Fire and Emergency levy changes are coming from 1 July 2026
Nobody gets excited about levies. Fair enough.
But from 1 July 2026, the way the Fire and Emergency New Zealand levy is calculated is changing, and this will impact the levy on your insurance policies.
The levy helps fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand’s services across the country. It is collected through eligible insurance policies, but it is separate from your insurance premium, and it is not something initio sets.
The key thing to know is this: while the change starts from 1 July 2026, it will apply to your policy from the next policy annual anniversary date after that. So if your policy does not renew until later, you may not notice anything straight away.
What is the Fire and Emergency levy?
The Fire and Emergency levy helps pay for the services Fire and Emergency New Zealand provides across the country.
It sits alongside your premium, but it is not the same thing. That means:
- it is set by the government, not by your insurance provider
- it applies to certain insurance policies
- it can change even when your cover has not
So if your price changes around renewal, part of that movement may be because of the levy, not because your cover has changed.
What’s changing from 1 July 2026?
The new levy rules apply to home, contents, and motor vehicle policies.
How this impacts your policies
From the next annual anniversary of your policy after 1 July 2026, the Fire and Emergency levy shown on your policy may change.
Here’s what is changing:
| Policy type | Current levy | New levy from 1 July 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Home insurance | 11.95 cents per $100 of sum insured, capped at $119.50 per year | 10.74 cents per $100 of sum insured, capped at $107.40 per year |
| Contents insurance | Capped at $23.90 per year | Capped at $21.48 per year |
| Vehicle under 3.5 tonnes, full cover | $9.53 per vehicle, per year | $25 per vehicle, per year |
| Vehicle under 3.5 tonnes, third party fire and theft | $9.53 per vehicle, per year | $25 per vehicle, per year |
| Vehicle under 3.5 tonnes, third party only | $0 | $25 per vehicle, per year |
For home and contents policies, the levy is reducing slightly.
For vehicle policies, the impact may be more noticeable. Vehicles under 3.5 tonnes, including cars, utes and vans, will move to a flat $25 levy per insured vehicle, per year. This applies whether the vehicle has full cover, third party fire and theft, or third party only cover.
That means third party only vehicles, which do not currently have this levy, will now be subject to a $25 levy for any new or renewing policy after 1 July 2026.
The levy amounts above are shown before GST. GST is added when your policy is invoiced.
When will this affect your policy?
Even though the new levy starts from 1 July 2026, it will apply to your policy from your next policy annual anniversary date after that.
So if your renewal is in July, you may see the change then. If your renewal is later in the year, you will see it later.
In other words, this is not a case of everyone seeing the change at the same time.
The short version
The Fire and Emergency levy is changing from 1 July 2026. It is a government-set charge, not something set by initio.
Home and contents levies are reducing slightly. Vehicle levies are moving to a flat $25 per vehicle per year for vehicles under 3.5 tonnes, including third party only cover.
The change will apply from your policy’s next annual anniversary date after 1 July 2026, which is when you will see it reflected on your policy.
Further information regarding the fire levy charges can be found on the government’s site here .
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Written by Toby Pudney. Support Team Lead
Toby has been with initio since 2023. He brings more than six years of experience in the insurance industry, giving him strong knowledge of general insurance. He has studied with ANZIIF and holds a qualification in New Zealand Compliance for Advisers (General Insurance Broking).