How do car insurance premiums and quality of cover differ between insurance providers?
Interest.co.nz conducted a case study in January 2018 to find out.
We created eight profiles and got comprehensive car insurance quotes from the major brands for these.
We then analysed our results in this story.
In the study we assumed the insured:
- Has selected a $500 excess
- Wants under 25s to be covered
- Is a female
- Lives at 206 Jervois Road, Herne Bay, Auckland (interest.co.nz's office)
- Doesn’t use their vehicle for business purposes
- Has had their licence since they were 16
- Hasn’t experienced any car-related incidents, thefts, loss, etc
- Has a clean driving history
- Doesn’t have any money owing on the vehicle
- Hasn’t modified their vehicle
Click on the table below to see the results.
Any deviations from the set profile have been listed in the assumptions column.
We then summarised what each policy covers. Click on the table below for a summary of this.
Note that to keep things easy to read, the table doesn’t include all the benefits, caveats and exclusions of different policies. For more information on this, click on the links in the table to see various policy documents.
| AA Insurance | AMI | AMP Everyday Online | ANZ | ASB | BNZ | NZI | State | Tower | Trade Me Insurance | Vero | Warehouse Money | Westpac | Youi | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner/underwriter | AA and Suncorp | IAG | Vero (Suncorp) | Vero (Suncorp) | IAG | IAG | IAG | IAG | Tower | Tower | Suncorp | Vero (Suncorp) | IAG | Youi |
| Agreed or market value | Agreed | Agreed or market as per policy | Agreed | Market or agreed as per policy | Agreed, however market value up to sum insured if car not in good condition | Agreed, however market value up to sum insured if car not in good condition | Market | Agreed, however market value up to sum insured if car not in good condition | Agreed or market as per policy | Agreed | Market | Agreed | The lesser of the market and agreed values | Agreed or market as per policy |
| Legal liability. Max. amount paid if you damage someone else's property or injure them | $20m including: - property damage - $250,000 for bodily injury |
$20m for property damage $1m for bodily injury $1,000 for manslaughter defence costs |
$20m including: - property damage - $1m for bodily injury |
$20m including: - property damage - $1m for bodily injury - $1m for forest & rural fire damage |
$20m for property damage $1m for bodily injury $1,000 for manslaughter defence costs |
$20m including: - property damage - $1m for bodily injury $10,000 for manslaughter defence costs |
$20m for property damage $2m for bodily injury $10,000 for manslaughter defence costs |
$20m for property damage $1m for bodily injury $5,000 for manslaughter defence costs |
$25m including: - property damage - $1m for bodily injury - $5,000 for manslaughter defence costs |
$20m including: - property damage - $100,000 for bodily injury - $5,000 for manslaughter defence costs |
$20m including: - property damage - $1m for bodily injury - $1m for forest & rural fire damage |
$20m including: - property damage - $1m for bodily injury |
$20m including: - property damage - $100,000 for bodily injury $1,000 for manslaughter defence costs |
$20m including: - property damage - $1m for bodily injury or death - Reparations to victims |
| Towing after accident | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Transport and accommodation after emergency - max amount paid | Trans: Yes Accom: $500 |
Trans: Yes Accom: No |
$500 | $500 | Trans: Bus and rail only Accom: $500 |
Trans: Yes Accom: $750 |
Trans: Yes Accom: Yes |
Trans: Yes Accom: No |
$500 | $500 | $500 | $500 | $500 | $1,000 |
| Excess waived if identifiable driver of another vehicle causes loss | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Key/lock replacement - max. amount paid | Yes. First $750 excess-free | No | $1,000 | $1,000 | $500 excess-free | $1,000 excess-free | Amount sum insured. $100 excess applies | $300 excess-free | $1,000. Excess-free if first loss in year | No | $1,000 | $1,000 | $1,000 excess-free | $1,000 |
| Cover for drivers under 25. Higher excesses apply | Yes | No. Under-25 cover optional add-on | Yes | Yes. Under-25 exclusion optional | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes. Under-25 exclusion optional | Yes | Yes. Under-25 exclusion optional | Yes | Yes. Under-25 exclusion optional | Yes |
| AA Insurance | AMI | AMP Everyday Online | ANZ | ASB | BNZ | NZI | State | Tower | Trade Me Insurance | Vero | Warehouse Money | Westpac | Youi | |
| Excess-free broken glass replacement | Optional | Optional | Optional | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Optional | Optional | Optional | Yes | Optional | Yes | No |
| Roadside assistance | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional | Yes | Optional | Optional | Optional | Yes | Optional | Optional | Yes |
| Rental car hire following loss covered by policy | Optional | Optional | Yes after theft. Cover for hire after other losses optional |
No | No | No | Yes | Optional | Yes | Optional | No | Yes after theft. Cover for hire after other losses optional |
Yes | Yes after theft. Cover for hire after accident optional |
| Medical costs - max. amount paid | No | Optional | No | $1,000 for you and your immediate family | $500 for you and your partner | $500 for you and your passengers | $500 for you, your partner and family | $500 for you and your partner | No | No | $200 for you, your partner and family | No | $500 for you, your partner and children | No |
| Accidental death or permanent disability | No | Optional | No | Death: $5,000 Loss of hand, foot, eye: $2,500 Covers you and your immediate family |
Death: $10,000 Loss of hand, foot, eye: $5,000 Covers you and your partner |
Death: $10,000 Loss of hand, foot, eye: $5,000 Covers you, your partner and family |
Death: $10,000 Loss of hand, foot, eye: $2,500 Covers you, your partner and family |
Death: $2,000 Loss of hand, foot, eye: $1,000 Covers you and your partner |
Death: $5,000 Covers you and your partner |
No | Death: $5,000 Loss of hand, foot, eye: $2,500 Covers you, your partner and family |
No | Death: $10,000 Covers you and your partner (max $5,000 each) |
No |
| Remediation following meth contamination | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
It is important to remember the different pricing and policy structures used by various companies make it impossible to exactly compare like for like when shopping for car insurance.
This study should therefore only be interpreted for what it is - an exercise to shed light on the insurance market and provide some insight as to how different policies may differ in price and quality.
Also note premiums may differ substantially over time and if different profiles are used. What is covered by an insurance policy is also subject to change.
Interest.co.nz did a similar study in January 2016. Click here to see it.
We wrote about how premiums increased between studies here
6 Comments
Has anyone had any experience with Trade me insurance (underwrite by Tower) they are less than the usuals
Have just bought a policy with them, more detail about their quotes can be found on https://www.moneyhub.co.nz/car-insurance.html and also in some geekzone threads. Their lowest excess is $500 but the policy saved about $300 on what I was paying - so far, so good, if I claim they pay but Tower is in the fineprint. Good luck!
It would be good to see a 2020 version, with https://www.coveinsurance.co.nz/car-insurance/ and perhaps Autosure too.
I suggest you look at https://www.moneyhub.co.nz/ami-vs-aa-vs-cove-vs-state-vs-tower-vs-trade… which includes Cove.
Would love to see an updated version of this, perhaps one also include insurance comparisons on car leasing and business vehicle fleet management.
Would love to see a 2022 update with Cove, Initio, etc. Prices have been fluctuating a lot recently and with a new new brands on the scene it'll be interesting to see who places where in terms of affordability.