Victoria’s new Fire Services Levy (FSL) Monitor is already investigating more than 100 complaints from householders and business owners, and he is writing to insurers requiring them to detail how they will remove the levy from premiums.

Monitor Allan Fels says he has had meetings with insurers but believes “the strength of the law has only recently sunk in”.

The Victorian Government made the law retrospective when establishing the FSL Monitor’s Office to oversee the transition from the levy on insurance to a tax on property owners, and Professor Fels will investigate complaints from July 1 2012, when many insurers were charging levies of up to 95% on rural businesses and 54% on metropolitan policies.

The office last week launched a website and consumer hotline and warned insurers they face fines of up to $10 million for price exploitation during the transition. 

It is investigating complaints of 250-300% increases in the FSL component of the policy, with no change in the base premium.

“Given the total amount that insurers have been required to recoup in 2012/13 has gone down compared with the preceding year, it seems reasonable that for many policyholders the fire services levy would go down, not increase,” Professor Fels told insuranceNEWS.com.au.