Levy discounts for fewer benefits

[Genestho]

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/newshom...ewer-benefits/

Just a media article, haven't chased up the documents..


"Discounts could be offered on ACC levies, in exchange for less compensation, longer waits and higher medical fees.

The Accident Compensation Corporation is seeking feedback on the ideas in a consultation document. It suggests motorists' levies could be increased for people who get a lot of traffic tickets, and for younger drivers. Pensioners and others with good safety records could be offered a discount.

A no-claims discount could also be introduced for people who avoid injury over a five year period while those who make more regular claims, such as sports players, could have to pay a higher levy.

The document asks whether people would prefer to pay lower rates, but in exchange for a decreased level of service or less compensation in the event of an injury"

[James Deuce]

God no! Only if higher levels of trauma cover and income protection are available from the private sector first, and public waiting lists are slashed.

The public health system in NZ is disastrously flawed. Those people who have been treated at a local hospital will have no idea what I'm talking about, but if you end up in a non-resident DHB, their goal is to discharge without referral.

I've had to battle both the public and private health systems to simply get an MRI of my ankle because Palmerston North Hospital didn't do their job. It took 3 months and repeated visits to specialists to find one who was willing to organise an MRI. The look of horror on his face when he looked at it was almost comical.

Without that and then specialised, targeted ACC funded physio my ankle would long since be useless.

ACC are just betting on those that regard themselves as invulnerable and immortal (90% of motorcyclists IMO) taking a punt on not getting hurt in an off. This is the result of psycho-social evaluation of the personality types who ride bikes.

[yachtie10]

Have to agree with james
A bad road to go down

I also have an issue with traffic tickets being related to levies (no that ive had that many) there are plenty of bad drivers that dont get tickets(for a lot of reasons)

[oldrider]

If they think we would be better off with an ACC insurance scheme, why don't they set one up along side the current ACC welfare and lets us make our own choices!

They (National) say they believe in free choice, then may the best system win!

[Owl]

because Palmerston North Hospital didn't do their job.

Why doesn't that surprise me

[p.dath]

Sigh. It seems someone is fixated with accident insurance, not accident compensation. Lets stick with the accident compensation please.

[bogan]

Sigh. It seems someone is fixated with accident insurance, not accident compensation. Lets stick with the accident compensation please.

indeed, and they are changing it quicker than I expected. With the new experience discount though, the over 600cc bikes must be up for a discount, right?

[mashman]

I disagree oldrider... Insurance is a slippery slope. The right to sue? or Saying sorry? It ain't the financial slope i'm worried about .

Personal insurance calculated on how you live your life and NO other alternative .

Fuck it, i'd rather go on the dole.

Whether ACC or Insurance Company, BOTH will always check the fine print to see if they can weedle their way out of it.

It's disgusting.

[JohnR]

On the bright side...this now affects everyone, not just selected target groups
We are no longer special because we have been used by "the powers" to see how far and how quickly compulsory accident insurance could be implemented. This was achieved by proposing an outrageous increase, gauging the reaction and level of support (from the masses), then implementing a substantial increase with insurance like criteria. This then gave an indication of the public interest in ACC.

Those wanting an opt out for private insurance are out of luck, although you could have both...
Why?. Because as soon as "ACC" is no longer, the right to sue returns and an unsignposted patch of gravel will become a goldmine for Biker's lawyer vs Transit NZ.

[oldrider]

I disagree oldrider... Insurance is a slippery slope. The right to sue? or Saying sorry? It ain't the financial slope i'm worried about .

Personal insurance calculated on how you live your life and NO other alternative .

Fuck it, i'd rather go on the dole.

Whether ACC or Insurance Company, BOTH will always check the fine print to see if they can weedle their way out of it.

It's disgusting.

I didn't actually say that.

As I have said before, I actually prefer to stay with the "original" Woodhouse version of ACC but every subsequent government (of whatever persuasion) has messed with it for their own advantage and our disadvantage!

So let those who want the insurance option have the choice! No further argument then, it should sort it's self out!

[R6_kid:Me]

only sensible way to decrease the price, or more appropriately to make the levy fair, is to do it by distance traveled rather than by calendar periods. Vehicles don't get into accidents when they are parked up in the garage.

[bogan]

only sensible way to decrease the price, or more appropriately to make the levy fair, is to do it by distance traveled rather than by calendar periods. Vehicles don't get into accidents when they are parked up in the garage.

fuel tax would be easiest, but then bikers get off lightly, and risk based levy could not be applied. Something like diesel miles could work for that, but it's so easy to disconnect the odometer. As I see it there are only two solutions to the problem, non-risk based levies so nobody feels too hard done by, or private insurance companies with market competition ensuring all groups are only being overcharged a little bit. Which then re-introduces the fault factor, ties up legal system, wastes more money, furthur raises levies for high fault users like learners.... Pity we are moving from the former to the later

[mashman]

For me. The simplest way to do it, would be to put it all on the workers account, kinda. They're the ones who are most likely to pay anyway. No? You pay for your fuel and rego using money from the same salary, you may as well take it straight from my salary. There's a financial target for the year somewhere. It includes fuel levies, workers account and rego. Has that target been met. Did you generate the revenue streams you needed to meet your targets?

If no, then someones gonna feel the pain.

If yes, then adding the motor vehicle and workers levy accounts together and treating them as one account (we're using the same salary to pay for it), could actually be a fuckload cheaper, for the individual, than we're all paying at the moment. Just need the numbers to prove it financially. You'd catch those that aren't paying it at the moment too. Extra revenue stream. If you're workin you're paying for it already, whether at the pump or your rego. Just take your final forecast amount, and i'll pay for it using my workers account. Single transaction, less mess, nothing really changes. A single levy.

[Squiggles]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/acc/news/a...ectid=10685770

The ACC document suggests that motorists' levies, paid through vehicle licence fees to compensate road accident victims, could be increased for people who get many traffic tickets and for younger drivers, and reduced for people such as pensioners with good safety records.

That's an interesting one, we're cheap when it comes to income replacement (often minimum wage) which is where the real "costs" for motorcyclists lie. We are probably responsible for more than our share of accidents (I've never tried to find out) but I wonder if we actually cost more in the long run...


Also worth a glance

In the Budget this year, Health Minister Tony Ryall announced "an extra $59.5 million for elective surgery over the next four years", and that public hospitals had done even better than he had asked at increasing their volumes of elective surgery.

But it later emerged in a Ryall cabinet paper that $40 million of the money was to cater for patients being declined by ACC and who were now causing "increasing waiting times" on public hospital lists.

Subsequently, officials have expressed uncertainty about the size of this ACC to public hospital shift.

[James Deuce]

fuel tax would be easiest, but then bikers get off lightly,

No they don't. A 10 year old 1300cc car is much cheaper to run than a 600cc motorcycle, including fuel consumption.