Three of New Zealand's insurance peak bodies - representing underwriters, brokers and insurers - have reiterated a call for the scrapping of the levy that funds Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) through insurance premiums. The joint call came during a panel discussion at the New Zealand Underwriting Agencies Council (NZUAC) Expo in Auckland. Moderator Richard Davis of Rothbury Insurance Brokers asked panellists what one thing government could do to improve insurance affordability.
Paul Uprichard, executive director of the New Zealand Underwriting Agencies Council (NZUAC), said the cost and compliance burden has reached the point where several of his members either employ somebody full-time or have staff who work solely on the FENZ levy, on top of system changes and legal reviews needed to stay compliant. Some are now avoiding ancillary or specialty product lines altogether rather than absorb the compliance load that comes with bringing a new product within the levy's reach.
"For me, it can't happen this cycle - we've already got what we have - but hopefully there can be real strong work to adjust this for the next session," Uprichard said, referring to the current levy settings that took effect from July 2026 under the Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Levy) Regulations 2024.
"we'd like to see the FENZ levy go, and that'd probably be a property-based levy, shifting it to rates or something similar," Faafoi said.
Faafoi went further, disclosing that ICNZ had put a "community protection levy" to its own conference earlier this year - a proposed $700 million annual charge on premiums to fund climate resilience work that councils are being asked to lead without a dedicated budget. Nearly everyone else on that stage rejected the idea, he said, but he argued the funding debate needs to happen anyway, since no one currently wants to pay for it.
"From IBANZ's perspective, it's the FENZ Levy - no shock - as well as Section 72 notices," said Katherine Wilson, CEO of the Insurance Brokers Association of New Zealand (IBANZ). Wilson said. Section 72 hazard notices, which flag natural hazard risk on a property's land information memorandum, carry flow-on consequences for a homeowner's private cover and IBANZ members raise them constantly, she said.
