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Cost of car and motorcycle cover.

What’s a premium?

Your premium is the amount you pay us to protect your car or motorcycle from certain risks. It’s unique to you. And the vehicle you’ve chosen to insure.

How we work out your car or motorcycle premium.

It’s the sum of a few parts. A portion is based on you. Like where you live. The vehicle you own. How likely you are to have an accident. And the level of cover you’ve chosen. The rest is our running costs, how likely a natural disaster is, government levies, and how much it costs to fix vehicles.

Pieces of the car and motorcycle premium puzzle.

The personalised part.

To figure this part out, we look at the cost to repair or replace your car or motorcycle, plus:

  • Your details. Things like your age or past claims you’ve made. Data that helps us figure out how accident-prone you might be.
  • What vehicle you have. The year, make and model of your car or motorcycle, and if it has any modifications.
  • Sum insured. The amount you choose to cover the cost to replace your car or motorcycle. 
  • Cover level. How much cover you’ve chosen, such as Comprehensive, Third Party, Fire and Theft, or Third Party Only.

Reinsurance. The safety net.

If there’s a big event, like Cyclone Gabrielle, we get tons of claims all at once. So, we may need our own insurance to help pay the claims. Reinsurance is our insurance. Part of your premium goes towards this safety net and ensures that we’ve got your back no matter what.

Taxes and levies. The government-y bit.

Taxes and levies are set by the government. We collect and pay to the government these taxes and levies :

  • Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) levy. It helps fund firefighting and fire safety and prevention services. 
  • Goods and Service Tax. GST. It’s charged on most things and insurance is no exception. 

Why premiums and levies go up.

When nothing’s changed at your end, it’s hard to understand why premiums go up. Here are some reasons why.

  • Cost of vehicle repair. The latest cars have features like parking sensors and collision avoidance to make our cars snazzier and safer. But they’re expensive to repair.  
  • Claim trends. If heaps of people make similar claims, prices can go up.
  • Changes to government levies. Levy amounts are set by the government and tend to increase over time.

Your premium can also change if you adjust your excess, add or remove optional benefits, or change your sum insured amount.

Cover levels and cost options.

The type of insurance cover you have is a big factor in how much you pay. For motorcycle, we offer Comprehensive and Third Party Only. We have three levels of car cover to choose from. 

Comprehensive

All the bells and whistles to cover damage to your car, motorcycle or someone else’s vehicle or stuff. Plus, options to boost your cover. Good choice for sensible Sallys.

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Third Party, Fire and Theft

A little protection for your car and a lot of cover for damaging someone’s vehicle or stuff. Plus, options to boost your cover. Good choice for hedging your bets. 

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Third Party Only

No-frills insurance that covers damage to someone else’s vehicle or stuff. Plus, options to boost your cover. Good choice for old bangers or risk takers.

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Excess. Explained.

An excess is the amount you contribute to a claim. A vehicle excess and sometimes other excesses apply for each incident. You pay an excess, then we cover the rest of the claim. Whether you pay an excess or not depends on the incident and who's involved.

Sum Insured. Explained.

Sum insured is the maximum amount we'll pay you if you make a claim. It needs to cover the cost to replace your car or motorbike if it was damaged beyond repair or stolen. 

Ways to reduce your premium.

Struggling to afford your insurance?

You have a few options to reduce your premium.

  1. Review your level of cover.
  2. Remove optional benefits you don’t need. 
  3. Increase your excess amount. 
  4. Check your sum insured is accurate. 

Extra care and support

Having a difficult time? Need financial assistance? Find out how we can help.

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