Double whammy on levies

Did you know that a large portion of your house insurance premium goes to the government in levies? For the average initio house insurance policy sold through our site www.initio.co.nz, over a THIRD of the cost to the home owner is levies…… and unfortunately that proportion is about to jump significantly with fire service levies increasing by 40% from 1 July 2017 and earthquake commission levies increasing by 33% from 1 November 2017, which will mean total levies will then make up almost HALF of the cost of an average initio house insurance policy.

While levies are perceived as a bad thing, because they hit each of us in the pocket, it is important to take account of the fact that the fund essential community necessities such as the New Zealand Fire Service, many of which are volunteer fire brigades in smaller communities.  These brigades require specialized trucks and machinery to attend fires and accidents of all types. So as the running costs increase, so too do the levies.