On Monday the Hunter-founded insurer posted its full year results for 2020, its $89.2 million net profit dropping 40.3 per cent from the previous financial year.

NIB's group underlying operating profit fell 25.6 per to $150.1 million compared to FY2019. The company's total group revenue grew 2.4% to $2.5 billion while its group claims expenses rose 6.7 per cent to $1.9 billion.

NIB managing director Mark Fitzgibbon said the pandemic had delivered a "reality check and a reset" for the company.

"We have been hit hard by COVID-19 ... but we are not feeling the pain that many other companies are," he said.

"In what are almost unprecedented economic headwinds, we grew policyholders by 1.9 per cent, well ahead of the 0.4 per cent for the industry, and we actually accounted for more than 41% of total industry growth for the year."

NIB's flagship Australian Residents Health Insurance (AHRI) business grew its premium revenue by2.9% to $2.1 billion. Despite a $90.4 million COVID-19 claims provision, AHRI's underlying profit of $133.6 million still represented a net profit margin of 6.4 per cent.

Mr Fitzgibbon said while the 2020 underlying operating profit of $150.1 million was "on the surface disappointing", it included a $98.8 million provision for deferred claims, or those claims it estimates were delayed because of COVID-19.

"We expect over the course of the financial year 2021, this provision will unwind as our members receive treatment they delayed during 2020. We've done the best we can to estimate the "catch up" but only time will tell just how much we'll experience," he said.

Mr Fitzgibbon said COVID-19 factors had "blurred" what were otherwise "some good results", with nib's health insurance businesses all growing membership and revenue despite tough market conditions.

Though things were challenging, the company was not short of new ideas to grow and "reset" the business to continue to achieve growth.

As a part of that plan, NIB is focusing on the personalisation of services and investing in technology to build that capacity.

Its $45 million COVID-19 member and community support package included the six month postponement of approved premium increases and waivers for financial hardship.

NIB's New Zealand arm recorded a growth in premium revenue of 11.4% to $240.1 million and policyholder growth of 7.4 per cent. Its underlying profits there rose 18.2 per cent to to $23.4 million, including a $8.4 million COVID-19 deferred claims provision.

Mr Fitzgibbon said the company's international inbound health insurance (IIHI) business for workers and students, alongside its travel business, had been significantly hit by COVID-19.

IIHI's underlying profit fell 36.4% to $22.2 million, which NIB Travel reported a $19.7 loss in underlying profit.

"Without question, global and domestic leisure travel has been one of the sectors hardest hit by the coronavirus," he said.

"Our focus remains on reducing operational expenses with an expected prolonged downturn in travel assumed."

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