Third party fire and theft car insurance in New Zealand
Third party fire and theft does everything third party only does, and adds two things about your own car: it pays if the car is stolen, and it pays if the car is damaged by fire. It still pays nothing for accidental damage to your car in a crash.
Last checked against insurers' own pages and wordings on 2026-09-16
How does third party fire and theft compare with the other levels?
Third party, plus your car if it burns or is stolen. Of the four things the three levels differ on, it pays for 3: damage you cause to other people's vehicles and property; your car stolen; your car damaged by fire. It pays nothing towards accidental damage to your own car.Limits and exclusions are set by each policy’s own wording.
Third party only
- Damage you cause to other people's vehicles and property Yes
- Your car stolen No
- Your car damaged by fire No
- Accidental damage to your own car No
Covers the damage you do to others. Nothing for your car.
- Worth reading first
Third party fire and theft
- Damage you cause to other people's vehicles and property Yes
- Your car stolen Yes
- Your car damaged by fire Yes
- Accidental damage to your own car No
Third party, plus your car if it burns or is stolen.
Comprehensive
- Damage you cause to other people's vehicles and property Yes
- Your car stolen Yes
- Your car damaged by fire Yes
- Accidental damage to your own car Yes
The only level that pays for your own car in a crash you caused.
This is what the three kinds of cover are, by definition. What an individual policy covers, excludes and limits is set by its own wording — see what each insurer’s policy says, and read the wording before you buy.
What it pays for
- Everything third party only pays: damage you cause to other people's vehicles and property.
- Your own car if it is stolen and not recovered, or recovered damaged.
- Your own car if it is damaged or destroyed by fire.
What it does not pay for
- Repairs to your own car after a crash, whoever caused it.
- Damage to your own car from anything other than fire or theft — hail, a falling branch, vandalism — unless the particular wording adds it.
What should I check before buying third party fire and theft?
3 things, and none of them is settled by the level you pick. They are the points where two policies with the same name behave differently at claim time, so they are worth asking about on the quote call rather than reading about afterwards.
- How the payout is worked out if the car is stolen and never found: agreed value or market value, and who sets the figure. Both bases exist in this market.
- What the wording says about keys. Some policies treat a theft differently when the keys were left in or with the vehicle.
- The excess that applies to a theft claim, and whether a young-driver or inexperienced-driver excess is added to it. At least one insurer on this site publishes that its extra driver excesses do not apply to theft claims.
Which NZ insurers sell third party fire and theft?
7 of the 8 insurers on this site publish that they sell it: AA Insurance, AMI, NZI, State, Tower, Trade Me Insurance, Vero. Each one is quoted below from its own page, with the date we read it. Every list of insurers on this site is in alphabetical order by name. Nothing is ordered by whether an insurer pays us, and no insurer can pay to change its position, its facts or whether it appears at all.
How the links work. We have no paid partners yet. Every link on this site is an ordinary, unpaid link to the insurer's own website, and no insurer pays us for a mention, for placement or for anything we publish. Every list of insurers on this site is in alphabetical order by name. Nothing is ordered by whether an insurer pays us, and no insurer can pay to change its position, its facts or whether it appears at all. How we make money.
“Third Party — Cover for accidental damage that you have caused to someone else's car” — AA Insurance, Car Insurance, read 2026-09-16
“Comprehensive / Third Party, Fire & Theft / Third Party Only” — AMI, Car Insurance, read 2026-09-16
“Third Party Only — This option covers damage you cause to someone else's vehicle or property. Available for NZI Select and Echelon.” — NZI, Vehicle Insurance, read 2026-09-16
“Comprehensive / Third Party, Fire & Theft / Third Party Only” — State, Car Insurance, read 2026-09-16
“Third party cover: This option pays for damage you cause to other people's car and property, but not your own.” — Tower, Car Insurance, read 2026-09-16
“Third Party Fire & Theft: Pays for damage you cause to other people's cars and property, but not your own. You're also covered for loss through fire or theft.” — Trade Me Insurance, Car Insurance, read 2026-09-16
“With three levels of motor insurance cover — Comprehensive, Third Party, Fire & Theft, and Third Party” — Vero, Car Insurance, read 2026-09-16
Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we’ll fix it or mark it unchecked. We aim to do that within 5 working days.
Common questions about third party fire and theft
Is third party fire and theft enough if I crash?
It pays nothing for accidental damage to your own car in a crash. Only comprehensive does that. Whether that matters to you is a question about what you could afford to replace, which is why it is one of the questions in the questionnaire.
Does it cover vandalism?
Not automatically. Fire and theft are two specific causes, and malicious damage is a third thing. Some wordings deal with malicious damage separately, so this is a question to put to the insurer and to look for in the wording.
Do all insurers sell it?
Seven of the eight insurers listed on this site sell third party fire and theft. Cove sells comprehensive cover only, in its own words. See the compare table.
Sources
- Consumer Protection (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment), Car insurance
- AMI, Car Insurance (cover levels)
- Tower, Car Insurance (cover levels)
- Trade Me Insurance, Car Insurance (cover levels)
- Vero, Car Insurance (cover levels)
Read on 2026-09-16. If a source and this page disagree, the source is right.