Have found AMI good - few minor claims were very easy. Never had to claim on anything major though. 

cshwone:

 

vexxxboy:

 

I Am with AA and my house insurance went up to $139.00 a month  on a $690,000 rebuild cost, so i checked out Tower and for a $500,000 rebuild cost and and type for type policy Tower was $218 a month , AMI is $180 and state is $194 a month so it pays to look around

 

 

 

 

Are you sure you are adequately insured at $690,000 rebuild (bearing in mind site clearance costs and how much prices have gone up).

 

I live in Rotorua , the valuation on it is only 495,000

vexxxboy:

 

 

 

I live in Rotorua , the valuation on it is only 495,000

 

This is pretty good for checking https://www.vero.co.nz/personal-insurance/house-insurance/cordell-calculator.html

As I stated on another recent insurance thread, I review vehicle cover and seek quotes from the major players at every renewal time. The insurance company that was cheapest last year is not necessarily cheapest this year (when comparing like for like cover and excess etc), and same goes for different vehicles.

As an example, Tower was cheapest for my VW Touareg when I bought it in 2019, but Trademe was cheaper than Tower for my Ford Focus at that time. Fast forward to the most recent renewal and Tower's price for my Touareg suddenly shot up to an unreasonable level so I switched back to State on similar terms for a few hundy cheaper, and moved the Focus from Trademe to AA for similar reasons.

My collectible/hobby cars are insured with Star Insurance as their pricing caters for vehicles that are usually locked in a garage and rarely driven. I also have different insurers again for my boat (NZI) and caravan (Nautical). Both NZI and Nautical have been excellent at claim time, although repairs for both took ages but that was down to sourcing parts overseas and not the insurers' fault.

For building insurance it's a little different. Being that I am in Christchurch it is a massive PITA to change insurers for most buildings even 11 years after the quakes. I've done it once for my investment property but it was death by paperwork (scope/repair documentation & receipts, photos, inspections, valuations etc). When I looked at switching my own home last year it was going to cost me a lot more than I would have saved due to the proposed insurer wanting a full builders inspection/report completed. Weirdly I bought and insured my house after repairs were completed and I didn't have to go through this rigmarole at that time, so not sure why I face it now....

I tried speaking to a broker a few months ago but it became apparent early on that they only complete on service (eg a single bill for everything and a managed claims process) but not price. They don't seem to offer any cost advantages at all and in fact the broker I spoke to said if I was looking to save money, I was wasting my time with him...

MAS is fantastic if you're eligible to join (membership used to be medical only, is now professionals + friends and family).

My car, home and contents are with the AA. I do shop around every year like many others here. 

Claims for my car were quickly attended. Got a loan car for free during the few days it was at the repair place

Claims for my glasses was an easy process. 

What is the recommendation for house insurance, with regards to falling house values?  Back when I bought (nearly at the peak of the market), I insured my house for sum insured based on the estimated cost to rebuild.  The calculator has returned a much lower value now - would it make sense to re-insure at the lower value?  That seems a little counter-intuitive, given how the cost of everything has increased, and I would imagine that the cost to rebuild my house is at least what it was 18 months ago, if not more.

Lizard1977:

What is the recommendation for house insurance, with regards to falling house values?  Back when I bought (nearly at the peak of the market), I insured my house for sum insured based on the estimated cost to rebuild.  The calculator has returned a much lower value now - would it make sense to re-insure at the lower value?  That seems a little counter-intuitive, given how the cost of everything has increased, and I would imagine that the cost to rebuild my house is at least what it was 18 months ago, if not more.

Yeah, it was the Cordell calculator

The only way to get an accurate rebuild price is to pay an appropriate professional to come around and do an inspection - the online calculators are usually a little better than what the insurance company puts in the policy, but generally still way too low for a real rebuild.  So find a good quantity surveyor who does insurance valuations and pay them - it cost me around $750 about 6-7 years ago, so it will be over $1000 now, but the result will likely shock you as to how much you were under insuring your house.