Statistics New Zealand has revealed a rise in insurance premiums in the country in the year ending September 2019.

The data agency’s latest report showed that contents insurance increased 3.5% while dwelling insurance increased 7.6% in September 2019. Although dwelling insurance prices continue to increase, the current figure is still lower than the 13% annual average of the last two years.

“Higher insurance premiums last year were partly due to an increase in the Fire and Emergency Services levy,” explained Paul Pascoe, prices senior manager at Stats NZ.

“This year’s increase in local authority rates is slightly less than last year’s, but higher than the 4.4% annual average over the last five years and over double the rate of general inflation.”

He added that all insurance premiums increased at a slower rate this year than last year.

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Vehicle insurance premiums also increased 8.4% this year, with a 1.1% increase in the September quarter.

Pascoe said that petrol prices partly offset the rise in vehicle insurance premiums as they dropped 0.8% in the September quarter.

“While we saw price rises at the pump late in the quarter, prices for July and August were lower than we saw throughout the June quarter,” Pascoe said.