When your car is stolen — claims, timelines, and what you actually get paid

Stolen-car claims are simpler than crash claims in one important way — there's no fault to argue about — and harder in another, because the question of how much your car was worth becomes central. Auckland and Hamilton account for the majority of NZ vehicle thefts, with utes, dual-cabs, and Mazda Demios sitting near the top of the most-stolen list each year.

The first thing to do is call the police, get a report number, and only then call your insurer. The insurer will not progress a theft claim without a police report. From there, they'll wait a period — usually 14 days — to see if the car is recovered. About half of stolen NZ cars are recovered, often abandoned, often damaged. If yours comes back, the claim flips into a damage claim and you pay the excess on the repair.

If the car isn't recovered, the claim becomes a total loss. The payout depends on whether you have agreed value or market value cover. Agreed value (rare, usually only on classic or modified cars) pays the figure on your policy schedule. Market value (the default for almost all comprehensive policies) pays whatever the insurer's database says your car was worth on the day of the theft — not what you paid for it, not what the same car is listed for on Trade Me, but a depreciated figure derived from industry valuation tools. This is the biggest source of disappointment in theft claims. If you bought the car for $18,000 two years ago, expect a payout closer to $13,000–$15,000.

Contents inside the car are typically covered up to a small limit — usually $500–$1,500 — under the comprehensive policy. Anything more valuable (laptop, tools, instruments) is generally a contents-insurance question, not a car-insurance one. This trips people up regularly.