Your sum insured is what it would cost to rebuild your house, and it is the most your policy will pay.
The short answer
What this means for your cover
Your sum insured is what it would cost to rebuild your house, and it is the most your policy will pay.
A sum insured is a dollar figure on your policy. It is what it would cost to rebuild your house as it is now.
In more detail
What this means in practice
It is not what the house would sell for. It is not the council rating value. It is not your mortgage. Only the rebuild cost pays a claim.
The number has to cover more than the building. Knocking down what is left, clearing the site, and paying architects, engineers and consent fees all come out of it. So do fences, decks, driveways and retaining walls.
You supply the figure, not the insurer. Every big New Zealand insurer has a free rebuild calculator. For an unusual house, a valuer gives you a number you can stand behind. A fuller guide 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.
