Blog

Ansvar Insurance have previously advised that the Emergency Services Levy (ESL) paid on insurance was being removed and would be replaced by a new Fire and Emergency Services Levy (FESL) to be collected with council rates effective from 1 July 2017.

Prior to the Government’s announcement to defer the FESL reform, we progressively removed the ESL for policies falling due between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017. However given the deferral of the new FESL legislation, ESL will be reintroduced on insurance policies as follows:

*Note that due to the late announcement by the Government of the reinstatement of the levy on the insurance industry, each insurance Company has had to make its own decisions about its ESL rates to collect enough from policyholders to pay the levy. Ansvar expects some further adjustments to ESL rates over the next few months and therefore will only offer indicative ESL rates for inception dates after 30 September 2017. We expect to review ESL rates for inceptions after 30 September 2017 by mid August 2017.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Emergency Services Levy?

The ESL is a charge that is added by the insurance company to the cost of your property insurance to recover its required contribution to emergency services agencies in NSW. The ESL paid with any premium on a policy is used to fund emergency services in NSW in the financial year in which the policy commences.

What does this charge mean for me?

If your policy has an amount charged for ESL, this is your contribution for NSW emergency services for the financial year in which your policy starts.

If your policy had an inception date in June 2017 and does not have an amount charged for ESL, this is also correct. This is because we removed the ESL in preparation of the FESL reform. You will not be asked to pay ESL at a later date for the current term of your policy unless you add a new risk or new cover.

What do I need to do?

Nothing. Just follow any payment instructions provided with your renewal policy. Any ESL collected with your policy will be used to fund NSW emergency services and your policy documentation will show your contribution.

Will I be charged ESL with my council rates in the same financial year?

No. With the deferral of the FESL legislation, councils should not be charging any ESL as it will be collected on insurance policies

The ESL on my policy has changed from last year. Why?

Prior to the Government’s announcement to defer the FESL legislation, we progressively removed ESL for policies falling due between 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017. As we reintroduce ESL on insurance policies from 1 July 2017, some customers may see an increase in their ESL contribution from last year. All ESL charges relate directly to the funding of NSW emergency services.

Who is the ESL Monitor?

The ESL Insurance Monitor was established in June 2016 as an independent body. One of its functions is to monitor the prices for the issue of regulated contracts of insurance. Professor Allan Fels AO and Professor David Cousins AM have been appointed by the NSW Government as the ESL Insurance Monitor and Deputy Monitor, respectively.

For more information on the Monitor visit their website. http://www.eslinsurancemonitor.nsw.gov.au/