Emergency Services Levy
The ESL provides funding for the NSW fire and emergency services which is currently collected through a levy on insurance policies.
In the 2018-19 half yearly budget update, the Government announced significant increases in forecast ESL collection for the coming years. The Government have since updated these forecasts in the 2019-20 half yearly budget. ESL contributions are to increase by 21% from $898m in the 2019-2020 financial year to $1,090m in 2020-2021. Budget increases are to fund workers compensation reforms that allow for benefits to be payable to firefighters diagnosed with prescribed cancers, as well as increased expenditure in Rural Fire Services (RFS) capabilities.
This increase in costs is to be recovered largely through the ESL. FM Global have estimated that to meet the funding obligations to the fire and emergency services a rate of 37% will need to be applied to all assessable NSW premium effective 30 JUN 2020.
The rate will be reviewed periodically and may vary in future in response to revised Brigade budget expectations, revised industry insurance premium pool estimates, and other factors arising from the NSW government’s decision to reinstate the insurer ESL.
INFORMATION FROM THE NSW EMERGENCY SERVICES LEVY INSURANCE MONITOR
Information
The Emergency Services Levy (“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.
The Insurance Monitor
The 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 Emergency Services Levy Insurance Monitor and Deputy Monitor, respectively and remain in these roles.
If you would like further information
Contact your FM Global Account Manager or AFM Production Underwriter in the first instance if you have questions about your policy.
Information about the Insurance Monitor can be found at: www.eslinsurancemonitor.nsw.gov .au