cross Travel Insurance (SCTI) has appointed Sarah Owen as chief risk and legal officer (CRLO), effective April 2026. Owen joins SCTI from Juno Legal. She has previously held leadership and governance positions at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), the Guardians of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, Datacom Group, and the International Centre of Pension Management, and has held senior legal roles at Westpac, BT Financial Group, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, and Phillips Fox. Interim chief executive Anita Hawthorne said the role will add senior-level oversight of SCTI’s risk and legal functions across its operations in New Zealand and Australia. “Sarah will be joining the team as we continue to deliver an ambitious growth strategy. Her significant experience will support and guide SCTI ensuring we are there for our customers when it matters and that we have a secure and sustainable business,” Hawthorne said.
Owen said she plans to apply her cross-sector legal and risk experience to SCTI’s settings. “I am so looking forward to bringing the knowledge and experience I have to SCTI where I know everyone’s priority is to do the right thing by our customers, all while looking after the organisation to secure an exciting future,” she said. Hawthorne also acknowledged acting CRLO Rebecca Sellers. “I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the mahi of Rebecca Sellers who has been acting CRLO as we conducted our search. Rebecca has been an integral part of our team and supported us so well through a remediation and substantial organisational change as we set ourselves up for success,” Hawthorne said.
Owen’s appointment follows a period of higher claims costs for SCTI in 2025, including increased medical claim frequencies, more cases involving older travellers, and a notable number of respiratory and mosquito-borne illness claims in key destinations. From Jan. 1 to Nov. 30, 2025, SCTI paid more than $7.3 million across over 3,350 medical and evacuation claims, an average of $2,181 per claim. Larger losses over the period included a Covid-related illness case in Singapore costing $220,000, an illness case in Italy costing $642,000, and a fractured hip case in India costing $95,000. SCTI reported that, compared with 2023 and 2024, both the number of medical and evacuation claims and the total amounts paid have increased, reflecting higher treatment and medical transport costs in overseas markets.
Older travellers account for a growing share of SCTI’s medical claims. By late November 2025, SCTI had paid more than $1 million across 266 claims involving older customers, exceeding the full-year volume and value recorded in 2024 and 2023. In 2023, SCTI recorded 192 such claims totalling $419,000. Stroke, oedema, and unexpected diagnoses such as cancer and aneurysm have been among the key drivers. SCTI offers cover to travellers up to 118 years of age and advises older customers and their advisers to fully disclose and discuss pre-existing conditions when arranging policies. For intermediaries and underwriters, these trends have implications for medical underwriting, benefit design, and pricing in older age segments of the travel insurance market.
