NobleOak Life Ltd

NobleOak Life Ltd

AASX:NOL
1.35
AUD
-0.01
(-1.10%)
0.10EPS
13.34P/E
123.96MMarket Cap
Feb 26Next Earn

Q2 FY2026 · Earnings Call TranscriptFebruary 27, 2026

Operator

I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Anthony Brown, CEO.

Please go ahead.

Anthony Brown

Thank you. Good morning, all, and welcome to NobleOak Life's financial results presentation for the first half of financial year '26.

I'm Anthony Brown, CEO of NobleOak, and I'm joined today by our CFO, Scott Pearson. Today, I'll start with an overview of the highlights from the half, and then I'll hand over to Scott to cover the financials in a bit more detail.

Then, I'll take you through an update on our strategy execution and the outlook for the rest of financial year '26, and we'll finally open up for some questions. Before I get into the results, I'd just like to remind you about what sets NobleOak apart.

We remain Australia's most awarded direct life insurer, and with a business model built on predictable annuity-style revenue from in-force premiums. Our customer-first culture, high-value products, combined with modern systems and a strong focus on AI-led transformation, continues to support both growth and efficiency.

Importantly, our transition towards an APRA-aligned life company structure will further enhance capital efficiency and flexibility, providing a strong platform for long-term growth. All of this underpins strong and increasing cash flows, disciplined capital management, and meaningful optionality as we scale.

Slide 5 summarizes the key operational highlights for the half. We're really pleased to see continued strong sales and lapse outperformance drive in-force growth across both our direct and our advised channels.

We further gained market share in both segments, supported by product quality, great service, and disciplined insurance management. We executed well against our growth strategy with new products and partnerships, including the launch of a major new direct alliance partner with one of Australia's largest health insurers, nib, which has subsequently launched, and a new strategic partner product launch, FUtura, with our NEOS partners.

Capital remains sound and within our target range, and we continue to embed AI across the business in a prudent way to drive efficiency and improve customer experience. All in all, it's been a very productive half for NobleOak.

Just turning to slide 6 with some of the financial highlights. The half year '26 marks a major milestone for NobleOak as we pass the halfway point on our journey to our long-term target of $1 billion of in-force premiums.

In-force premiums at NobleOak increased to $505 million, which was up 19% over the last 12 months, driven by strong sales and better than industry lapse rates. Underlying NPAT also increased by 11% to $9.6 million, reflecting stable margins, operating leverage, and good cost management.

New business market share and in-force premium market share both continued to grow, reinforcing our position as a leading challenger in the market. Capital remains well within our target range, with a regulatory capital multiple of 174%, supporting both growth and ongoing investment in the business.

I'll now hand over to Scott to cover some of the financials in a bit more detail. Thanks, Scott.

Scott Pearson

Thanks, Anthony, and good morning, everyone. I'll start on slide 8 with an overview of the group's financial performance.

As Anthony mentioned, in-force premium at December '25 has grown to $504.8 million, a 19% growth over the last 12 months or a 9% increase in the 6 months since June, reflecting strong sales and retention. New business grew by 11% to $33.8 million in the 6 months, as we continue to take over 10% of market sales.

Lapse rates increased as the portfolio matures, but remained below industry average at 12.4%. Underlying NPAT grew in line with guidance by 11% to $9.6 million.

Statutory NPAT of $6.3 million was impacted by the increase in our provision for potential Victorian stamp duty exposure to $6.5 million. Importantly though, total exposure is now capped at approximately $8.5 million.

Importantly, underlying performance remained strong, ongoing margin stability supported by improved operating leverage, and insurance margins that continue to benefit from our conservative risk retention sees our results remain strong. Turning to slide 9 and the direct segment.

Direct in-force premiums increased to over $100 million for the first time to $103.5 million, supported by continued market share gains. In the first half, we made changes to our direct sales function to improve performance, scalability, and accelerate AI adoption.

These structural changes impacted new business performance in the short term, but are designed to build momentum in the second half and beyond to be supported by our new nib partnership. Pleasingly, lapse rates reduced to 13.5%, around 2% below the total industry average.

The repurchase of the RevTech trail commission in December '24 reduced commissions paid by approximately $2.5 million over the 12 last first 12 months, and contributing strongly to margin expansion. As a result, underlying NPAT in the direct channel grew by 49%, which was a very strong result.

Moving to slide 10. In the Strategic Partner channel, in-force premiums grew by 23% to $401.3 million, growth that's been driven by our strong partnerships with NEOS and PPS, with the launch of the new FUtura product in October already building market awareness.

Underwriting margins were impacted during the half by higher TPD claims experience. It's important to note that this increased TPD claims experience is a market-wide phenomenon.

Importantly, NobleOak's conservative risk retention strategy continues to significantly mitigate the impact of claims volatility that we've seen during the period. Turning to capital on slide 11.

We remain well-capitalized with capital adequacy ratio of 174%, which remains in the top half of our target range. The net capital movement in the half reflects the benefit of the RevTech trail commission repurchase, the utilization of our tax losses, and offset by the Victorian stamp duty provision increases.

Overall, our capital position continues to provide flexibility to fund growth, invest in the business, and progress with the life company transition. In summary, these are healthy results as we continue our growth trajectory and manage industry-wide claims experience, our Victorian stamp duty changes, and our transition to the life company, and we continue to invest in the business.

With that, I'll hand back to Anthony.

Anthony Brown

Thank you, Scott. Just turning to slide 13, we'll cover some of the financial year '26 strategic priorities in the first half.

As mentioned, we launched the new nib product range, and we'll now be providing access to more than 1 million nib members with a fully digital, nib-branded life insurance product set. We're very excited about the potential for this partner, and given the natural adjacency of purchasing health and life insurance together, we do expect it to be big success for NobleOak in the coming years.

We're also really pleased to have launched the FUtura product on the NEOS platform. It's a new product with NEOS that targets a different market segment and complements our existing advised products.

FUtura has delivered good early growth since December, and we again do expect to see some benefits from that product in the coming periods. As we announced at our financial year '25 results, we continue to embed AI across the business in a very practical and disciplined way, focusing on delivering tangible business outcomes.

We've deployed an AI underwriting tool that automates data analysis and triage, freeing up our underwriters to focus on more complex risks and higher-value judgment calls. This is improving speed, consistency, and quality of underwriting decisions, and over 90% of our staff now use AI tools in their daily activities, which does support greater efficiency, scalable productivity growth, and eventually a structurally leaner operating model.

By improving underwriting turnaround times and lifting conversion rates, we're driving stronger growth while lowering our cost to serve. Importantly, we're leveraging our data.

As our models improve with scale, they strengthen our competitive advantage by giving us a structural advantage in cost, speed, and customer experience. We've delivered strong progress in the first half.

There's naturally more to do, but the direction is clear: invest where AI improves efficiency, growth, and long-term competitiveness. Finally, just turning to the outlook for financial year '26 on slide 14.

After a strong first half, we are reaffirming our financial year '26 guidance. We expect in-force premium growth to be more than 15%, and underlying NPAT growth of more than 10% for the full year.

This outlook reflects continued sales momentum, disciplined underwriting, and further benefits from scale and automation. I'm really excited about the outlook for financial year '26 and look forward to updating you further on our progress through the year.

That concludes the formal presentation. Before I open for questions, I just want to thank you all for your time and continued interest in NobleOak.

It's greatly appreciated. I'll now open up for Q&A.

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. If you wish to ask a question, please press *1 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced.

If you wish to cancel your request, please press *2. If you are on a speakerphone, please pick up the handset to ask your question.

Today's first question comes from Philip Pepe with Shaw and Partners. Please go ahead.

Philip Pepe

Hi, guys. Thanks for taking the question.

Congratulations on another good result at the in-force premium level. Just on Strategic Partners, just on the TPD claims going up, is there a particular segment?

Has that continued into the second half? Where that's occurred?

Customer base, industry?

Scott Pearson

Phil, your questions about TPD experience and you indicated whether it was a specific segment. It is an industry-wide development which is primarily driven by mental health claims experiences across the industry.

We are seeing it in each of the channels. The Strategic Partners have a higher proportion of TPD than our Direct book.

That's where we're seeing the experience come through. We are, I guess as Phil, it's actually not had a significant impact on the aggregate results, albeit depressing those results due to our risk retention being lower in those segments.

Philip Pepe

Excellent. Thank you.

Just a second question. How has the relationship with nib started?

Typically, that's a younger-than-average customer base, it would be great to get some of their clients onboard to your book early. How has that relationship started in terms of them converting health insurance customers into both health and life insurance customers?

Anthony Brown

Thanks, Philip. It's Anthony here.

Look, we're only literally a few weeks since the launch, but it's a very engaged partner. We're really pleased with the cultural alignment, the alignment in targets between us and nib, and their desire to really make it work.

We saw a sale on the first day, and we are seeing some traction already with their membership base, but the active marketing won't really start until the next couple of months, we'll get a really good idea in the second half of this financial year.

Philip Pepe

If I can squeeze in a third one, looks like you'll now be the last remaining independent life insurer in the country.

Anthony Brown

With

Philip Pepe

the change in ownership of ClearView, is that making a difference to you at all? Is it an additional selling point to your customers saying, "Well, the last Australian-owned company out there"?

Anthony Brown

Good question. Phil, we didn't see that.

Did that news come out? It's obviously been a big talking point within NobleOak.

Look, I think you're right. Our perspective is net-net, it's a positive for NobleOak.

There's one less competitor, and ClearView will soon, if it goes through, which we do believe is likely, ClearView will no longer obviously be listed on the Australian ASX, we'll be the only purest life insurer listed, which again we do think is a positive as well. Zurich is a good competitor.

They're well capitalized. They'll obviously integrate ClearView in the next couple of years, they'll be slightly distracted, no doubt, doing that, but they'll still be strong at the end.

We don't think it's going to have a massive change in competition going forward. We certainly think in the short term there may be opportunity for us when there's a little bit of integration work happening between those two the two businesses.

Philip Pepe

Excellent. Thanks again, and well done.

Anthony Brown

No problems.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from Nick McGarrigle with Barrenjoey.

Please go ahead.

Nick McGarrigle

Hi, team. Just wondering with the Direct business, underlying NPAT second half '25 through to first half '26 was down a reasonable amount.

The drivers there, it seems like it was insurance margin related. Just trying to get a sense on yeah, where the leverage was lacking in Direct, given the in-force is obviously growing, but profit went backwards half to half.

Anthony Brown

Phil, can you just repeat the question, please, Phil? Apologies.

Sorry, Nick, can you just repeat the question, please?

Nick McGarrigle

Looking at the Direct underlying NPAT in the second in the first half of FY26 versus the second half of FY25, it went backwards, and I'm just trying to understand what costs or margin there was half to half to drive profit to decline when in-force is up. Just curious on that.

Anthony Brown

Might have to take that one on notice. Nick, you're talking about in both periods we had the first half last second half last year we saw a significant increase as we saw the RevTech trail commissions coming in the first in the second half last year, and we had some favorable claims experience as well, I think, in the second half of last year, which in the results in Direct in the first half this year, the claims experience are more closer to normal expectations.

I think that you'll find that's the main drivers. I think the expense ratio is actually come down a bit, we should be seeing margin expansion in that segment as the product grows.

Nick McGarrigle

All right. Thanks.

Operator

Thank you. That does conclude our question-and-answer session.

I'll now hand back to Mr. Brown for closing remarks.

Anthony Brown

Yes. Thank you all.

Thanks very much for attending, and I just wanted to say thank you all to the NobleOak team for a strong six months. I hope we have all a wonderful year.

Thanks for dialing in. See you all.