Hail

This depends on how the claim is settled. If you're getting repairs done, you'll need to pay any applicable excess to the repairer or supplier. In the case of a cash settlement, the excess will be deducted off the total amount you are paid out. To find out more about your excess, please check your policy schedule and wording.

Your policy excess

If your policies are in the same name, with the same brand, insured with the same address, and you make a claim on two or more policies for damage caused by the same event, you'll pay just one excess - whichever is the highest. We call this “one incident, one excess” and it applies to your personal insurance policies only, such as your home, contents, vehicle, or boat policies. Our Claims teams will discuss this with you when it's time to pay your excess.

NHCover excess

An additional excess will apply if you need to make an NHCover claim, which your Claim Manager will discuss with you prior to settlement. Have a read through our Understanding your NHCover Claim factsheet for more information.

An event like this has a big impact on assessors and tradespeople, so although we'll be working as quickly as we can, it will take some time to get through all the assessments. Urgent assistance for those whose homes are unliveable, are experiencing vulnerability, or those who are in high-impact areas will be prioritised.

• We’ll refer you to our Motor Vehicle Assessor or to a local repairer, who’ll review your claim, assess the damage, and work out the scope and cost to repair it. We’ll then review the estimated repair cost against your sum insured to work out if the vehicle is economic or uneconomic to repair.
  
  
• If your vehicle is economic to repair, your Claim Manager will review your policy and discuss the next steps with you. Depending on your policy, we can either pay you a lump sum payment based on the reasonable costs to repair the covered damage, or we can arrange to have your vehicle repaired ourselves.
  
  
• If your vehicle is uneconomic to repair, our assessor will refer your claim back to your Claim Manager who will review your policy and get in touch with you to discuss your claim settlement options.

If your windscreen has been damaged, please don’t drive your vehicle. Instead, let us know immediately.

Depending on your policy, we’ll arrange a tow, so you won’t have to drive your vehicle in for assessment. Once it’s been assessed, wait for the all-clear from your assessor before driving again.

• Remember to remove any personal items from the vehicle before it’s towed.
  
  
• Make sure your vehicle is locked securely with no keys left inside ‐ our tow team will get in touch to pick them up instead. If your personal items were damaged inside your vehicle, feel free to throw away any soft items or spoiled food, but remember to photograph and note them on your loss schedule first.
  
  
• If you have contents insurance, we’ll discuss with you whether you’re covered for any items that were damaged while inside your vehicle.
  
  
• If water entered your vehicle, it’s best to treat it as blackwater (contaminated with sewage), so make sure you stay safe by wearing heavy duty gloves, boots, and a face mask before removing your items.

We’ll ask our salvage provider for a ‘wreck estimate’ that reflects the amount we’re likely to get at auction for the damaged vehicle. Then we’ll offer you the total loss value, less the ’wreck estimate’ and your excess.

If the damage is significant or structural, the vehicle may be unsafe to drive, so we might not give you the option to keep it. In this situation, we’ll arrange disposal and deregistration of the vehicle with NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.

Our priority is to get customers with vehicles that are unsafe to drive, back on the road as soon as possible. To help speed things up, we bring in hail repair specialists to assist with the hail-related damage. They use a process called Paintless Dent Repair.

Once you’ve made your claim and local authorities have confirmed it’s safe to re-enter the area, we’ll appoint an assessor to review your claim, assess the damage either in person or remotely, and agree with you on the scope and cost to repair it ‐ sometimes called a ‘scope of works’.

Depending on the property and damage, we might need to bring in specialist tradespeople like engineers, assessors, or builders, which can make your assessment take a little longer. Once the ‘scope of works’ is complete, our assessor will discuss your repair or settlement options with you.

Once you've made your claim, please complete a ‘Loss Schedule’, listing all your damaged items. Remember to include the item’s age, manufacturers’ names, model numbers, purchase dates and purchase prices, wherever you can. If you’re able to do so, taking photos of your damaged items in addition to your Loss Schedule can be helpful too.

Once you’ve completed your Loss Schedule, email it back to your Claim Manager and include your claim number in the subject line.

We'll be in touch with the next steps, but if you have any questions about your claim or your Loss Schedule, please get in touch.

Yes. Taking photos of any damaged property or belongings can often help to speed up the claim process.