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Worried about the risks you’re taking by having your belongings in a rented space? That’s understandable, and it’s why we’ve listed the very best renters’ insurance in NZ here for you.

Renters’ insurance protects your valuables from damage and loss. But since policies differ in prices and benefits, it can be hard to know which one you should get.

As such, we wrote a guide below to help you find the ideal renters’ insurance. By doing so, you will find it far easier to pick from our options later on.

Are you ready? If you are, let’s proceed to our buying guide.

How to Find the Ideal Renters’ Insurance

First off, let’s clarify that renters’ insurance is best taken out before you move into a new rental property. In case your items are damaged or stolen then, you won’t have to pay for their expenses.

When you’re looking for renters’ insurance, you have to consider the amount of cover, features, policy wording, special discounts, and customer support.

Let’s take a look at each of them in turn:

1. Cover Amount

Most insurance companies can provide cover for items worth $10,000 to $25,000. You can choose how much you want to be covered for but the insurer will still assess your application.

They will ask about the cost of your high-end items like artworks and antiques. It’s crucial to give them an accurate cost of your belongings to get the right coverage amount.

Though the premiums may sometimes seem expensive, you can get back your cash multiplied in the event your items are destroyed by a natural disaster or accident.

2. Features and benefits

Each policy varies in the features and benefits. Here are the most common ones:

• Accidental Damage -This insures you against damage or loss to your possessions as caused by situations other than theft, storm, flood, fire, or natural disaster.
• Content Cover – This pertains to damage or loss due to burglary, fire, storm, flood, and earthquakes.
• New for Old – This means that any items that have been damaged beyond repair or stolen will be replaced with a new item or the nearest equivalent.
• Legal Liability Cover – Legal liability covers you for any damage or loss you’ve caused to your rental property or someone else’s (e.g. a car or fragile store items).
• Moving Cover – Moving cover insures your items in transit, such as when you’ve let someone move your possessions through a vehicle.
• Laptop and tablet Cover – Available as an add-on, device cover protects your laptop and tablet. Mobile phone cover comes as a separate add-on for AA Insurance.

3. Policy Wording

Like with any other type of insurance, you have to pay attention to the fine print here. These include the terms, conditions, and exclusions.

Failing to notice a small detail can have a big effect on your claim chances. In other words, if you fail to follow a particular condition simply because you overlooked it in the fine print, your claim will be denied.

4. Special discounts

Special discounts can help lower the premiums that you will need to pay. Some examples are multi-policy, first-year, and membership discounts.

5. Customer Support

Having customer support is important as it can answer your questions and also walk you through the claims process.

Of course, it’ll be better if the customer service team can support you 24/7. Check what other policy-holders say about the insurer’s customer support before signing anything.

The Best Renters’ Insurance in NZ

Now that you know what to look for in a renters’ insurance policy, here’s our lineup of the top options for renters’ insurance in NZ!

1)   Tower Renters’ Insurance

Best for	Accidental damage cover
Products	Renters Insurance
Benefits	Replace or repair Tenant liability cover Moving cover Accidental damage (NZ-wide)
Address	45 Queen Street, Auckland Central, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
Contact Details	Phone: 0800 379 372 Rural: 0800 161 262 Overseas: +64 9 985 1558 Claims: 0800 379 372 Email them here
Office Hours	Customer Service   Monday – Friday: 8.00 AM – 7.00 PM Saturday: 9.00 AM – 6.00 PM Sunday: closed Public holidays: 9.00 AM – 6.00 PM   Claims   Monday – Friday: 8.00 AM – 7.00 PM Saturday: 9.00 AM – 5.00 PM Sunday: closed Public holidays: 9.00 AM – 5.00 PM   Rural   Monday – Friday: 9.00 AM – 5.00 PM Saturday – Sunday: closed Public holidays: closed

Enquire Here

Worried about your belongings in the flat you’re staying in? Fortunately, with Tower Renters’ Insurance, you’re covered nicely.

Your things will be protected from most forms of loss, such as an explosion, water damage, and fire. They will be either replaced or fixed until usable once more.

Also, with moving cover, your items are safe even if the vehicle driven to move your items is involved in an accident and your items are damaged as a result.

As for exclusions, your items won’t be covered due to wear-and-tear and if you’ve moved them outside of NZ.

2)   AMI Renters Insurance

Best for	Convenient online system
Products	Renters insurance
Benefits	Content cover Liability cover
Address	New Zealand-wide
Contact Details	Freephone: 0800 100 200 Overseas: +64 3 371 9000
Office Hours	Monday – Friday: 8.00 AM – 6.00 PM Weekends and Public Holidays: 9.00 AM – 6.00 PM

Enquire Here

AMI Renters Insurance covers your belongings from loss, theft, fire, and damage, as well as accidental damage caused to someone else’s property.

Your broken laptop, smartphone, and tablet will be repaired or replaced to be as good as new, no matter if these things stayed with you for a long, long time.

Moreover, you will be covered in and out of your premises. For instance, if you scratched your car against another person’s car by the shopping centre (knock on wood!).

Their online claim system is very convenient to use too. At any time, you can track your claim status and also upload relevant pictures, receipts, and documents.

Their current promo provides you with cover for up to $10,000, where you’ll only have to pay $31 each month for the first year.

Also, you will get a discount if you buy young driver’s insurance from them, along with renters’ insurance.

3)   AA Insurance

Best for	Complete features
Products	Contents Limited contents
Benefits	Contents   Content cover Liability cover Business tools and professional equipment Legalliability Food spoilage Temporary accommodation Children at boarding school or in tertiary education Family members in a rest home   Optional Extras   Hearing aid cover Mobile phone cover Laptop and tablet cover   Limited Contents   Content cover Liability cover Business tools and professional equipment Legalliability Food spoilage   Optional Extras   Temporary accommodation Mobile phone cover Laptop and tablet cover
Address	New Zealand-wide
Contact Details	Phone: 0800 500 231 Claims: 0800 500 216 Overseas: +64 9 927 2306 Email them here
Office Hours	Monday to Friday: 8.00 AM – 8.00 PM Weekends and public holidays: 8.00 AM – 6.00 PM

Enquire Here

For full belongings cover, you can look up AA Rental Insurance. This product is one of our picks for the best renters’ insurance in NZ given its wide many benefits.

Depending on your budget and needs, you can opt for the Contents or Limited Contents policy.

The Contents policy features valuables, legal liability, business equipment, and food spoilage cover… and even add-ons such as phone, laptop and tablet, and hearing aid cover.

On the other hand, the Limited Contents policy safeguards your things but excludes accidental damage and family members that are living away from your home.

Note that for clothing, footwear, or makeup that can’t be replaced with a similar item, AA Insurance will pay for these products at market value instead.

4)   ASB Renters Insurance

Best for	Claim payouts
Products	Classic Contents Insurance Basic Contents Insurance
Benefits	Classic Contents Insurance   Contents cover Children in tertiary education cover Gradual damage cover Temporary accommodation Key or lock cover   Optional Extras   Goods in Transit Insurance Goods in Storage Insurance   Basic Contents Insurance   Contents cover Legalliability cover   Optional Extras   Goods in Transit Insurance Goods in Storage Insurance
Address	New Zealand-wide
Contact Details	0800 200 252
Office Hours	Monday – Friday: 8.00 AM – 8.00 PM Weekends and public holidays: 8:30 AM – 5.00 PM

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When the going gets tough, the worst that could happen is for an insurer not to pay out. You can avoid this by choosing a company that has high financial strength.

For this, ASB fits the bill with very strong financial strength (AA-), as given by Standard & Poor’s. It also offers two cover options that fit around your budget and needs.

One is the basic cover, which covers items that are less than 5 years old. That’s a minus right there as other insurers cover your goods no matter how old they get.

The more complete cover called Classic Contents Insurance covers your contents, subtle gradual damage (like water leaking on your bookshelf and causing damage), children staying at a boarding school, and keys and locks.

Also, ASB offers a few great discounts for getting more than one policy from them, installing a new burglar alarm, and making claims.

5)   Westpac Renters Insurance

Best for	Easy application
Products	Basic Contents Cover Comprehensive Contents Cover
Benefits	Contents cover Old for new Temporary accommodation Legal liability
Address	New Zealand-wide
Contact Details	+64 800 400 600 Email them here
Office Hours	Monday – Friday: 8.00 AM – 6.00 PM Saturday – Sunday: 8.00 AM – 4.00 PM

Enquire Here

If you want no-frills renters’ insurance, then Westpac’s Renter’s Insurance is a great choice! Its renters’ policy is useful, straightforward, and hassle-free to apply for.

You simply apply online and select from their cover options of $10,000, $15,000, $20,000, and $25,000.

The basic contents package has several benefits, including belonging protection, liability cover, and old for new, as well as temporary accommodation.

Apart from that, they have a full contents cover that beefs up the basic cover’s features and adds overseas travel, young person’s, and wedding and Christmas presents cover, and more.

FAQS about the Top Renters Insurance in NZ

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And that concludes our picks for the best renters’ insurance in NZ. Having insured yourself, you can now go out with peace of mind, knowing that your things are taken care of.

Do you have any questions or comments for us? If you have one, kindly drop us a line and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

Planning to purchase house insurance too? If so, you can take a look at our best house insurance in NZ list.