ACC – lower levies welcome but more transparency required

Media release
17 June 2014

ACC – lower levies welcome but more transparency required

BusinessNZ has welcomed the ACC 2015/16 levy proposals which show that the Work, Earners, and Motor Vehicle Accounts are now fully funded, and that significant premium reductions are possible for next year.

But BusinessNZ is concerned that there is a lack of transparency in levy-setting, particularly as ACC continues to claim that part of the levy is to fund pre-1999 residual claims.

Moving towards a fully funded scheme required an additional fee on levy payers to pay for the unfunded residual claims, but with full funding now achieved the additional fees are no longer needed.

“As the proposed levies are essentially for full funding purposes, it is not accurate to label part of each a residual claims levy.

“Doing so penalises employers who pay into the scheme by reducing the experience rating benefits they earn by good safety practice, while employers with a poor safety record will not be penalised as much as they should be.

“The ACC levy setting system needs to be more transparent,” BusinessNZ Chief Executive Phil O’Reilly said.

BusinessNZ is recommending that ACC premiums be audited by independent actuaries and the results made public, to ensure confidence in the probity of the scheme.

ENDS

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