The parts of a policy that decide what you get paid
Choosing a cover level answers one question. These answer the others — the ones set when you buy and only discovered at claim time. Every figure in them is quoted from an insurer’s own wording or from Consumer Protection, with the date it was read.
Last checked against its sources on 2026-09-16
Which parts of a car insurance policy matter most?
The value basis, the excess, and who is allowed to drive the car. None of the three is settled by the cover level you pick, all three are set when you buy, and all three are usually discovered at claim time. These guides cover the first two, quoting each insurer’s own wording.
Comprehensive vs third party
There is really only one question separating them: does the policy pay for your own car? Third party only never does. Third party fire and theft does, but only when the car is stolen or burnt. Comprehensive is the only one that pays when you crash it yourself.
Read it →Fine printExcess explained
An excess is the amount you pay towards your own claim. The part that catches people out is that there is usually more than one: an additional excess for a young driver, an unnamed driver or a glass replacement can sit on top of the standard one, and they add up.
Read it →Fine printAgreed vs market value
Agreed value fixes the payout figure when you take the policy out. Market value works it out after the loss, based on what the car was worth just before it happened. The difference only shows up once — when the car is written off or stolen — and by then it is settled.
Read it →DriversCar insurance under 25
Every New Zealand insurer we checked treats a driver under 25 as a higher risk, but in three different ways: an extra excess on top of the standard one, an option to exclude under-25s from the policy, or no cover at all below a set age. Which one applies changes what a crash costs you.
Read it →DriversLearner and restricted drivers
Yes, a learner or restricted driver can be covered on New Zealand car insurance, usually by being added to the policy of the car they drive. The catch is the licence conditions: AMI, Cove, Tower and Vero all write that there is no cover when the driver is breaking them, such as a learner driving without a supervisor.
Read it →Cover typesIs car insurance compulsory?
No. New Zealand has no law requiring you to insure a car, unlike Australia or the UK. ACC covers injuries from road crashes whoever caused them, but damage to cars and property is a separate matter: if you cause a crash with no insurance, you can be pursued for the repair bill yourself.
Read it →DriversInsuring someone else's car
Usually, yes. New Zealand insurers can insure a car for someone other than the registered owner, such as a parent insuring a car their child drives. What matters is that the insurer is told the truth: who owns the car, who the main driver is, and who else drives it. A policy built on the wrong main driver is the risk.
Read it →Fine printRental car insurance
Two different things get called rental car insurance. One is cover for the excess you owe a rental company if a hire car is damaged, which you can reduce with the rental company or cover through some travel insurance. The other is the hire car your own insurer provides while your car is repaired after a claim, which varies a lot by insurer.
Read it →Cover typesClassic car insurance
Classic car insurance is car insurance written for older, collectable vehicles that are driven less and are worth what a buyer would pay for them, not a book value. The policies usually insure for an agreed value, may limit how far and how often you drive, and often ask how the car is stored. Some general insurers cover classics, and there are specialist policies too.
Read it →Fine printModified car insurance
Tell your insurer about every change from the factory specification before it matters: engine and exhaust work, suspension, wheels, body kits, and anything that affects performance or value. Undeclared modifications are a common reason claims are reduced or declined. Some modifications also need Low Volume Vehicle (LVV) certification before the car is road legal.
Read it →InsurersBank car insurance
None of New Zealand's big five banks underwrites its own car insurance. ASB and BNZ policies are underwritten by IAG New Zealand Limited, Westpac and Kiwibank policies by Tower Limited, and ANZ policies by Vero Insurance New Zealand Limited. The bank arranges or refers the policy and is paid a commission; the insurer sets the terms, prices the risk and decides your claim. Every one of those statements is on the bank's own site, quoted below with the date we read it.
Read it →InsurersProtecta insurance
Protecta is now Assurant. Policies are still issued by Protecta Insurance New Zealand Limited, as agent for Virginia Surety Company Inc (New Zealand branch), which underwrites them; both are part of the US-listed Assurant group. It sells car, motorcycle and classic vehicle insurance direct at assurant.nz, and mechanical breakdown insurance (MBI), GAP and payment protection mostly through car dealers and finance companies. If you bought a Protecta policy at a car yard, your claim and any complaint now go to Assurant.
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