LittleGreyCat:
If you (God forbid) hit a ridiculously priced caravan you could end up owing someone $50,000.
In my opinion at a minimum you want to get third party that includes fire and theft coverage
Whether you go for full insurance vs third party comes down to how much your car cost.
It's a personal decision about whether the cost to replace your car + the chance of you having an accident (where you are at fault) is worth the higher premiums.
LittleGreyCat:
In the UK if you crippled someone you could be facing bill for $1,000,000.
NZ has ACC which is a state universal no fault coverage for personal injury so you do not have to factor in that type liability when looking for car insurance.
http://www.acc.co.nz/making-a-claim/am-i-covered/index.htm
LittleGreyCat:
Who gives a reasonable deal and is good to work with?
What types of insurance do most people have?
My partner an I are with AA, we both have third party fire and theft as our cars aren't worth that much late 90's Toyota's also.
We have never had a problem with a claim, twice her car has been written off through no fault of her own. Once a Gilmours truck nose to tailed her car while she was stopped at an intersection. Another time a drunk crashed into her car while it was empty and parked on the side of the road.
Claims process was fairly straight forward and the insurance company didn't try to shirk their responsibilities.
This site has some interesting articles and rates comparison for car insurance in NZ
http://www.interest.co.nz/category/tag/car-insurance
http://www.interest.co.nz/insurance-data/car/premium-rates
http://www.interest.co.nz/insurance-data/car/coverages-compared