Who pays for a hire car after an accident in NZ?

Who pays for a hire car if the accident was not my fault?

The driver who caused it. Losing the use of your car is part of the damage they did, so a reasonable hire car for the repair period can be claimed from them, and in practice from their insurer. Car policies cover that: AMI's liability section covers loss to another person's property "including loss of use".

“We cover your legal liability resulting from: accidental loss to another person's property, including loss of use and the cost to remove debris from a road or adjacent area”

— AMI Car Insurance Policy Wording AMI0052/11, Section two, legal liability (read 2026-11-02)

AMI caps that liability at "$20,000,000 for liability for loss to property, including loss of use", so the limit is never the problem. The question the other insurer asks is whether the hire was reasonable: a similar class of car, for as long as the repair really took. That is why it pays to ask them to agree the hire before you book it, and to keep every receipt.

Who pays for a hire car if the accident was my fault?

Only your own insurer, and only if your policy includes a hire car benefit. Nobody owes you loss of use for a crash you caused. The benefit is usually limited to comprehensive (sometimes third party, fire and theft), is optional on several policies, and is capped in days or dollars.

AMI says its hire car benefit "is only available under Comprehensive, and Third Party, Fire and Theft". Third party only pays nothing towards your own car, and so no hire car for it, whoever was at fault. This is what each insurer's own hire car benefit looked like when we read the wordings:

The limits end on a date, not just a number. Tower's benefit does not apply "for more than seven days after we've paid your claim" or "if your car remains in a legally driveable condition after a loss but before repair". AMI's stops once "your repaired vehicle is returned to you, or a total loss claim is settled".

Should I claim through my insurer or the other driver's?

If you hold comprehensive with a hire car benefit, claiming on your own policy is usually faster: the hire car is arranged for you and your insurer recovers the cost. If you hold third party only, or have no hire car benefit, the other driver's insurer is the only place a hire car can come from.

On your own policy, the excess question is set by the wording. Tower: "You won't pay an excess if you've been involved in an accident during the period of insurance, and: 1. you've identified the party at fault (name, phone number, and registered number of that other party's vehicle), and 2. we're satisfied that the other party was more than 50% at fault." AMI's comprehensive "Excess protection" refunds the excess if "the driver of the other vehicle acknowledges to us, or we can establish, that they were completely at fault". More in car insurance excess explained.

What if the other driver has no insurance?

Then the hire car, like the rest of your loss, has to be recovered from the driver personally, and the Disputes Tribunal is the usual place for that. Some policies pay for your own car in that situation even on third party only, but a hire car is a separate question.

The Disputes Tribunal describes itself as being "for small claims up to $60,000", and lists "damage to a car in an accident" among the car disputes it hears. Bring the hire invoice and the repairer's dates: a referee is deciding what was reasonable, and paperwork is what shows it.

On the car itself, AMI's third party only policy has an "Uninsured motorist damage" benefit. In AMI's own worked example the other driver "acknowledges to us that they are completely at fault", and AMI pays market value, with "The most we pay under this benefit is $5,000, including towing and storage costs." That benefit pays for the car, not a hire car.

A worked example: two drivers, the same crash

Illustrative only. Your car is rear-ended at lights and is off the road for 15 days at the panel shop. The other driver gives their details and accepts fault. Assume a similar hire car costs $70 a day (an assumption for the example, not a quoted rate).

Now make Driver A the one at fault. Driver A still gets AMI's hire car (it is a benefit of the policy, not of the other driver's fault), but pays the excess. A Tower policyholder without the optional benefit, at fault, gets no hire car at all.

How do I get a hire car after a not-at-fault crash?

1. At the scene, get the other driver's name, phone number, registration and insurer. Tower's excess waiver needs exactly the first three.
2. Ring your own insurer and ask two things: is there a hire car benefit on my policy, and is my excess waived because the other driver was at fault?
3. If there is no benefit, contact the other driver's insurer, say you are claiming loss of use, and ask them to arrange or approve a hire car before you book one.
4. Hire a car of a similar class to yours, and only for the repair period. Keep the invoice and the repairer's booking and completion dates.
5. If the other driver is uninsured or refuses, claim from them through the Disputes Tribunal.