From 1 October 2022, the Earthquake Commission (EQC) will change the way home insurance premiums are calculated.
Last year the Government announced that they were increasing the EQC Cap from $150,000 to $300,000 (ex. GST). This means that if your home is damaged or destroyed after an earthquake, landslip, volcano, tsunami or hydrothermal activity, or your residential land is damaged by storm or flood, from 1 October 2022, the EQC will provide up to $300,000 to repair or replace it. Anything over $300,000 will be covered by private insurers, depending on the sum insured.
So that the EQC can provide this, there is an EQC Levy on home insurance policies, body corporates and the residential component of commercial buildings.
The EQC Levy you currently pay in your insurance will increase from $300 to $480 (ex. GST) from 1 October 2022. This applies to all insurers in the market as it is a Government Levy.
The change will be implemented over a 12 month period to existing policies as they renew. The new levy will apply to all new policies on or after 1 October 2022. If the sum insured on your property is under $300,000, it will be prorated.
If you have any questions, please contact our Domestic Insurance team.
Photo by Daniel Tafjord on Unsplash
