“By the end of this year households will see the levies and taxes on people who insure themselves sky rocket. From 1 July there will be a 40% increase in the levy used to fund the fire service which everyone benefits from, not just the insured” Insurance Council Chief Executive Tim Grafton said.
From 1 November there will be a 33% increase in the EQC levy applied to house insurance. And both these levies then have 15% GST applied to them. This means people with house and contents insurance will be levied and taxed over $450 without even counting the 15% GST applied to the premium that the insurer charges. New Zealand is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to natural disasters for its size. Insurance is vital in providing protection for people as we have seen with the industry likely to pay $25 billion for the Canterbury and Kaikoura earthquakes.
Grafton said “This election year there is an opportunity for political leadership to be shown. Does New Zealand continue to go down the path of making it increasingly difficult for low income people to protect themselves or should we really be addressing our vulnerability?”
To leahttp://www.icnz.org.nz