Insurance is a hot topic in New Zealand, with premiums climbing quickly and putting financial pressure on households amid rising inflation. As premiums for car, house, and contents insurance continue to rise, many Kiwis are looking for better ways to compare their options.
In this guide, we’ll help you compare two popular resources—MoneyHub NZ and Quashed—to explore and shop for insurance. Whether you're aiming to save money or better understand your options, keep reading to find out more.
First, is it worth shopping and comparing insurance?
Is shopping around for insurance worth it? 100%! Insurance premiums have climbed over the last couple of years, and the price gap between the cheapest and most expensive policies might surprise you
Check out this data from Quashed, showing the average difference between the lowest and highest premiums from Q4 2022 to Q4 2024
Difference between low and high | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
Contents insurance | $439 | $412 | $463 |
Car insurance | $395 | $692 | $714 |
House insurance | $859 | $1,112 | $1,097 |
Source: Quashed. Based on available market data. Note: Actual costs will vary depending on the insurer, policy coverage, excess levels, and individual risk factors such as age, location, and driving history."
What does this mean for you?
In 2024, the difference between the cheapest and most expensive house insurance was a hefty $1,097. Even for car insurance, the $714 gap is money that could stay in your pocket. With numbers like these, comparing your options could be well worth it.
Online resources are available to shop and compare insurance
There are a few resources in New Zealand that can help when it comes to insurance.
Insurance companies
One way to compare insurance is by visiting individual insurer websites like AA Insurance, AMI, State, and Tower for car, house, and contents insurance, or AIA, Partners Life, and Southern Cross for life and health insurance.
If you choose this route, consider checking out lesser-known insurers like AMP, Cove, Initio, Protecta, and Pinnacle Life. These providers offer competitive pricing and policies, often without the heavy marketing budgets of bigger insurers.
The downside of comparing insurance directly on insurer websites is that it’s time-consuming and challenging. We estimate it would take a consumer anywhere from 30 minutes to hours to enter their information into multiple insurance companies’ websites to get quotes and then to understand the difference in policy benefits across insurers.
Premiums are easy to compare, but policy coverage can be complex and time-consuming. So how can you make comparing insurers easier? Read on.
Insurance comparison websites
Instead of visiting multiple insurer websites, Kiwis can use well-known insurance comparison platforms like MoneyHub and Quashed to save time. One of the well-known websites in New Zealand is MoneyHub and the other is Quashed.
Read on to find out more about how MoneyHub and Quashed are making it easy for Kiwis to shop and compare insurance in New Zealand and what the various benefits and differences are between these two websites when it comes to insurance comparison.
MoneyHub
MoneyHub is an online website that provides resources and information that tackles topics from job hunting through to finding broadband, power and as you’ve guessed - insurance.
As stated on their website, “MoneyHub is a New Zealand consumer website, dedicated to money saving via in-depth journalistic research and reporting as well as harvesting and presenting public information in an easy-to-follow manner. We believe that the average Kiwi can save money on their yearly expenses by following our guides.”
MoneyHub’s car insurance guide helps Kiwis compare and shop for car insurance. It starts with a summary of quotes from well-known providers like AA Insurance, AMI, State, Tower, and Trade Me Insurance, along with the lesser-known Cove.
The guide also explains key car insurance terms, including:
Excess
Agreed vs Market Value
Types of Cover: Comprehensive, Third Party, Fire & Theft, and Third Party Only
No Claims Bonus
While MoneyHub’s guide provides a general indication of insurance costs, it does not account for the many factors that influence premiums, such as:
Location
Vehicle type and age
Driver’s licence type
Age of the driver
Sum insured value
Excess selection
Because these factors significantly impact pricing, the guide may not provide an accurate reflection of how much it will actually cost for you to insure your vehicle or how your premiums compare across different insurers.
MoneyHub’s approach to car insurance comparison is similar to its other insurance guides, offering a broad overview rather than a personalised pricing tool.
Quashed
Quashed is an online platform designed to help New Zealanders explore, compare, and track all their insurance in one place. Its mission is to make insurance more accessible, transparent, and cost-effective for Kiwis.
How Does Quashed Work?
Quashed’s Market Scan feature enables Kiwis to compare insurance premiums across multiple providers in just minutes. The data is based on tens of thousands of quotes from 2024.
Customers enter their details once, and Quashed quickly retrieves multiple quotes from different insurers. This eliminates the time-consuming task of manually comparing policies and prices across multiple websites.
Key features of Quashed
All-in-one insurance dashboard: Users can store and view all their insurance policies in one place, regardless of the provider.
Document uploads for easy tracking: Policy documents can be uploaded, allowing the technology to extract key information and present it on a personalised dashboard.
Market scan for smarter savings: Kiwis can quickly check whether they are overpaying and discover better options.
Why does this matter?
More than 90% of Kiwis don’t know how much they’re paying for insurance across multiple policies or what they are covered for. Quashed simplifies this by providing a centralised view of all insurance details.
Market Scan helps Kiwis make informed decisions about their coverage, avoid overpaying, and potentially save on insurance.
MoneyHub insurance vs Quashed insurance
MoneyHub and Quashed both aim to make insurance simpler and more accessible for Kiwis. While they share similar goals, their approaches differ significantly.
If you’re looking for real-time insurance quotes for car, house, contents, or other policies, Quashed is the only platform that offers this through its unique Market Scan feature. Unlike MoneyHub, Quashed provides quotes based on your information in real-time, giving you prices that are tailored to you.
Quashed also makes managing your insurance easier with a secure, personalised dashboard. By logging in, you can store all your policies in one place and even set reminders to shop around each year. On the other hand, MoneyHub doesn’t require a login and focuses on a broader range of financial topics like KiwiSaver, mortgages, and credit cards, alongside insurance tips.
Here’s a quick comparison to help you decide:
MoneyHub.co.nz | ||
|---|---|---|
Insurance only focus | No | Yes |
Insurance savings tips | Yes | Yes |
Realtime quotes for general insurance | No | Yes |
Realtime quotes for life insurance | No | Yes |
Personalised insurance dashboard | No | Yes |
Sign-up required | No | Yes |
Free to use | Yes | Yes |
Both platforms offer valuable tools and resources for Kiwi consumers, but if saving time and getting quotes sounds good to you, Quashed is your go-to.
Shopping for insurance has never been easier with tools like Quashed at your fingertips. Why not give it a try today? With the potential savings, you could be funding your next holiday—or even your next car—just by switching to a better deal. It’s worth it, especially if you haven’t compared your insurance in a while!
Compare smarter with Quashed
Quashed gives you the power to compare providers, adjust your excess and sum insured, and manage your policies—all in one place.
It’s easy to use, hassle-free, and designed to help you make informed choices.
Use Market Scan to compare insurance providers quickly and easily.
Further reading
Check out these related articles to help you compare and choose insurance with confidence:
Compare Insurance in NZ: Tips to compare policies and find the right cover.
Average Insurance Costs in NZ: See how your premiums compare.
How to Compare House Insurance Quotes: Key factors to consider when choosing cover.
Key Considerations with Contents Insurance: Ways to find cost-effective coverage.
This article provides general information only and does not constitute insurance or financial advice. Insurance policies vary between providers, and you should check with your insurer or a licensed adviser for guidance specific to your situation. For full details, refer to Quashed’s terms and conditions.
