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Car Insurer of the Year Award

2025 Insurer of the Year Award
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Car Insurance

Awarding State its second consecutive Car Insurer of the Year Award, our research team noted the insurance provider's competitive prices, its great comprehensive policy features and strong customer satisfaction score.

Across five of the six driver profiles assessed for our award, State earned top 5-Star Outstanding Value ratings.

State's generous comprehensive policy inclusions cover new-car replacement, accidental damage to windscreens and window glass, kids' car seats and towing.

Outstanding Value Car Insurance Awards

Our awards reveal the insurance providers that deliver the best levels of cover and value across their car policies. Winners are listed alphabetically:

2025 Outstanding Value Award
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Car Insurance

AA Insurance retained its Outstanding Value Award in 2025 due to a great set of ratings across all six driver profiles in our research:

AA's Outstanding Value Ratings:

  • Under-25 Female Driver – 4 Stars
  • Under-25 Male Driver – 4 Stars
  • 25-29 Driver – 5 Stars
  • 30-49 Driver – 5 Stars
  • 50+ Driver – 4 Stars
  • Family with Young Driver – 4 Stars
2025 Outstanding Value Award
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Car Insurance

AMI received a great set of top 5-Star ratings across all six driver profiles in our research:

AMI's Outstanding Value Ratings:

  • Under-25 Female Driver – 5 Stars
  • Under-25 Male Driver – 5 Stars
  • 25-29 Driver – 5 Stars
  • 30-49 Driver – 5 Stars
  • 50+ Driver – 5 Stars
  • Family with Young Driver – 4 Stars
2025 Outstanding Value Award
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Car Insurance

FMG received top 5-Star ratings across five out of six of the driver profiles in our research:

FMG's Outstanding Value Ratings:

  • Under 25-Female Driver – 4 Stars
  • Under 25-Male Driver – 5 Stars
  • 25-29 Driver – 5 Stars
  • 30-49 Driver – 5 Stars
  • 50+ Driver – 5 Stars
  • Family with Young Driver – 5 Stars
2025 Outstanding Value Award
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Car Insurance

State's Car Insurer of the Year Award is based on five 5-Star Outstanding Value ratings across our six driver profiles:

State's Outstanding Value Ratings:

  • Under-25 Female Driver – 5 Stars
  • Under-25 Male Driver – 5 Stars
  • 25-29 Driver – 5 Stars
  • 30-49 Driver – 5 Stars
  • 50+ Driver – 5 Stars
  • Family with Young Driver – 4 Stars

Car Insurance Awards Methodology

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What are Canstar’s Car Insurance Awards?

Canstar's Insurer of the Year Award is based on its Outstanding Value Car Insurance Awards and Star Ratings, which utilise a sophisticated and unique ratings methodology that compares both costs and features across insurance policies.

The Insurer of the Year Award also factors in consumer satisfaction, measured across six key metrics: Communication, Comprehensiveness of Cover, Cost, Customer Service, Ease of Claim and Value for money.

Canstar's Outstanding Value Awards recognise the insurers that provides their customers outstanding levels of cover and value for money.


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Which insurers do we survey for our ratings?

Our award research encompasses 12 insurance providers: AA Insurance, AMI, AMP, ANZ, Assurant, Cove, FMG, MAS, State, Tower, Trade Me Insurance, Westpac.

Policies are assessed across six consumer profiles: Under-25 Female, Under-25 Male, Driver 25-29, Driver 30-49, Driver 50+, Family with Young Driver.

For comparison purposes we select six different car makes and models to represent each profile, two cars being new, two cars being five years old and two being ten years old. For quoting purposes, 30 addresses are used across the country.

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How do we determine the award winners?

Each car insurance product reviewed is awarded points for its comparative pricing and for the array of features attached to the product.

The Insurer of the Year Award is presented to the insurer that provides its customers the strongest combination of performance in the Outstanding Value Car Insurance Awards, as well as customer satisfaction.


Full methodology

Numbers Crunched

12Insurance providers rated
6Driver profiles analysed
5Outstanding Value Award winners
1Car Insurer of the Year Award winner

Most Satisfied Customers Car Insurance Award

Canstar's Most Satisfied Customers Car Insurance Award is based on feedback from Kiwi insurance policy holders.

2026 Most Satisfied Customers Award
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Seniors Car & Home Insurance

FMG is the winner of Canstar's Most Satisfied Customers Seniors Car & Home Insurance Award.

The award research covers 2711 Kiwis aged 50+ who had either car or home & contents insurance.

Six brands were eligible for our award, listed here in order of our research ranking: FMG, AA Insurance, State, AMI, Tower, Vero.

And each was assessed across the following five categories:

  • Communication
  • Comprehensiveness of cover
  • Cost
  • Customer service
  • Value for money

In awarding FMG its award, our research panel noted that FMG won in part due to its market-leading levels of customer service.

2026 Most Satisfied Customers Award
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Car Insurance

This year, we canvassed the opinions of 3127 Kiwis who had car insurance with 13 of the biggest insurance brands in the market, listed here in order of our research ranking: MAS, Trade Me Insurance, FMG, State, AA Insurance, Cove, AMI, BNZ, NZI, ASB, Westpac, Tower, Vero.

MAS's award win is based on an amazing result: MAS's customers scored the insurer the maximum possible scores across each of our award categories except Cost, for which it still rated above the competition, setting the insurer well above all other eligible brands in our research:

  • Communication
  • Comprehensiveness of Cover
  • Cost
  • Customer Service
  • Value for Money

It's worth noting that MAS is also the winner of our Most Satisfied Customers Home Insurance Award.

2026 Most Satisfied Customers Award
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Car Insurance Claims

This year's award research covers 809 Kiwis who had made recent claims on their car insurance policies.

The brands eligible for our award are listed here in order of our award ranking: State, AA Insurance, AMI, Tower, Vero.

Each was assessed across the following six categories:

  • Communication
  • Ease of claim
  • Process
  • Quality of repairs
  • Speed of response
  • Timeliness of repair/replacement

State's award win is based on a great set of results: its customers scored the insurer the maximum possible scores across all six award categories, placing the insurer well above the other eligible brands in our research.


Most Satisfied Customers Car Insurance Award Methodology

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What is Canstar's Most Satisfied Customers Car Insurance Award?

Our Most Satisfied Customers Car Insurance Awards recognise the brands rate highest for the things that matter most to customers, based on overall satisfaction. The awards are based on consumer feedback from Kiwi drivers across the country.

For this year's award, we asked a total of 3127 Kiwis with car insurance to rate their insurance companies.


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Which insurers did we survey for our ratings?

Our award research encompasses 13 insurance providers:

  • AA Insurance
  • AMI
  • ANZ
  • ASB
  • BNZ
  • Cove
  • FMG
  • MAS
  • NZI
  • State
  • Tower
  • Trade Me Insurance
  • Vero
  • Westpac
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What are the main drivers of satisfaction?

When scoring their car insurance providers, the consumers in our research cite Customer Service as the most important factor for delivering satisfaction, closely followed by Comprehensiveness of Cover and Value for Money:

Most Satisfied Customers Car Insurance:

  • Customer Service: 27%
  • Comprehensiveness of Cover: 22%
  • Value for Money: 22%
  • Communication: 16%
  • Cost: 13%

Most Satisfied Roadside Assistance

When you breakdown and need help, you need it quickly, so it's no surprise that Roadside Response Speed is the biggest driver of customer satisfaction in our roadside assistance award:

  • Roadside Response Speed: 27%
  • Comprehensiveness of Cover: 19%
  • Communication: 15%
  • Customer Service: 15%
  • Value for Money: 15%
  • Cost: 9%

Most Satisfied Car Insurance Claims

And when you're making a claim on your car insurance, you expect a smooth, speedy process with clear communication, which is reflected in the top three drivers of satisfaction by the respondents in our claims award:

  • Process: 28%
  • Communication: 24%
  • Speed of response: 21%
  • Quality of repairs: 14%
  • Ease of claim: 9%
  • Timeliness of repair/replacement: 4%


Full methodology

Numbers Crunched

3127Policy holders surveyed
13Insurance providers assessed
11Categories rated
4Award winners

About Canstar's Car Insurance Awards

Canstar's car insurance awards and expert ratings reveal the insurance companies that offer the best products and services designed to meet the needs of Kiwi insurance customers.

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FAQs about Canstar's car insurance awards

As Canstar's Group Manager, Research & Ratings, Josh Sale is responsible for the methodology behind Canstar's diverse suite of Star Ratings and Awards and leads the teams that deliver them. With a background in economics and finance and a Master's in data science, Josh has spent the past ten years building ratings that help connect consumers with the right product for them.
Josh is passionate about helping consumers get hands-on with their finances. Josh has been interviewed by media outlets such as the Australian Financial Review, news.com.au and Money Magazine.
You can follow Josh on LinkedIn, and Canstar on X and Facebook.


Bruce Pitchers is Canstar's NZ Editor. An experienced finance reporter, he has three decades’ experience as a journalist and has worked for major media companies in Australia, the UK and NZ, including ACP, Are Media, Bauer Media Group, Fairfax, Pacific Magazines, News Corp and TVNZ. As a freelancer, he has worked for The Australian Financial Review, the NZ Financial Markets Authority and major banks and investment companies on both sides of the Tasman.
In his role at Canstar, he has been a regular commentator in the NZ media, including on the DrivenStuff and One Roof websites, the NZ Herald, Radio NZ, and Newstalk ZB.
Away from Canstar, Bruce creates puzzles for magazines including Woman’s Day and New Idea. He is also the co-author of the murder-mystery puzzle book 5 Minute Murder.


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