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Insurance can help alleviate the financial and emotional stress associated with the loss of assets. Canstar reviews NZI's levels of cover.

What's on offer from NZI insurance?

NZI offers separate home and contents policies. Both types of insurance are available at four different levels of cover, at different price points:

  • Distinction
  • Echelon
  • Essence
  • Houseowners

What’s on offer from NZI's home insurance?

Here's what NZI offers across its four cover levels:

Distinction

Distinction home insurance is NZI's premium insurance policy. While it is the most expensive option, it offers peace of mind in knowing that your home has the highest level of protection. This policy includes:

  • Complete home repair or replacement if your home is damaged in an event (excluding natural disasters)
  • Alternative accommodation for up to 12 months if your home becomes uninhabitable
  • Zero excess for glass breakage (e.g. windows, doors or screens)
  • Lifestyle block fencing is covered up to $10,000 in the event of a sudden and accidental loss
  • Up to $25,000 to upgrade a new build with sustainable products
  • In the event of a damaged bathroom suite item, kitchen suite item or carpet, extra costs may be covered to replace undamaged parts of that suite or carpet if a matching replacement can't be found.

Echelon

Echelon home insurance is NZI's most popular home insurance policy. It will give you the confidence to know you're covered up to a maximum specified amount should something happen to your home. This policy includes:

  • Alternative accommodation for up to 12 months if your home becomes uninhabitable
  • Up to $3000 per year for hidden gradual damage
  • Replacement of locks and keys if they are damaged, lost, stolen or duplicated without your consent
  • Up to $2500 to restore or reconstruct the garden or lawn  within the residential boundaries
  • Up to 12 months payment for lost rent in the event of a loss or contamination damage to the home (including methamphetamine contamination)
  • Legal liability cover for accidental loss to another's property or bodily injury to anyone else (caused by or through your ownership of the home or landlord's contents)

Optional benefits

You may choose to purchase the following optional benefit:

  • Landlord's protection. Covers sudden and accidental loss of the landlord's contents and loss of rent

Essence

Essence home insurance is NZI's most affordable home insurance policy. It offers protection up to a maximum specified amount for your home. This policy includes:

  • Alternative accommodation for up to 12 months if your home becomes uninhabitable
  • Up to $5000 in the event of sudden and accidental damage to the landlord's home fixtures or fittings
  • Up to 12 months payment for lost rent in the event of a loss or contamination damage to the home (including methamphetamine contamination)
  • Up to $10,000 in the event of sudden and accidental damage to any new structure being built within the specified home area
  • Cover for financial loss after you have entered into a contract to sell the home

Houseowners

Provides cover for certain specified events and offers both replacement value and present value options for your house, up to a specified amount. This policy includes:

  • Alternative accommodation for up to 12 months if your home becomes uninhabitable
  • Cover for sudden and accidental loss of glass due to damage  (windows, doors or screens)
  • Up to 12 months payment for lost rent in the event of a loss or contamination damage to the home (including methamphetamine contamination)
  • Cover for financial loss after you have entered into a contract to sell the home

What’s on offer from NZI's contents insurance?

Here's what NZI offers across its four cover levels:

Distinction

Distinction contents insurance is NZI's premium contents insurance policy. It offers high levels of cover for your valuables like jewellery, art and collectibles. This policy includes:

  • $1 million in contents cover
  • Cover for multiple items of jewellery up to $100,000
  • Overseas travel cover for personal effects
  • $5000 cover for identity theft
  • Art cover, for works at home or in your place of work
  • Contents in transit/storage cover
  • Lifestyle block and tools of trade cover up to $10,000
  • Cover for family members away at school/university

Echelon

Echelon contents insurance covers repairs or replacements for most contents. This policy includes:

  • Cover for multiple items of jewellery up to $15,000
  • Cover for contents in storage and/or transit
  • Up to $10,000 for the loss of home office furniture
  • Cover for family members away at school/university

Essence

Essence contents insurance an affordable contents insurance option from NZI. This policy includes:

  • Cover for multiple items of jewellery up to $10,000
  • Cover for contents in storage and/or transit
  • Cover for family members away at school/university

Householders

Householders contents insurance is a basic level of contents insurance that provides limited cover for certain specified events. It is ideal where only limited coverage is needed.

About NZI

Founded in Auckland in 1859, NZI is one of the country's oldest insurance brands. It was one of the underwriters of the Titanic. Since 2003, it has been part of IAG.

This is only a summary of key benefits. Application for cover is subject to underwriting acceptance. For full details, exclusions and limitations, please refer to the NZI website.

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.