Plain meanings for the words a house policy uses without explaining them.
The short answer
What this means for your cover
Plain meanings for the words a house policy uses without explaining them.
Sum insured is a dollar figure for what it would cost to rebuild your house. It is the most the policy will pay.
In more detail
What this means in practice
Excess is what you pay towards a claim before the insurer pays the rest. Underwriter is the company that carries the risk and pays the claim, which is often not the brand on the policy.
Wording is the document that says what is and is not covered. It is the one that settles a claim. A fuller glossary is being written.
General information only. Not personalised financial advice.
Home insurance is one of the few contracts most households hold for decades and read once. What a policy covers, what it excludes, and what has to be disclosed before it starts all vary between insurers and between versions of the same product, and the wording is what settles a claim. This site explains how the cover generally works so those conversations start from a better place. It is not a substitute for the policy document.
What this site is
An information site about insuring a home in New Zealand. Not an insurer, not a broker, not a registered financial adviser. Nothing here is personalised financial advice or a recommendation about any particular property.
What this site does not do
It publishes no premiums, no rebuild costs and no sum-insured figures, and nothing here estimates one. Those numbers come from an insurer's own calculator or a registered valuer, and getting them wrong is what underinsurance is made of.
What the insurer decides
Whether cover is offered, on what terms, at what price and with what exclusions is decided by the insurer, on the information given to them about the specific property.
Our relationship with Cove
This site refers people to three insurance brands. Cove for most homes, FMG for farms and lifestyle blocks, and AA Insurance for apartments. We receive no commission, fee or payment for any of those referrals, and nothing on this site is sold. No brand can buy a position, a badge or a mention. We are not an insurer, not a broker, and not a registered financial adviser. Nothing here is a recommendation that any brand is right for any particular home. Full disclosure on the partner page.
The policy wording decides
Every description of cover on this site describes what that type of cover generally does, not what any particular policy does. Limits, excesses, exclusions and conditions differ between insurers and change between versions, and the wording issued with a policy is the document that settles a claim.
