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Insurance companies will have to inform policyholders of how changes to the fire services levy will affect premiums or risk heavy fines under new guidelines.
Under the Fire Services Levy Monitor's draft guidelines, insurers that fail to disclose how premiums were determined or that try to exploit prices and deceive consumers could be hit by fines of up to $10 million.
The levy helps to fund firefighting services and historically it has been collected by insurance companies on home and contents and commercial insurance policies.
But this was changed after recommendations from the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission. Under the new scheme, which will come into effect on July 1, local councils will be responsible for collecting the levy from ratepayers.
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Insurance companies collected about $550 million through the levy in 2012-13, which should fall out of the industry's revenue in 2013-14, the draft guidelines say.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/changes-to-fire-services-levy-put-the-pressure-on-insurance-companies-20130417-2i0lr.html#ixzz2QlEdq3vW
1 comment:
Why not get the State Revenue Office contracted to collect the new FIRE LEVY so Councils wont complain about the extra cost, and further still why not have Councils transfer their the full rates collection function to the SRO too and save on a Rates Department altogether? Should be no great cost to transfer Computer Disks to SRO who have most of details if no all already.?
One computer system to collect for all the Councils is a great money saving idea and saves on duplication multiplied by all of the other councils and Shires dont you think?
Now why cant the Council CEO's think of these simple ideas? Ratepayers are already looking down the barrel of paying extra Superannuation levy on all staff from 9 % going up 33.33% up to 12% approved by both major parties but no one of them are suggesting how to cut costs are they...so who pays...we do...we suffer because everyone thinks politics has to be dirty business full of fraud and self interest and can't be changed. Who says council cant become more efficient and cut down on expensive labor and on-costs?
If Insurance companies and Banks can do it, why not Councils and Shires?
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