As inflation, rising building costs and more frequent extreme weather events push up the price of home and contents insurance, it’s never been more important to seek out the best, and most affordable, home and contents insurance.
So if you’re searching for the best value home and contents insurance for your home and possessions, then look no further than Canstar’s 2024 Outstanding Value Home and Contents Awards.
Canstar’s Home & Contents Insurance Star Ratings use a sophisticated and unique ratings methodology that compares prices and features across home and contents insurance products.
We award the best products our 5-Star ratings for Outstanding Home & Contents Insurance, and the best insurer our prestigious award for Insurer of the Year | Home & Contents. The award recognises the insurer that delivers consumers outstanding value through its products, services and levels of customer satisfaction.
This year, our expert panel’s research covered 15 products from 11 providers, across three consumer profiles:
- Home & Contents Insurance
- Home Only Cover
- Contents Only Cover
From our research, this year, we have awarded four providers our coveted award for Outstanding Value. These awards enable consumers to narrow their search to just the highest-rated insurance providers, those that have been assessed and awarded Canstar’s 5-Star awards for Outstanding Value Home & Contents Insurance:
Insurer of the Year Award
On the back of its Outstanding Value Award, Tower is also the winner of Canstar’s prestigious Insurer of the Year | Home & Contents Award 2024.
Awarding Tower its top Home & Contents Award, Canstar’s research panel noted the outstanding value offered by Tower’s insurance products, especially its Standard and Plus policy options, which feature comprehensive insurance cover at affordable prices. Our team also noted Tower’s strong performance when it comes to events cover – including floods, storms and earthquakes – which is particularly relevant for many Kiwi households.
The award is unique because it also factors in feedback from over 2500 Kiwi insurance customers about how satisfied they are with their insurers.
Tower’s Outstanding Value Ratings:
Tower’s Standard home and contents insurance products earn the following ratings from Canstar’s expert research panel:
- Home & Contents Insurance: 4-Star Rating
- Home Only Cover: 5-Star Rating
- Contents Only Cover: 4-Star Rating
Tower’s Plus home and contents insurance products earn the following ratings from Canstar’s expert research panel:
- Home & Contents Insurance: 4-Star Rating
- Home Only Cover: 4-Star Rating
- Contents Only Cover: 4-Star Rating
Tower’s Premium home and contents insurance products earn the following ratings from Canstar’s expert research panel:
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- Home & Contents Insurance: 3-Star Rating
- Home Only Cover: 3-Star Rating
- Contents Only Cover: 3-Star Rating
What’s on offer from Tower’s home insurance?
Premium cover: The highest level of protection for your home in the event of sudden and accidental damage, such as fire. Benefits include temporary accommodation up to $30,000, gradual damage from water leaks up to $3000, and extended carpet replacement.
Plus cover: Benefits include temporary accommodation up to $25,000, and gradual damage from water leaks up to $2000.
Standard cover: Benefits include temporary accommodation up to $15,000, and gradual damage from water leaks up to $1000.
What’s on offer from Tower’s contents insurance?
Premium cover: Replace lost, damaged or stolen goods with equivalent value items, including unlimited cover for mobile phones, up to $30,000 for jewellery, and up to $10,000 for home office and sports/leisure equipment, prescription glasses/contact lenses and $10,000 student cover.
Plus cover: Includes up to $15,000 for jewellery, up to $5000 for home office, sports/leisure equipment, and prescription glasses/contact lenses; $5000 student cover and up to $1000 per mobile phone.
Standard cover: Includes up to $1000 for jewellery, sports/leisure equipment and prescription glasses/contact lenses; $5000 student cover and up to $500 per mobile phone.
View Home & Contents Insurer of the Year Award
AA Insurance’s Outstanding Value Ratings
AA Insurance’s Home & Contents insurance products earn the following ratings from Canstar’s expert research panel:
- Home & Contents Insurance: 4-Star Rating
- Home Only Cover: 4-Star Rating
- Contents Only Cover: 4-Star Ratings
What’s on offer from AA Insurance’s Home Insurance?
AA Insurance’s Home & Contents Insurance cover includes:
- If your home is damaged or destroyed by a natural disaster, AA Insurance will repair, rebuild or pay you up to the total sum insured. If your home is damaged in any other event, you may receive more than the sum insured under its replacement cover
- Up to $20,000 for temporary accommodation your family, including pets
- New-for-old cover on your possessions
- Replacement of locks and keys if the security of your home is at risk following a burglary, theft or loss
- Up to $2000 of hidden water-damage cover
- Legal liability cover up to $2 million
- Range of discounts, including multi-policy discount and AA member discount
- Pay only one excess on claims across multiple policies for a single event
- AA Insurance’s Home Response provides around-the-clock access to trusted tradespeople across the country
What’s on offer from AA Insurance’s Contents Insurance?
AA Insurance offer two levels of contents insurance:
Contents Insurance:
- Accidental damage cover
- Cover for fire/theft/flood/natural disaster
- New for old replacements
- $2m liability cover
- Temporary accommodation
- NZ-wide cover, plus for children away at school
- One event, one excess
- Excess-free spoiled food
- Business tools/equipment
Limited Contents Insurance:
- Cover for fire/theft/flood/natural disaster
- New for old replacements
- $2m liability cover
- Temporary accommodation
- NZ-wide cover (not for accidental damage)
- One event, one excess
- Excess-free spoiled food
- Business tools/equipment
AMP Insurance’s Outstanding Value Ratings
AMP’s Everyday home and contents insurance products earn the following ratings from Canstar’s expert research panel:
- Home & Contents Insurance: 5-Star Rating
- Home Only Cover: 5-Star Rating
- Contents Only Cover: 5-Star Rating
AMP’s Everyday Plus home and contents insurance products earn the following ratings from Canstar’s expert research panel:
- Home & Contents Insurance: 5-Star Rating
- Home Only Cover: 5-Star Rating
- Contents Only Cover: 5-Star Rating
AMP offers two levels of cover: Everyday and Everyday Plus.
What’s on offer from AMP’s home insurance?
Everyday Plus: Includes, SumExtra, which can provide full replacement cost if your house is damaged or destroyed by non-natural disaster, and up to 10% of sum insured extra cover if it is damaged or destroyed by natural disaster; accidental damage to the home; gradual damage from water leaks up to $5000
Everyday: SumExtra an optional extra, no gradual damage or garden cover, and reduced cover across other benefits.
Both policies cover:
- Up to $2 million legal liability
- Temporary accommodation, up to 10% sum insured for 12 months
What’s on offer from AMP’s contents insurance?
Everyday: Includes, accidental loss and damage anywhere in NZ and portable valuables cover, such as phones, laptops and jewellery.
Everyday Plus: Accidental loss and damage anywhere cover, and portable valuables cover, are optional extras, plus reduced cover across other benefits.
Trade Me Insurance’s Outstanding Value Ratings
Trade Me’s Home & Contents Plus insurance products earn the following ratings from Canstar’s expert research panel:
- Home & Contents Insurance: 5-Star Rating
- Home Only Cover: 5-Star Rating
- Contents Only Cover: 5-Star Rating
What does Trade Me Insurance offer?
Trade Me offers competitive premiums across all its insurance products, including a 15% discount for members, and a 10% discount for bundled home and contents policies. It has one home policy and one contents policy:
What’s on offer from Trade Me’s home insurance?
- Liability protection up to $20m
- Sum insured plus 20% if home destroyed by fire
- $15,000 sustainability upgrade
- Cover of $25,000 for temporary accommodation
- One event, one excess
- $25,000 cover for retaining walls
- $2000 gradual damage cover
What’s on offer from Trade Me’s contents insurance?
- Accidental loss or damage
- New for old replacement or repair your contents, up to policy limits and sum insured
- Accidental damage anywhere in NZ
- Cover for contents while moving home
- $1000 for mobile phones
- Jewellery up to $2500 per item
- Prescription glasses/contacts $5000 (reduced excess)
- One event, one excess
- Student cover: $5000
View Outstanding Value Home & Contents Insurance Awards
About the author of this page
This report was written by Canstar’s Editor, Bruce Pitchers. Bruce has three decades’ experience as a journalist and has worked for major media companies in the UK and Australasia, including ACP, Bauer Media Group, Fairfax, Pacific Magazines, News Corp and TVNZ. Prior to Canstar, he worked as a freelancer, including for The Australian Financial Review, the NZ Financial Markets Authority, and for real estate companies on both sides of the Tasman.
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