Domestic

Sometimes referred to as home contents, these are the items that you fill your home with, wear, and occasionally carry around with you.

Flooring that is not glued down, drapes and window dressings and light fittings are considered contents and are not covered under your house policy so should be included in your list.

Most items in a contents policy are covered for their present or indemnity value only – even with a replacement policy you will find restrictions and limits to the coverage.

For those who are flatting, a contents policy also provides cover for third party liability which can come in handy if you burn the house down and the landlord’s insurer comes knocking for payment of the loss.

Apart from replacement and indemnity, there are two other types of policy – Anywhere in New Zealand cover extends the policy to include items temporarily removed from the home, while restricted cover provides cover only at the address covered by the policy (although even these types of policy will usually offer some temporary removal cover these days).
As with most things in life, you get what you pay for in contents insurance. The cheaper it is the more restricted the cover – things like limits for jewellery differ greatly, accidental damage is not covered by all policies, and water damage may be heavily restricted or not covered at all.

The question we get asked most often is “how much should I be insuring for?”. The answer is the total dollar value of all of your contents. This is because you are ultimately insuring against a total loss and the sum insured is what you get paid out in that circumstance – don’t just pick a figure as you might be seriously out of pocket if the worst happens!

Check out our contents valuation guides here to help with figuring out an insurable value for your contents.

Get cover for anything from your little optimist dinghy to a super yacht, and most things in between.

Trailer craft, yachts in marinas, and the odd jet ski make up most of what we cover, however, we insure a growing number of substantial pleasure craft worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Coverage can include support for flat batteries, medical advice, lost keys, flat or faulty batteries, emergency fuel, trailer assistance and of course, loss and damage to your vessel or third party property.

We have access to specialist underwriters for this type of coverage so give us a call and see what we can do for you.

With this kind of policy, you get the same third party coverage as above, with the added protection that if your car is stolen and/or burnt out you will receive the market value sum insured. There is normally a limit to the value of the car you can cover under this policy (usually $7k) and windscreens are not covered.

There are some policies which offer restricted cover if a third party crashes into you and they admit fault, the maximum payout is usually $3,000. Talk to us for details.

Comprehensive policies provide cover for all of the above as well as loss and damage to your own car, including windscreens (and other glass). Most policies are “Market Value” which means in the event of a total loss or a stolen vehicle that is not recovered, the pre-loss value or market value is what is paid out. This is determined by an independent car valuer. There is often confusion with this as market value is not replacement value.

The other type of policy is Agreed Value. Not commonly offered, this policy sets the value of the vehicle each year so you are certain of the amount you would receive in a total loss situation. Usually the insurer will determine the value they will accept or you would need a valuation when taking this type of policy out. The value is reduced each year. Ideal if you purchase a V8 on 100% finance and the price of petrol soars, making your car plummet in value!