Fire & Emergency Levy Changes Are Coming: What It Means for Your Insurance
From house fires and vegetation fires to serious car crashes and storm damage, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) is the organisation that responds when lives, property and communities are at risk, providing the fire and emergency services that protect people and assets across Aotearoa.
The funding of these services comes almost entirely from a Fire and Emergency Levy (FEL) the Government collects on certain types of insurances, including house and content, commercial property, vehicle and other assets that could be damaged by fire. Policy holders don’t pay this levy directly to FENZ; instead, it’s added to eligible insurance policies and then passed on.
What’s changing?
From 1 July 2026 a new levy framework will come into effect under the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017 and associated levy regulations. This means there will be a change to how FENZ levies are calculated depending on the type of insurance that is in place.
Below we provide some general background about the changes overall. This update is intended to give you early awareness of what’s ahead, and your broker will be in touch at your renewal with more details tailored to your specific circumstances.
Who will be impacted?
These changes will affect a wide range of policyholders, including:
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Commercial Property insurance.
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Residential Property insurance.
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Motor Vehicle insurance (includes comprehensive, third-party fire and theft or thirdparty motor).
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Agricultural insurance (farm, machinery, livestock and forestry).
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Contract works insurance.
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Certain types of aircraft and marine insurance.
If your policy is one that currently attracts a FEL, there is a good chance the new framework will affect how that levy is calculated in future.
What can you expect?
You can expect to see:
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New levy amounts on relevant insurance policies as they renew on or after 1 July 2026.
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Changes to the cost of insurance - some policies where the levy reduces, and others where the levy increases, depending on how the new levy applies to each specific policy.
As your policies come up for renewal, the new levy will be shown on your documentation. Here is a breakdown of main changes for each of the categories:
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Commercial Property Levy: Now calculated on the sum insured (not indemnity value), with a decreased non-residential rate.
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Mixed-Use Property: Revised assessment and rating approach.
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Motor Vehicle Levy: Flat $25 fee per vehicle for both commercial and private policies, replacing weight-based fees and third-party Only cover now incurs a levy.
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Property no longer exempt: Domestic aircraft, livestock, forestry, and crops are now subject to a levy.
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Property now exempt: All boats are now exempt.
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Residential rate reduction for home and contents.
These changes will apply to policies that start or renew on or after 1 July 2026. Policies with a period of insurance that starts before this date will continue under the current levy rules until they expire or in some cases where they are changed.
FENZ and the insurance industry are still working through the finer points – but it is important that you know change is coming and that it will flow through to many insurance policies over time.
Talk to your Aon broker
If you’d like to understand what these upcoming changes could mean for you, now is a good time to start the conversation and review your cover. Contact your Aon broker to discuss how the new levy framework may affect your policies over time or to review your existing covers and sums insured. We can also help you to plan ahead so you can make confident, well informed decisions at renewal.