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Insurance | Consumer Protection Skip to content Skip to search Skip to primary navigation Skip to secondary navigation Home Help by product & service Managing money Insurance Insurance Checking policies, what to tell your insurer, and what to do if things go wrong. On this page What is insurance An insurance policy is a contract between you and an insurance company. It protects you against financial loss due to specific events, such as property damage, redundancy or illness. It's designed to put you back in the financial position you were in before your loss. This is called indemnity. For free independent insurance claim support for insured homeowners affected by a natural disaster, visit the New Zealand Claims Resolution Service. New Zealand Claims Resolution Service (external link) Insurance types There are many types of insurance cover, but the main types are: house contents motor vehicle life health travel business. Decide what kind of policy is relevant to your situation. Different insurance companies call their products different things. They may have varying levels of protection and cover different events, so it pays to shop around. For legal advice on your rights with credit and debt after a disaster, visit the Community Law Centre website. Disaster relief (external link) — Community Law Insurance brokers Using a broker may be helpful to: help identify risks compare policies and prices. This may be useful if you're in business or need expert advice. You can also arrange insurance directly with the insurer. Avoid problems when you make a claim in the future by understanding what your policy covers. What you need to tell insurers — disclosure You need to be honest, and give complete, up-to-date, and relevant information when: you apply for insurance you renew your policy you make a claim your circumstances change. Make sure you: answer all the questions on the insurance application, even if you don’t think they are relevant contact your insurer if you forgot to include something on the application read through your application carefully before signing it if someone else fills it in tell the insurer about any events, such as convictions, speeding tickets, accidents, losses that have happened since you the last renewal, each time you renew your policy ask your doctor for a copy of your medical notes if you can’t remember your full medical history. Before you make a claim, check the information you have already provided. If it is incorrect or you left out information, the insurer may refuse your claim, or even cancel your insurance from the starting date of the policy. They can only do this if the information is important (material) and would have affected their decision to insure or the level of premium charged. Your rights Insurance covers sudden and accidental events. It is designed to leave you no better or worse than before the event happened. The Insurance Council of New Zealand provides comprehensive consumer information about types of cover available, your rights and making a claim. Your Insurance (external link) — Insurance Council of New Zealand What insurers must do Insurers must hold a financial institution licence, if that service is received by a consumer in New Zealand Insurers must comply with standard consumer law, such as the Consumer Guarantees Act and Fair Trading Act. Consumer Guarantees Act Fair Trading Act Most insurers also belong to a professional association, who have their own set of rules — called a code of conduct. Codes of conduct are based on: standard consumer law other expectations of what it means to be a responsible insurer. They include agreeing to: provide a professional service give accurate information not pressure you explain terms and conditions, and exclusions — if you need them to tell you if anything changes settle claims fairly and in a reasonable amount of time protect your privacy have a fair complaints process act on feedback and complaints. General insurance industry code (external link) — Insurance Council of New Zealand What you, the policy holder must do Customers must: pay premiums on time tell the truth give insurers the information they ask for — called disclosure report stolen items take reasonable care, for example, lock car doors, not put valuable jewellery in checked-in luggage. Disclosure When you take out a policy, insurers ask you a set of questions, such as about medical conditions, criminal record, if you've ever had a claim refused. You are expected to answer these accurately, and to update your answers when: your policy renews if anything changes. You are also expected to give an honest account of what happened when you make a claim. Telling even a white lie could mean you claim is denied and make it harder to get insurance in the future. Example: More evidence = accepted claim Nessa's vinyl collection is stolen in a burglary. The records were collected over the last 15-20 years. She doesn't have receipts for most of them. She estimates their value in her contents insurance claim. Her insurer says they need evidence the collection was as big, and as valuable, as Nessa says. She provides photos of the collection, including pictures of her holding the rarest — and valuable — discs. Based on these photos, the insurer is accepting her claim. Common problems Claim denied or not given full amount Your insurer may decline a claim, or pay less than you expected if: the loss or damage isn't covered in your policy it wasn't sudden or accidental you can't provide proof of your loss or damage you haven't paid your premiums you didn't tell your insurer something they need Think creatively about proof. If you don't have a receipt, you may have other evidence, eg photos, bank statements, documents relating to repairs, emails about a Trade Me transaction. If you aren't happy with the outcome of a claim, complain to your insurer. Another assessor must look at your claim to see if there was a good reason not to accept it, or pay more. You aren't happy with the standard of repairs If your insurance company organises a repair, and you aren't happy with the work, ask your insurer to sort it out. It is their responsibility. They must coordinate with the tradesperson, or repairer, to make sure the work is to a professional standard. Don't ask someone else to put the work right, before you've talked to your insurer. They may not cover your costs. Not telling your insurer something relevant – called disclosure You must tell your insurer about anything which affects your insurance — when you first take out your policy, each time it renews, and if something changes in-between. Examples of something which might affect your insurance could include: you work from home you're putting items in storage you're doing renovations the main driver of your car changes you have a medical condition you, or someone you live with, have a criminal record you're charged for drink driving or speeding. If you don't tell your insurer about something, and it is relevant to your claim, they may refuse to pay. For example, if you cause a house fire while welding, and hadn't told your insurer you were running a welding-business from your garage, then your insurer might decline the claim. Ask your insurer for your latest policy document to find out what it covers. Replacement value versus what it's worth Insurance is designed to put you back to where you were, before what you are claiming for happened. This can mean you get less in an insurance claim than you paid originally, or what it would cost to replace. Check if your car, house or contents policy covers you for: Market value: what you might get for the item if you sold it today. In the case of cars, this is generally less. For a painting or antique, it might be more. Replacement value: how much it would cost you to buy at the time of your claim. Agreed value/sum insured: the maximum amount you and your insurer agreed you would get for loss or damage. Indemnity value: the value of the item at the time of the loss. This is designed to put you in the same financial position you were in immediately before the loss. Not realising you must pay some of the cost — the excess When you make an insurance claim, it is normal for you to pay some of the cost to put things right. This is called an excess. When you take out your insurance policy, you agree on the excess. Generally, the higher the excess, the lower the premium you have to pay. If the cost of putting something right is less than your excess, it may not be worth making a claim. For example, if you have a $200 excess, and the cost of repairing your dented car is $200, your insurer will not pay anything to help fix the damage. If fixing the dent costs $700, your insurer might pay $500 towards the repairs. Check your policy to find out your excess. Make sure you're looking at an up-to-date version. Ask your insurer to send you a copy if you can't find it. Paying more than one excess Some policies say one event means one excess. Others say you must pay a different excess for each policy. Check your policy documents to see what it says. If you aren't sure, ask your insurer. For example: If somebody breaks your car window and steals your bag, you may be covered by two different policies — and so have two excess payments. Policy Items covered Contents insurance Handbag, phone, glasses Car insurance Car keys, broken window Different events usually mean more than one excess — no matter how seemingly connected. For example, your belongings are damaged in a flood and you drop your phone, inspecting the damage. Policy Event Contents insurance House floods Contents insurance Drop phone Costs aren't covered due to gradual damage Insurance covers you for sudden, unexpected events. If something breaks because it's old, you're unlikely to get anything to replace it. If it is damaged unexpectedly, or by breaking it damages something else, you may have a claim. For example: Your old car breaks down = unlikely claim. Your old car is in an accident = may have a claim. Your old car's faulty handbrake causes it to roll into your garage door = may have a claim. Cash versus repairs It is up to the insurer to assess how to address your claim. If it is possible to repair the damage, they may do this instead of paying you to replace the item. Example — Sudden event versus wear and tear A pipe on Stacy's washing machine bursts, drenching the nearby lino and walls. When his insurer assesses the damage, they find the rubber seals on the pipe have worn down. The washing machine is old, and the seals have perished over several years. Because wear and tear broke the machine, Stacy's insurer will not pay to replace it. But they will contribute to fixing Stacy's lino and walls. If things go wrong If you think your insurer, insurance broker or other financial service provider has acted unfairly in any way, then there are options you can take to address your issue. This can include making a formal complaint with your provider, or getting help from a financial dispute resolution scheme. Making a complaint about your Financial Services Provider Help after natural disasters The New Zealand Claims Resolution Service (NZCRS) provides homeowners with independent advice and support to resolve residential insurance issues resulting from natural disasters. NZCRS provides independent support including advice, case management support and access to legal and technical services. This will help you to achieve a timely and fair resolution of your residential insurance claim. New Zealand Claims Resolution Service (external link) For general enquiries please contact us Related pages you might find useful Paying for, registering and insuring your car How to protect yourself before you sign sales contracts, what to consider when you take… Looking for other topics?

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