My suggestion for ACC's next 1/4 page add in the Herald and Dominion.
I'd like to present an alternative view. Lets not refute their accident statistic figures and their points lets just present the correct ones. (OK let's just refute the $77 dollar one becasue that personal to every motorist). The key issue here for
every voting New Zealander is the move from a no fault compensation model to an insurance business model for ACC. Most NZ'ers are not concerned about motorbike community specific grievances. Although I will grant that we all believe in fair play
ACC explains the scrapping of their traditional 'no fault' insurance model
Why are motorcyclists being singled out first?
We needed to start by targeting a smaller high risk group that we felt best demonstrated the need to scrap our no fault insurance model. This allows us establish two important precedents. First that ACC is moving away from a no fault claims model and secondly that groups that present greater risks should pay more in ACC 'insurance'
Why are motorcyclists being asked to pay more?
National wants to align our policies with established insurance company practices. The ACC's current funding models are not attractive to private insurance companies. The Australian insurance companies will pay more to acquire the business of ACC if they can maximise the profits.
Will every other motorists really have to pay an extra $77 even with the proposed levy hike as claimed by ACC ?
You do the math. Total ACC claims for motorcylists were 63 million last year. There were just over 3,308,930 cars, trucks, vans and utes registered in 2008. $77 x 3,308,930 = $254,78,7610. So after paying the 63 million dollars cost for motorcyclists ACC will have made a profit of over 191 million dollars from motorcyclists! That should be very attractive to all of the Australian insurance companies that we are courting.
Who's next?
You don't need us to tell you. Next up it's the cyclists. It's been estimated that in excess of $100 million dollars can be charged in ACC levies to cyclists. There are very conservatively about 200,000 cyclists in New Zealand. Using the same calculations for motorcyclists the levy cost per cycle should be in excess of $500.00. A Report just released by the Wellington regional council show that they are 30 times more likely to be injured in accidents than car drivers (compared to ACC statistics which show motorcyclists are 4 x more likely to be injured). From cyclists it's a logical step to rugby and rugby league players who account for $50,000,000 in ACC payouts. Due to soraing medical costs accident and loss of income insurance is one of the largest growth businesses on the planet.
But motorcyclists say that in more than 50% of accidents aren't their fault. What happens if National privaties ACC?
ACC has traditionally been a no fault insurer. Insurance companies can't support this business model. When a car driver injures a motorcyclist their insurance coverage will need to cover them for the cost of injuries to the motorcyclist. If ACC is privatised car drivers levies will need to increase many fold to cover the cost of injury to pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.
How to make a submission?
For information on making a submission, visit
www.acc.co.nz/consultation. Consultation closes on 5pm Tuesday 10th of November. Now because you probably don't expect ACC to respond by calling you up for a chin wag consultation.....
...Better still
Write to your local National MP and let them know how the the scrapping of the 'no fault' ACC insurance model will affect how you vote in the future.
From the press desk at
ACC alternative Media Relations
Originally Posted by Wobblyas
My suggestion for ACC's next 1/4 page add in the Herald and Dominion.
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