Your premium is the amount you pay us to insure something whether it be your home and contents, farm machinery or life! Your premium is made up of different elements which are described below.

Reinsurance

Reinsurance is FMG’s own insurance to cover the risk of major claim events. For example, when we were called upon to help a significant number of our clients following the Christchurch and Kaikoura earthquakes, and more recently Cyclone Gabrielle, FMG’s reinsurers helped cover the costs of claims. This protects our Mutual – so that we can be here for another 100 years.

Government charges (taxes and levies)

Fire and Emergency levy
This is a levy we’re required to collect on behalf of the Government on policies that cover your assets against the risk of fire. The levy enables Fire and Emergency New Zealand to be there when you need them most including responding to fires and also:

• Vehicle incidents
• Natural disasters
• Hazardous substance spills
• Medical response
• Animal rescue

Earthquake Commission (EQC) levy
The Earthquake Commission - Toka Tū Ake (or EQC) provides some cover for damage to residential homes in the event of a natural disaster. As your insurer we collect this levy through your premium and manage any claims following an earthquake or any other EQC covered natural disaster.

Levies are assessed on each dwelling and from 1 October 2022 the maximum amount EQC will pay out for claims (the EQCover) per dwelling for new insurance and renewals doubled to $300,000 +GST. The maximum levy collected for each dwelling also increased from $300+GST to $480+GST.

Goods and services (GST) tax
GST is a tax added to the price of most goods and services in New Zealand, including insurance.

Why has my premium gone up?

1. Increasing reinsurance costs
The number of significant extreme weather events and natural disasters around the world, including Cyclone Gabrielle, and their impact has caused reinsurance costs to go up.
2. Government levy increases
When the Government makes changes to compulsory levies there will be an impact on your premiums. The most recent example of this has been the change to how levies are collected for the EQC.
3. Increased frequency and cost of claims
There has been an increase in the number and cost of claims due to extreme weather events (such as storms) and natural disasters (such as earthquakes) here in NZ and globally. Also impacting this is the increasing cost to rebuild or replace insured items with the rising costs of labour, materials, and equipment.