ACC Building in Wellington Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
A rebound in financial markets has given the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) a bottom-line surplus, as well as an increase in the value of its investment portfolio.
ACC's annual report showed its investment fund grew to $46.9 billion, from $45.8b the previous year, driven by positive investment returns.
Its outstanding claims liability (OCL) rose by $1.3b to $51.5b, mainly reflecting growth in the scheme, the rising cost of services and future inflation expectations, it said.
The OCL represented the expected future costs of injury claims on ACC's books.
ACC's surplus of $911 million compared to a deficit of $49m the previous year. However it was not a cash profit, and would be reinvested into the scheme.
The turnaround in investment growth compared with last year's poorest ever investment return amid considerable market volatility.
"After a tough year for markets in fiscal 2022, it was pleasing to make a return of 7.07 percent after costs in the latest year," chief investment officer Paul Dyer said.
"In large part this reflected a mismatch between the fund's benchmarks and how the mandates were set for the fund's external managers. The external equity managers outperformed the benchmarks set for them but under-performed for the overall fund benchmark," Dyer said.
"This mismatch was a deliberate choice by ACC's investment team but did not pay off in 2022/23."
ACC said its investment fund also achieved a 60 percent reduction in the carbon intensity of its listed equities from its 2019 baseline, which was ahead of its 2025 target.
It said after three years of Covid-19 volatility, rising claims volumes saw the number of injured people accessing ACC return to pre-pandemic levels.
The state-owned insurance scheme during the year ended June 2023 helped nearly 2 million New Zealanders who suffered an injury, compared to 1.8m the year before.
New claims grew by almost 10 percent, lifting claims volumes back to levels experienced in 2019.
ACC board chair Steve Maharey said the scheme was focused on building on the results and on its new 10-year enterprise strategy, Huakina Te Rā.
"Under the leadership of chief executive Megan Main, our targeted injury prevention programmes resulted in 16,500 fewer people suffering injuries, a 33 percent increase on 2021/22," Maharey said.
"We continued to make progress to create better access, experience and outcomes for Māori, with our Kaupapa Māori health services a major contributor towards this."