NSW insurance brokers have slammed the State Government’s shock U-turn on emergency services levy (ESL) reform, saying confusion reigns among clients and staff.

Brokers have told insuranceNEWS.com.au there have been wide variations in insurers’ approaches to phasing out the levy, and there is no clear guidance as to how it will be handled in future.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced delays last month to the long-awaited reform, which would have seen the levy on insurance replaced by a levy on property rates.

Peter Brown, director at Peter Brown & Associates in Wagga Wagga, says underwriters have wasted huge amounts of time, effort and money.

“[The reform] was a great idea to start with, but has turned into a shambles,” he said.

“I don’t know how NSW could get it so wrong when other states have made similar changes successfully.”

National Insurance Brokers Association CEO Dallas Booth told insuranceNEWS.com.au the Premier’s pledge that policyholders would not pay “a single dollar more” may be impossible to achieve.

“It will take insurers 2-3 months to reinstate the levy properly,” he said. “Therefore, there will be a funding shortfall and the levy won’t just go back to where it was; it will be more.”

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