New ACC premiums will lower compliance costs for many businesses says Accident Insurance Minister Doctor Michael Cullen.
The latest data from the Department of Labour's Accident Insurance Regulator shows employers are paying an average
premium rate of $1.21 per $100 of liable earnings to private insurers. The Government has set the new premium rate at
$1.16, which will come into effect on July 1.
Dr Cullen says the figures scotch once and for all the doom and gloom claims that returning accident insurance to a
single state owned provider will load costs on to business.
"We have set the average premium at $1.16. That is cheaper than the private insurers are offering. To say that employers
will be hit with higher costs under ACC is just plain wrong."
Dr Cullen says he is committed to keeping the cost of premiums cheaper than the private sector offered. The second ACC
bill, which the Government intends to introduce in the second half of this year, will reflect that commitment.
The Regulator's figures are for the nine months to the end of March and show an overall market size of nearly $462
million consisting of 150,073 employers.
ENDS