ACC Premiums To Fall

ACC premiums for employers will fall and the earners premium will rise from 1 April next year.

Announcing the annual adjustments to ACC levies today, ACC Minister Murray McCully said employers premiums would drop by 9% from an average of $2.35 per $100 of wages currently to an average of $2.14 from 1 April.

"However, from 1 July employers will be able to choose between the Government insurer and private sector insurers. I have no doubt that many employers will get an even better rate after that date", said Mr McCully.

The ACC earners premium will rise from $1.20 to $1.40 per $100 of wages from 1 April. For an employee earning $35,000 per year the increase will be $70 per year or $1.35 per week.

Mr McCully said that the earners premium increase was "driven by the need to fully fund the cost of accidents, rather than handing the bill to the next generation.

"I have no doubt that the prospect of competition has helped drive down the cost of the employers premium. I imagine that many employees will see this announcement and ask when they, too, can have the benefit of choice and competition exerting downwards pressure on the earners premium. That is a fair question and one which we will look at as we move through the transition with the Employers Account prior to 1 July 1999.