Earthquake Commission (EQC) and Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) Levies

EQC’s Natural Disaster Fund and Fire and Emergency New Zealand are both funded via Government levies. Insurance companies, like AA Insurance, include these levies in the premium you pay and they’re passed on to the EQC and FENZ.

The EQC Levy

The EQC levy (Earthquake Commission levy) helps to fund earthquake and other natural disaster insurance cover provided by EQC. It is included in your Home and Landlord Insurance premium and the exact amount you pay can be found in your policy notices.

The maximum EQC levy per Home or Landlord Insurance Policy is $300 (+ GST) per annum. By paying your Home or Landlord Insurance premium, you automatically pay the EQC levy and gain EQCover. This provides a maximum cover for residential buildings of $150,000 (+ GST).

For more information about what the EQC cover, please read our FAQs below or visit the EQC website.

The Fire and Emergency New Zealand Levy

The FENZ levy (Fire Service levy) helps to fund the services provided by Fire and Emergency New Zealand. It is automatically included in the insurance premium of policies which provide cover against fire, such as motor vehicles (excluding Third Party Car Insurance policies), residential contents and residential properties.

The maximum levy for residential buildings is $106 (+ GST) and $21.20 (+ GST) for residential contents per annum. The exact amount you pay can be found in your policy notices and is calculated as follows:

Residential Buildings and Contents

10.6c per $100 insured up to:

$100,000 - Residential Buildings
$20,000 - Residential Contents

Motor vehicles (less than 3.5 tonne gross laden weight)

$8.45 (flat rate for each motor vehicle)

Other property i.e. contract works, commercial vehicle insurance

10.6c per $100 insured

For more information please visit the FENZ website.

Frequently asked questions

You’ll find answers for many of your questions here. If you have a more specific question or want more detail, please contact us.

View all FAQs

When levies change, this can affect the cost of your insurance, no matter which provider you’re with. The good news is, because you’re with us, we do everything we can to make sure you’re only paying what you need to.

Concerned about the cost of your insurance?

Here are some ways to save on your premium

Consider how you pay – you can choose to pay your premium annually or spread the cost by fortnightly or monthly direct debit. You’ll pay less if you pay one annual lump sum.

Choose a higher excess – depending on what you think is manageable for your budget. There are different excess options available, should you need to make a claim, and generally the larger the excess, the smaller the premium.

Review your benefits – and remove those you don’t need anymore. For example;

If you have access to another vehicle, you may wish to remove the rental car option from your comprehensive car policy.
You may decide you don’t want the excess-free glass option for your home policy.
Excess-free hearing aid cover on your contents policy may no longer be necessary.

Check your home sum insured – use our online calculator to make sure you have the right level of cover to rebuild your property should you need to. If you have insured more than it would cost, you may be paying more than necessary.

Check your contents sum insured – use our online calculator to make sure you have the right level of cover to replace your contents should you need to. If you have downsized since setting up your policy, you may be paying more than necessary. It’s also important your sum insured is updated when you accumulate more items, so you’re not caught short in the event you need to claim.

Ensure your property is secure – For your contents, a security alarm will help you save on your premium.

Check your discounts – we offer a range of discounts available across AA Insurance policies such as our Multi Policy Discount and AA Member Discount. See our Discount Terms and Conditions for more.

Looking for more?

Thats what we're here for. Here are just some of the ways we're looking to offer you more and make your life easier.

Find out more