The National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) will press ahead with its campaign over excessive taxes on insurance, even if it won’t be raising the issue before the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission.

CEO Noel Pettersen has confirmed that NIBA has been denied leave to appear, but he says he’s not perturbed.

The Insurance Council is on the official list of those granted leave to appear, but has declined to comment to insuranceNEWS.com.au apart from referring to a submission.

Insurers estimate that almost 30% of the bushfire victims had no property insurance and just 15% had life cover. High levels of state taxes on general insurance policies are seen as a major cause of underinsurance and non-insurance.

“The royal commission will be about what went wrong at the time the bushfires hit,” Mr Pettersen told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “We would certainly like to raise issues connected with things like unaffordability and taxation on insurance, but we’ve been told they’re not part of this inquiry.

“However, we have been invited to make a submission, which we will be doing in detail.

“The fact is, people may not have insured because of the high cost of insurance, particularly in rural Victoria where the taxes and charges almost equal the premium costs.”

An interim report from the royal commission is expected by August 17 and a final report by July 31 next year.