northland chamber

Should the cost of running the NZ Fire Service be funded from
	Insurance Premiums
	Rates
	Taxation
	Other
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Thanks once again Northland Businesses & property owners for subsidising those who choose not to contribute


The Government is looking at the way the Fire Service is funded.

At the moment, the service is funded through a levy charged on premiums for property insured against fire. For those who choose not to insure, the service is effectively free. The Government seems to be happy with this model and is proposing that will still involve collecting the levies from insurance premiums, but will widen the number of policyholders affected.

Chamber member and Northland Insurance leader Ahlers Insurance have pointed out some concerns in what has been proposed as options by Central Government.

Ahlers are preparing a submission in conjunction with the Insurance Brokers Association of New Zealand to Government on their proposed new fire legislation – “A framework for New Zealand’s fire and rescue services and their funding”.

The new framework is to replace existing legislation with a new Fire and Rescue Act.

To summarise the new Act would establish a framework to ensure that:

There is a comprehensive fire risk management system in New Zealand.
New Zealanders receive consistent and acceptable standards of service
fire response providers are able to integrate and co-ordinate their operations
there is an effective fire response organisation that is able to assist with non-fire emergencies
there is an equitable funding source for services

Sounds fair enough to us…..

The Funding would be based on calculating and collecting a levy on all property insured against any kind of loss or damage. The range of property would include:

residential dwellings, household and personal property
commercial and industrial buildings and their contents
industrial plant and equipment
stocks of raw materials and other goods
forests and agricultural crops
motor vehicles

What draws our attention is that other changes include the Fire Levy being based on Replacement value (even if your property is insured for indemnity value)

Also…….for multi building owners insuring under a first loss policy the requirement may be to impose the levy on the combined value of all property.

These proposals have the potential to significantly increase the amount being paid through your insurance policies.

Under the proposed changes, costs will increase putting additional pressure on businesses. We also believe that the proposed system is not equitable and put simply; it is a tax which places sole obligation on responsible property owners who elect to insure themselves.

Other solutions are to centrally fund through Taxes (Like Police) or locally through Rates. These options appear to be discounted in the meantime.

Ahlers are pro-actively soliciting feedback on the framework. If you elect to ignore this then your business could feel the impact of these changes in your future premium notices.

The Northland Chamber through the NZ Chambers of commerce will also be submitting to the Government to adopt a fair way of financing (for example through rates)

Either contact Ahlers now on 430-4870 or Go to our website (http://www.northchamber.co.nz/) and complete our one question snap poll which we will present to Ahlers for their submission

The Northland Chamber of Commerce is the networking, education, advocacy and marketing group for Northland business, and is part of a nationwide network of 30 and a world-wide movement of 21,000 chambers. Subscription to the free fortnightly chamber e-news can be arranged on info@northchamber.co.nz. Enquiries to 09-4384771 or www.northchamber.co.nz, www.kaiparachamber.co.nz and http://www.farnorthchamber.co.nz/

You can have a say on this by going to the Northland Chamber of Commerce Feedback website on http://www.northchamber.blogspot.com/