Insuring an Off-the-Plan or Newly Built Home in NZ 2026: Cover From Deposit to Code Compliance

Who insures a new build while it's going up, when risk passes to you, and when your own house policy has to start. A timeline for off-the-plan and house-and-land buyers, plus the gaps that catch people out.

Buying off the plan or signing a house-and-land package feels different from buying an existing home, and the insurance side is genuinely different too. For months there is no finished house to insure, the building site belongs to someone else's risk, and then at some point — often a date you have to read carefully — the risk lands on you. Get the timing wrong and you can be uninsured for a window, or paying for cover you don't yet need.

This guide walks through who insures the build while it goes up, when the risk transfers to you, when your own house policy has to be in force, and how the Code Compliance Certificate and the sum insured fit in. It is general information, not advice about your particular contract — your sale and purchase agreement sets the actual dates, so read it (and take legal advice) for the specifics.

TL;DR: While a new home is under construction it is usually covered by the builder's contract works (builder's risk) insurance, not you. Risk transfers at the point set in your sale and purchase agreement, typically settlement ⁶. Your own house policy must be in force from settlement before the lender releases funds ⁷, and a completed home needs that policy for Natural Hazards Cover — capped at $300,000 plus GST per dwelling — to attach ⁴⁵.

Who insures the build while it's under construction?

While a new home is being built, the risk of fire, storm, theft of materials or damage on site generally sits with the party who owns and controls the works — usually the builder or developer — not with you as the eventual buyer. They typically hold contract works insurance (also called builder's risk or construction insurance) over the project. On a house-and-land package or an off-the-plan apartment, that cover is the developer's responsibility until the home is handed over.

That is the general picture, but it is not universal. On a build where you own the land and engage a builder directly (for example, a labour-only or design-and-build contract on your own section), the building contract decides who arranges contract works cover — sometimes it is the builder, sometimes you. So the first practical step is to read the contract and confirm, in writing, who holds contract works insurance, for how much, and until what point. Don't assume it is handled.

The scale of new building in New Zealand is steady: 33,595 new dwellings were consented in the year ended February 2025 (down 7.4% on the prior year), including 2,578 in February 2025 alone ¹². A large number of buyers are working through exactly this timeline each year.

When does the risk transfer to you as the buyer?

This is the question that matters most, and the answer lives in your sale and purchase agreement, not in any general rule. Risk in the property typically passes to the buyer at a defined contractual point — commonly settlement, though some agreements set it at possession or practical completion ⁶. Standard ADLS/REINZ agreements address insurance and risk directly, and the Real Estate Authority urges buyers to get legal advice on these clauses rather than guess ⁶.

The practical point is simple: the moment risk passes to you, you need your own cover in place. If risk transfers at settlement, your house policy should be live from settlement. If your agreement moves risk earlier — at practical completion or possession before settlement — you may need cover sooner than you expected. The gap to avoid is the window where the developer's contract works cover has ended but your own policy has not yet started.

Figure: Indicative insurance timeline for a new build. The exact transfer point is set by your sale and purchase agreement. Sources: REA ⁶; ICNZ ⁸; lender requirements ⁷. Confirm dates with your lawyer.

What is contract works / builder's risk insurance?

Contract works insurance covers the building project itself while it is being constructed — the partly built structure, materials on site, and often the cost of rectifying damage before handover. It is the cover that responds if a half-finished frame is damaged in a storm, materials are stolen from the site, or a fire damages the works before completion.

For an off-the-plan or house-and-land buyer, the key thing to understand is that this is generally the developer's or builder's policy, arranged for their benefit, covering their exposure until the home is handed over. It is not your house policy, and it usually ends at or around practical completion or handover. That is precisely why you need to know when it ends and when your own cover begins — the two should meet with no gap in between.

If you are the one engaging the builder on your own land, contract works cover (and who arranges it) should be written into the building contract. Where there is any doubt about whether the existing cover protects your interest, it is worth raising before work starts rather than after something goes wrong.

When do you need your own house policy to start?

Your own house (building) policy needs to be in force from the moment risk transfers to you — and if you are borrowing, from settlement at the latest. Lenders require evidence of building insurance in place from settlement before they release the mortgage funds, so the policy has to be arranged to start on the settlement date ⁷. In practice your lawyer and lender will ask for a certificate of currency showing cover is live before drawdown.

There is a second reason a completed new build needs its own policy: Natural Hazards Cover. To receive natural-hazard cover on a dwelling from the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake, the home must have a current private fire (house) insurance policy in place — the levy that funds the cover is collected through that policy ⁵. So without your own house policy, the statutory natural-hazard cover does not attach. For a country exposed to earthquakes, flooding and landslip, that is not a small gap.

A short checklist for the settlement window:

• Confirm with your lawyer the exact date risk transfers under your agreement.
• Arrange your house policy to start on that date (or settlement, whichever is earlier).
• Get a certificate of currency to your lender before drawdown.
• Check the new policy includes the Natural Hazards Cover levy.
• If there's any delay to settlement, confirm your start date moves with it.

For the order in which to sort the rest of your protection once you own the home, see our guide on which cover to put in place first on a new mortgage.

How does the Code Compliance Certificate affect cover?

A Code Compliance Certificate (CCC) is the council's formal confirmation that the completed building work complies with the building consent and the Building Code. Once the building consent authority has all the information it needs, it has 20 working days to decide whether to issue or refuse a CCC; that clock pauses while it requests further information ³. So a CCC is not instant on completion — there can be a real gap between moving-in and the certificate being issued.

For insurance, this matters in a few ways. Some insurers will want to know whether a CCC has been issued, and a build without a CCC can be treated as an unfinished or non-standard risk, which may affect the terms offered. If your home is occupied or settled before the CCC is granted, talk to your adviser or insurer about how they treat that interim period — don't assume standard cover applies automatically to a home that is technically not yet code-compliant. The aim is to have no ambiguity about whether you are covered during the window between completion, settlement and CCC.

Because a missing or delayed CCC can also complicate a future sale or a claim, it is worth confirming with the builder or developer when the CCC is expected, and keeping a copy once issued.

How do you set the sum insured on a brand-new home?

Almost all New Zealand house policies are sum-insured — you nominate a rebuild figure, and that figure is the most the policy pays. Total-replacement cover has largely been gone since around 2013 ⁸. For a brand-new home this can feel counter-intuitive, because the number you have in your head is the purchase price or the build contract price, and neither is the right basis.

The sum insured should reflect the cost to rebuild the home, which is not the same as what you paid. A proper rebuild figure includes demolition and site clearance, professional fees (architect, engineer, council), inflation during the rebuild period, and the cost of complying with current building standards. The Insurance Council of New Zealand recommends using a rebuild calculator (for example, the Cordell calculator many insurers use) and warns against confusing the rebuild sum insured with the purchase price or market value ⁸. On a new build you have an advantage here: the build contract, plans and specifications give you accurate, current figures to work from.

Figure: Why the sum insured isn't your purchase price. Source: ICNZ sum-insured guidance ⁸.

For a full walk-through of how to calculate a rebuild figure and what to include, see our guide on setting your house sum insured to rebuild cost.

What gaps catch new-build buyers out?

A few recurring traps are worth flagging:

• The handover gap. The developer's contract works cover ends and your own policy hasn't started, leaving an uninsured window. Confirm the exact transfer date and align your policy start to it.
• Insuring to the purchase price. Setting the sum insured to what you paid (which includes land and margin) rather than the rebuild cost can leave you under- or over-insured ⁸.
• Assuming Natural Hazards Cover is automatic. It only attaches if you hold a current private house policy ⁵, and it is capped at $300,000 plus GST per dwelling — damage above that cap is met by your house policy, which is another reason the full house policy matters ⁴.
• Forgetting the CCC window. Occupying or settling before the CCC is issued can raise questions about cover; clarify how your insurer treats the interim period ³.
• No cover from settlement. Lenders won't release funds without evidence of insurance from settlement ⁷, and a missed start date can hold up drawdown.

None of these are difficult to avoid — they just need someone to map the dates and the cover against your specific agreement before settlement, rather than after.

Frequently asked questions

Who insures a house while it's being built in NZ? While the home is under construction, it is generally covered by the builder's or developer's contract works (builder's risk) insurance, not by you. On a house-and-land or off-the-plan purchase, that is the developer's responsibility until handover. If you've engaged a builder on your own land, the building contract decides who arranges contract works cover — confirm it in writing before work starts.

When does the risk pass to me as the buyer? At the point set in your sale and purchase agreement — commonly settlement, though some agreements use possession or practical completion ⁶. There is no single rule, so read the agreement and take legal advice. Your own house policy needs to be in force from whenever that risk transfers.

Do I need house insurance before settlement on a new build? You need it in force from the moment risk transfers to you. If you're borrowing, the lender requires evidence of building insurance from settlement before releasing funds ⁷, so the policy must be arranged to start by then. Get a certificate of currency to your lawyer and lender ahead of drawdown.

Does a new build need its own insurance if it has no CCC yet? Yes. A Code Compliance Certificate can take up to 20 working days to issue after the council has all the information it needs ³, so there is often a gap. Some insurers treat a home without a CCC as a non-standard risk, so check how the interim period is covered rather than assuming standard cover applies.

What sum insured should I put on a brand-new home? The cost to rebuild it — including demolition, site clearance, professional fees, inflation during the rebuild and current code compliance — not the purchase price or build contract price ⁸. On a new build, your plans and build contract give you accurate figures to base a rebuild calculation on.

Is Natural Hazards Cover automatic on a new home? No. It attaches only if the home has a current private fire (house) policy, because the levy is collected through that policy ⁵. The dwelling cover is capped at $300,000 plus GST per dwelling, with anything above that met by your house policy ⁴.

This article is general information only and is not personalised financial advice. It does not take into account your particular financial situation, goals or needs. Before acting, consider whether it's right for you and seek advice tailored to your circumstances. Craig Smith Business Services Ltd (FSP712931), trading as Smiths Financial, holds a Class 2 licence issued by the Financial Markets Authority and is a member of the Financial Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS). Smiths Financial does not provide legal advice on sale and purchase agreements — please consult your lawyer on the terms of your contract. Whether a claim is paid depends on the terms, conditions, exclusions and underwriting of the specific policy, and on your disclosure; always read the policy wording. Written by Henry Smith, Financial Adviser; reviewed by Craig Smith, Principal Adviser. Figures correct as at 13 April 2025. Last reviewed 13 April 2025.