Home Insurance NZ Guide
After the Canterbury earthquakes and the 2023 North Island floods, NZ household policies are no longer commoditised. Sums insured, natural-hazard cover, EQC interaction, and rebuild definitions all differ. We arrange cover where the wording actually does what you assume it does.
How the cover actually works.
Sum-insured cover for your home, insured up to the rebuild figure you nominate, which has been the New Zealand standard for house insurance since 2014
Contents cover for everything inside the home, including furniture, electronics, jewellery, tools and bikes, though higher-value items often need to be individually scheduled
Natural disaster cover starts with EQC for the first portion of dwelling damage, then your private insurer takes over above that cap for the rest
Optional extras such as temporary accommodation while your home is repaired, accidental damage cover, and portable contents cover for items you take away from home
This page is for you if…
Homeowners (especially in Christchurch, Wellington, and natural-hazard zones)
Landlords with rental property portfolios
Renters with valuable contents
Owners of high-value or non-standard homes (architectural, character, rural)
Two ways to get home and contents insurance sorted.
Going it alone
You compare policy wording and exclusions yourself, insurer by insurer.
No one flags it when your circumstances change and your cover no longer fits.
If a claim is ever declined, you deal with the insurer directly.
The cheapest premium today isn't checked against what it actually covers.
With a Smiths adviser
We compare home and contents insurance across the providers we work with, in plain English.
We review your cover again as your circumstances change, not just once at the start.
If you ever need to claim, we deal with the insurer on your behalf.
You get one recommendation based on your situation, not a single insurer's product.
Talk to an adviser about this.
Thirty minutes with a licensed Smiths adviser, no obligation. Leave your details and we'll be in touch, usually within one working day.
Full audit of your existing cover, fund, and policy wordings
Comparison across the providers we work with
A clear written recommendation in plain English
Implementation paperwork handled by us, not you
Why this is easier with an adviser.
Size sum insured properly, using rebuild calculators, not last decade’s guess.
Compare earthquake excesses and natural-hazard exclusions across insurers.
Schedule high-value contents items so they’re covered above the standard cap.
Coordinate the EQC-to-private-insurer transition at claim time.
The providers we work with for this cover.
Home & contents insurance
Our advice covers the providers shown here, not every insurer or KiwiSaver provider in New Zealand. The panel can change, and we'll always confirm it when we give you advice.
Common questions about home and contents insurance.
EQC covers the first $300k of dwelling damage from natural disaster, plus limited land and contents. Your private insurer covers above that, but with higher excesses for earthquake events.
The figure on your policy is the maximum the insurer will pay. Most NZ homes need a quantity surveyor or a calculator like Cordell to get it right.
Most policies cap individual items (bikes, jewellery, art) at $2.5k–$5k unless specifically listed. High-value items need scheduling.
A sum-insured policy pays up to a set limit; total replacement cover rebuilds the home regardless of cost, subject to the policy's terms. We check which basis a provider is actually offering before you rely on the label.
Items like jewellery, art, or specialist equipment often need to be individually specified, since a standard contents policy usually caps single-item payouts.
Other services in this area.
Talk to the team.
Book a free review with Craig, Guy or Henry. No fees, and we're there if you ever need to claim.