How to buy the best house and contents insurance

House insurance

House insurance covers the cost of rebuilding or repairing most structures on your property (house, garages, fences) if they’re damaged or destroyed.

Many policies also cover your retaining walls and recreational facilities (such as, swimming pools or tennis courts), although the cover is often capped. You can increase these caps for a higher premium.

House insurance doesn’t cover general wear and tear, or intentional or reckless damage.

The different levels of cover – from basic to comprehensive

Some insurers offer different types of policies, with different levels of cover.

• Basic policies may only cover you for major adverse events, such as fire, theft or flood.

• Comprehensive policies cover you for major adverse events and for accidental damage to your house caused by you or your family. They’re likely to have additional policy options too, such as cover for carpets, when basic policies usually don’t.

Comprehensive policies are likely to provide for higher policy pay outs in some areas. For instance, a comprehensive policy may have a $25,000 limit for temporary accommodation, should you need it, while a basic policy may only have a $15,000 limit.

It’s best to check those limits will meet the costs of repairing or replacing the items covered by the policy, should the worst happen.

Both basic and comprehensive policies cover your legal liability if you accidentally damage someone else’s property.

We recommend getting the highest level of cover you can afford, and that suits the needs of your property. For instance, if you live on a flat section, the cover for replacing retaining walls won’t be as important for you.

We’ve noticed a handful of insurers – AMI, FMG and State – offering only one level of cover.

To check out the levels of cover that different insurers offer, see our comparison of 9 insurance policies.

What’s the difference between sum insured and full replacement cover?

There are generally two options for house insurance cover: sum insured and full replacement. Most insurers only offer sum insured.

Whichever option you choose, it’s important you have enough cover because you don’t want to be underinsured.

Sum insured means you’re covered for the amount listed on your policy (e.g., $500,000).

Homeowners are responsible for estimating the sum insured. If you don’t specify a sum insured, you’ll probably have to rely on the insurer’s default sum insured – an estimate the insurer makes based on the size of your house and a typical rebuild cost.

If you rely on the default sum, you risk being caught short if disaster strikes. You’ll have to stump up the extra cash to complete the rebuild.

We recommend using the Cordell Calculator to estimate the likely reconstruction costs of your home.

If you choose a higher sum insured, you’ll be charged a higher premium. But it might not be much higher. Ask your insurer how much an increase in the sum insured will cost. A slightly higher premium is a good investment to make sure your house is fully covered if it requires a total rebuild.

Do note that some insurers offer a mix of sum and full replacement for events other than natural disasters.

Full replacement means that if your home is destroyed, the insurer will pay the cost of repairing or replacing your home. However, some insurers won’t offer full replacement when damage has been caused by a natural disaster.

While other insurers who ordinarily only provide sum insured options may offer full replacement in the event of a fire.

To be eligible for this type of cover, it’s likely you’ll still need to provide an accurate sum insured as well as the accurate measurements of your house.

Indemnity cover means you will be covered for what your house was worth just before the loss (excluding land), considering the age and condition of the house.

You need house insurance to get cover for natural disasters

Natural hazards cover (known as NHCover) provides insurance cover for homes damaged during natural disasters and some very limited cover for damage to residential land. NHCover used to be called EQC.

You need a house insurance policy that includes fire insurance (which most do) to be eligible for NHCover. If you’ve got such a policy, you’ll automatically have NHCover.

The levy to pay for NHCover is included in your house insurance premium. Currently, the levy is set at 16 cents for every $100 insured, up to $300,000. The most you will pay annually is $480. 

In the event of a natural disaster, you have up to $300,000 (plus GST) worth of NHCover for damage to your home – this is commonly called the “building cap”.

If the damage to your home is over the cap, your private insurer should pay out – up to the claim limits of your policy. It’s likely NHCover and your private insurer will deduct an excess, too.

NHCover doesn’t apply to any household contents or vehicles.

Find out more about NHCover for land.

What if I can’t get house insurance?

If no insurer will insure your house for reasons other than natural hazard risk you can contact NHCover to see if it will provide you with natural hazard insurance directly.

NHCover considers applications on a base-by-case basis. You’ll need to provide evidence that you’ve contacted other insurers and been rejected for cover.

You can contact NHCover on [email protected].

Contents insurance

Contents insurance usually covers your belongings while they're in your home or temporarily moved elsewhere in the country. You can buy it as a standalone product if you’re a renter, but if you’re buying house insurance as well, the insurer may combine the products.

The different levels of cover – from basic to comprehensive

Some insurers may offer different levels of cover.

• Basic policies may only pay for the “present value” (see below) of your contents if they’re lost, stolen or damaged. Some policies only cover items damaged by defined events such as fire and theft. Others provide limited or no cover for items damaged while they’re temporarily removed from your home.

• Comprehensive policies offer a mix of present and “replacement value”. They also cover your contents for accidental damage – not just defined events – in your home and while they’re temporarily removed. Most comprehensive contents policies also cover temporary accommodation benefits if you need to leave your home following a natural disaster. Benefits may include temporary accommodation costs and removal or storage of contents.

Generally, both basic and comprehensive contents policies also include personal liability protection if you accidentally damage someone else’s property. However, this doesn’t cover intentional damage.

What do present, market and replacement value mean?

Policies will stipulate how they calculate the value of the items they cover – this may vary with the type of policy and type of item.

• Present value and market value is based on how much you would pay for an item secondhand or the cost of replacing the item minus any depreciation for age and wear and tear.

• Replacement value is the cost of replacing the item or repairing it to an as-new condition. Some policies may have limits on some items if they’re over a certain age or can’t be replaced. Most policies will place a maximum limit on the replacement value.

Compare policy details

It always pays to check the cover. What’s standard in one policy may be an optional benefit in another – or may not be covered at all. This includes credit cards, jewellery, keys and locks, professional tools and equipment kept at home, and items damaged during cleaning.

Check our comparison of nine insurance policies.

I’m renting – do I really need contents insurance?

We recommend tenants take out contents insurance – sometimes known as renters’ insurance – to protect their belongings.

While your landlord should have house insurance, it won’t cover your personal belongings if there’s a natural disaster or a break in.

While you may think you don’t own much stuff, think about the cost if you had to replace your laptop, smartphone – indeed everything you own – all at once.

What’s an excess and how much should it be?

If you make a claim against your house or contents policy, you’ll have to contribute the first few hundred dollars towards the cost of the repair or replacement. This is called the excess.

The standard excess for the house and contents policies we looked at is between $300 and $750, depending on the insurer.

You need to think carefully before making a claim for a small amount. As well as the excess, you can end up with a higher premium when your policy’s renewed. You can also lose your no-claims discount if your insurer offers one.

What’s the fire and emergency levy on my insurance bill?

The Fire and Emergency levy funds the emergency services. It is paid as part of the premiums for residential house and contents insurance policies (as well as car insurance).   

For a residential home, the maximum fee is currently $119.50 annually, but this will drop from July 2026 to $107.40. 

For contents policies, the maximum fee is currently $23.90 and will drop from July 2026 to $21.48. 

Which insurer has the best customer service?

Every year, we carry out a survey to find out how happy people are with their insurer.

For house and contents insurance there were two clear winners. Check out the results to find out who customers preferred.

Should I buy insurance via a broker?

We generally advise shopping directly with an insurer to get the best price.

However, there can be some benefits to using a broker.

In the wake of recent extreme weather events, we heard accounts of brokers helping their customers claim for insurance benefits they weren’t aware of.

Some brokers may also go into bat for you if your insurer is being difficult at claim time. However, it is the insurer that makes the decisions about claims, not the broker.

If you’re tempted to use a broker, make sure they’re registered as a financial advisor and that they’re recommending products you need, rather than products they get the most commission for.

For more information about what to ask an insurance broker, check out our advice on using a financial advisor.

How much should I pay for house and contents insurance?

We gathered quotes for house and contents insurance premiums from nine insurers in the main six centres in Aotearoa. We requested quotes for:

• a couple with a standard-sized house insured for $550,000 and contents for $90,000

• a family with a large house insured for $800,000, and contents for $140,000.

You can compare costs, policy details and types of cover in our database.

Median cost for house and contents insurance for a standard house annually

Median cost for house and contents insurance for a large house annually

While cost is important, its best to consider it in conjunction with policy benefits, and whether the policy is sum insured or full replacement (see above). Full replacement policies are likely to be more expensive than sum insured but may give you more peace of mind when it comes to claiming.

I’m renting – how much should I pay for contents insurance?

We also asked the nine insurers to give us quotes for contents cover only, in the six main centres. We requested quotes for a single person, aged 30, who rents with two other young professionals.

You can compare costs, policy details and types of cover in our database.

We found that Wellington was the most expensive for contents insurance, while Dunedin was the cheapest.

Median cost for contents insurance annually

While cost is important, it’s best looked at in conjunction with policy benefits. Insurers will pay out different amounts for various items – from jewellery through to laptops and mobile phones – so check you’re getting the cover you’ll need to replace your stuff should you have to.

We also suggest you check the cover offered for temporary accommodation following a natural disaster or fire, as well as for moving or storing your gear.

Why is house and contents insurance so expensive?

Recently, the price of insurance has risen – for some policy holders, significantly.

The costs of reinsurance, extreme weather events and inflation, and increased use of risk-based pricing for individual properties by insurers are all factors in these price rises.

Most insurers in Aotearoa are retailers, buying insurance off multinational underwriters and on-selling it to us. Given the more frequent extreme weather events Aotearoa is experiencing, and their related claims, the cost of buying insurance has gone up, and it’s being passed onto us.

Add in the mix the far more granular information that insurers now have access to – around the risks posed to particular properties and areas of Aotearoa – and the outcome is consumers being hit in the pocket.

How can I get cheaper house and contents insurance?

With insurers now using risk-based pricing, it is getting harder to shop around for house and contents insurance.

In Wellington and Christchurch in particular, we’ve found it harder to get quotes online, which can mean hours on the phone trying to get a better price.

One thing you can do is increase the excess. So, instead of paying the first $500 on a claim, you could increase it to between $750 and $2,500. This should reduce your premiums but be aware that if you do need to make a claim, you’ll need to fork out that amount.

If you can’t afford full cover from an insurance company, you could ask if it offers a fire only, or fire and burglary policy. This would be cheaper than all-risk cover and would mean you were still entitled to NHCover in the event of a natural disaster.

How to make a claim on house and contents insurance?

If the worst happens, here are our tips for making a claim.

• Ring or contact your insurer online ASAP.

• Note down what happened, including the date and timeframe and whether any emergency services were involved.

• Take as many photos or videos as possible, especially before making any emergency repairs, moving items or throwing things out.

• Also take photos of your mailbox (to confirm your address), the front, sides and back of your home, as well as any sheds or garages, and damaged land.

• If you have flood damage – mark how high the water reached and take a photo of it.

• You’ll need to discuss any repair work with your insurer first.

• If your property was damaged in an earlier event (like a flood), and it’s damaged again shortly after, record the new damage, and report it to your insurer.

• Once your claim is lodged, your insurer will discuss with you how best to evaluate the damage. Engineers or other experts may be brought in to do assessments and to estimate repair costs. For a land claim, it’s likely a registered valuer will visit.

• When your claim is ready to be settled, your insurer will get in touch and explain the outcome and the settlement amount (minus any excess). Then you can get on with repairs.

Where can I get help with an insurance claim?

A free resolution service is available to help policyholders with insurance claims that are the result of natural disasters.

The New Zealand Claims Resolution Service will provide support with insurance claims to avoid disputes, resolve issues and ensure claims are settled as quickly as possible.

The resolution service can also help homeowners access legal, technical, and wellbeing services tailored to their individual and whānau needs.

It can be contacted on 0508 624 327, [email protected] or www.nzcrs.govt.nz.

What if I have a dispute with my insurer?

If you think you’ve been treated unfairly by your insurer, here’s how to complain.

• Contact your insurer about your complaint. They will have an internal complaints process you’ll need to follow.

• It can be difficult knowing how to word your complaint, so we’ve set up some templates for cases when the insurer rejects your initial claim.

• If the insurer sticks to their original decision, you can push back again, but it’s likely you’ll need to provide more evidence to support your claim.

• If you can’t come to an agreement, your insurer will send you a letter saying your complaint is “deadlocked”. The next step is to go to an external disputes resolution scheme. 

• Your policy document should list which dispute resolution scheme your insurer belongs to. For most insurers, it is likely to be the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme.

• The disputes resolution scheme will work with you and your insurer to try and reach a resolution.

• For small claims (up to $30,000), there is also the option of going to the Disputes Tribunal.