Maryan Street, Minister for ACC, has a piece in today's Dominion Post explaining why NZ has an accident compensation scheme. There is no link but this is my response to a statement she makes;
Dear Editor
In principle I have no problem with ACC. People need to make provision for the possibility of an accident resulting in personal injury. Just as they need to make provision for an accident resulting in the loss of their home or their car. Yet the state provides the first and the private sector, the second.
Minister for ACC, Maryan Street says that the people have a contract with the government and that, "Insurance companies have no interest in maintaining that contract."
So why, before Labour re-nationalised ACC, were a number of companies happy to get involved? Far from having "no interest" the private sector is keen to provide accident insurance because that is what they do. And, because they have to compete with each other, they do it well or fail.
The government doesn't have to compete, which is why we are all paying $50 more to ACC this year when we register our vehicles. The Minister also provided some questionable excuse for that hike, claiming the cost of injuries from car crashes is rising despite the increasing number of injuries being commensurate with the increasing size of the vehicle fleet.
There is no rational reason for the state to monopolise insurance for personal injury.
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2 comments:
The only redeeming feature of ACC is the "no blame" nature of the beast, which avoids the litigation aspect that bedevils the USA.
ACC is all but useless for the self-employed, and the hoop-jumping requirements are an irritant for most other claimants as well.
The increasing cost of levies reflects the social value, to the Government, of bureaucratic expansion to conceal unemployment statistics.
Tax increases by another name.
Yes, and for that brief moment of freedom when there was choice of insurer, my self employed clients across the board got a better deal than they ever did, or have, from ACC. And try being self employed and making a claim on ACC and see how far you get.
In a free society, we would all have the choice of insurer. We don't.
ACC is a monopoly monster charging usurious premiums.
Mark Hubbard
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