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Discovery CEO Adrian Gore

Discovery CEP Adrian Gore said on Thursday that Ping An Health had made significant strides during the six months to the end of December with new business of R211 million, the quality of the new book exceeding expectations, and over 430,000 lives being covered by the end of the period.

"During the previous year work was done on obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals and establishing the team in China. During the period under review, Ping An Health invested considerably in technology and other infrastructural aspects.

"In addition to this, the company focused on a number of important product development initiatives and innovations, including a Vitality construct, with these expected to be rolled out in the first and second quarters of 2012," Gore said.

"Ping An Health is now well positioned to capture considerable Group high-end and Individual insurance mid-market business.

"Discovery remains excited about the potential of Ping An Health and the ability to build a leading health insurance company in China," Gore said.

Discovery's UK businesses also had a particularly successful six months with combined profitability turning from a loss of R5 million to a profit of R162 million. This positions Discovery very strongly to achieve its vision of building a Discovery-like capability in the United Kingdom.

"PruProtect, in the period under review, was undoubtedly the star of the show. Virtually every aspect of the business made outstanding progress which manifested in profit turning from a loss of R40 million to a profit of R115 million. The business comfortably exceeded all capital hurdles for new business written during the period and we are well on our way to achieving our vision of replicating the Discovery business model in the UK, together with the Prudential plc," said Gore.

PruHealth also made significant progress during the period despite a difficult economic environment which has led to a weakened private medical insurance market, and dealing, at the same time, with the integration of the Standard Life Healthcare and PruHealth businesses. Against this backdrop, PruHealth continued with its focus on quality business and ensuring loss ratios were stable and robust.

Meanwhile, Discovery's partnership strategy in the United States has begun to bear real fruit. Discovery's partnership with the US' fourth-largest insurer Humana, presents Discovery with the opportunity to apply its learning into a large US Health insurer. During the last six months of 2011, HumanaVitality was successfully rolled out, with great results in a short space of time. New business of more than R174 million was achieved, with 1.4 million lives covered in the US by February 2012.

Discovery Vitality remains the foundation for all Discovery's businesses, proving to be a key differentiator for Discovery. Says Gore: "Vitality has a profound impact on the mortality and morbidity experience of all Discovery's members. These are two of the key factors that drive profitability and sustainability in the Health and Life businesses. For Discovery clients, Vitality is increasingly popular as members engage more with the programme: more than 20 million gym visits were recorded, over 750,000 flights booked with kulula.com and more than half of Discovery members doing preventive health checks. The success of the model has enabled Discovery to build a unique capability that has allowed the organisation to grow significantly in South Africa and to transpose and scale its business model into other applicable markets."