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Australia: Widespread price gouging after government changes Fire Services Levy policy

By  |  November 13, 2012

Insurance companies will face fines of up to $10 million for excessive pricing of their Fire Services Levy, the government says. In response, an independent authority will be set up by the government to monitor insurance companies’ pricing behavior. When the policy was first implemented, the Fire Services Levy was paid by the insured; insurance companies collected the levy and passed it to the government. Beginning last July, however, the government decided to take the burden of insurance companies and issue the tax to every property owner and businesses. But according to a government investigation, insurance companies inflated the price of the levy in response to the policy change; reports indicate insurance premiums have jumped 400 percent, in some cases. The Fire Services Monitor, once established, will be able to investigate insurance companies and fine corporations and individuals for price-fixing, as well as other corruptive behavior.

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