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On Contents Insurance

How to find cheaper contents insurance in 2026

1. 1

   Compare at least five different contents insurance providers.

   This increases your chances of finding a better cover and a better deal.

2. 2

   Use up-to-date information (use the Instant Contents Insurance Calculator).

   Your sum insured value, address information and details impact your premiums.

3. 3

   Pick the right payment option, excess level and add-ons for you.

   Paying yearly, increasing your excess and reducing add-ons will save you money.

More ways to save on contents insurance

How much does contents insurance cost in NZ?

Based on Q2 2026 Quashed Index data, the average contents insurance premium in New Zealand is $860 a year — about $72 a month.²

• $860National average, per year
• $72Roughly, per month
• +14%Over three years (+$105)
• $793Auckland average

Average premium by region

Averages are a starting point, not a quote. What you actually pay turns mostly on your sum insured and your excess — the table below shows how much those two levers move the price.

How much contents insurance do you need?

Almost everyone underestimates this. The question is not what your belongings would sell for second-hand — it is what it would cost to buy them all again, new, at today’s prices.

The quickest honest way to find out is to go room by room rather than guessing a round number. Most people who do this for the first time land somewhere well above the figure they had in mind.

1. 1

   Walk through room by room

   Open the wardrobes and the drawers. Clothes, linen and kitchenware add up to far more than people expect.

2. 2

   Price replacements, not resale

   A five-year-old TV is worth little second-hand, but replacing it means paying today’s retail price.

3. 3

   List anything over the single-item limit

   Jewellery, cameras, bikes, instruments and art usually need specifying individually to be fully covered.

4. 4

   Review it when things change

   Moving, renovating or a big purchase all change the number. A sum insured set years ago is probably wrong.

What drives the price of contents insurance

Insurers weigh these differently, which is exactly why the same household gets very different quotes from different insurers.

• Your sum insured

  The single biggest lever. Cover for $125,000 of contents costs roughly double cover for $25,000, because the insurer is on the hook for more.

• Your excess

  The amount you pay towards a claim. Lifting it reduces your premium, but only choose an excess you could actually pay on the day.

• Where you live

  Burglary rates, flood and weather risk all vary by street, not just by city. Two neighbours can be quoted differently.

• Whether you own or rent

  Renters usually insure less, and some insurers price flatting and shared households differently from a single household.

• Your claims history

  Recent contents claims raise your premium with most insurers. A long claim-free run is worth telling a new insurer about.

• Security at home

  Deadlocks, alarms and being occupied during the day can all reduce the price with some insurers, and change nothing with others.

• Your profile

  Age and gender feed into how insurers price a contents policy, the same way they do for car cover.

Renting vs owning: what changes

This is the split that matters most for contents, and the one most likely to be misunderstood.

Top 5 reasons to use Quashed for contents insurance

1. 1

   The most comprehensive contents insurance comparison in NZ

   Compare and shop across the widest range of contents insurance providers available on one platform.

2. 2

   Compare your current contents insurance policy

   The only platform that lets you upload or select your existing provider to see what you could save, and to compare policy benefits side by side.

3. 3

   Accurate pricing and up-to-date cover comparison

   Market Scan pulls real-time pricing directly from providers, and our policy comparison data is checked and updated quarterly.

4. 4

   More than 100,000 consumers have used Quashed

   Market Scan has been helping Kiwis compare and save on contents insurance since April 2021.

5. 5

   Backed by Icehouse Ventures, Turners Automotive Group and NZGCP

   Quashed counts Icehouse Ventures, Turners Automotive Group and the NZ government venture fund NZ Growth Capital Partners among its investors.

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Five ways to pay less for contents insurance

1. 1

   Compare before every renewal

   Renewal offers are not benchmarked against the market. Comparing is the single most effective thing you can do.

2. 2

   Get your sum insured right

   Guessing high wastes money every year; guessing low means a shortfall exactly when you need the money.

3. 3

   Choose an excess you can afford

   Raising your excess lowers the premium — but the saving is only real if you could pay the excess without borrowing.

4. 4

   Install security measures

   Deadlocks, alarms and monitored systems reduce the price with some insurers and are worth declaring.

5. 5

   Specify valuables

   Specifying an item costs a little more but is the only way it is covered for its real value.

Compare contents insurance

What you need to get a quote

Comparing contents insurance takes about 90 seconds. Have these to hand:

• Your address, and whether you own or rent
• A rough total value of your contents (the calculator above does this)
• Any high-value items you want covered individually
• Your preferred excess
• Any contents claims in the last few years
• What security you have — deadlocks, alarms, cameras

How Market Scan works

1. 1

   Tell us about your household

   Where you live, whether you own or rent, and roughly what your contents are worth. It takes about 90 seconds.

2. 2

   We quote the market in real time

   Market Scan requests live quotes from our participating insurers rather than showing you a static table of prices.

3. 3

   Compare price and cover side by side

   You see what each policy costs and what it actually includes, so a cheap price with a large exclusion is visible.

4. 4

   Buy online or keep your current policy

   If nothing beats what you have, that is a useful answer too. There is no cost either way.

Start your free Market Scan

Do you need contents insurance?

Contents insurance is not compulsory in New Zealand. No law requires it, and unlike house insurance with a mortgage, no lender insists on it. It is entirely your call.

The useful question is a different one: if everything you own disappeared tonight, could you replace it out of savings? For most households the honest answer is no, and that gap is what the policy is for.

What contents insurance covers

Cover varies by insurer and policy. This is what a typical New Zealand contents policy includes — always read the wording rather than assuming.

• Fire, smoke and explosion

  Including damage from putting a fire out.

• Burglary and theft

  Usually requiring forced entry. Theft by someone you invited in is often treated differently.

• Storm, flood and natural disaster

  Contents damaged by weather or an earthquake, subject to your policy wording and any natural-disaster excess.

• Accidental damage

  Dropping a TV, spilling paint on a carpet. Often optional rather than included — check before you assume.

• Items away from home

  Many policies cover belongings you take out with you, sometimes overseas, usually up to a sub-limit.

• Temporary accommodation

  If your home becomes unliveable, some contents policies contribute towards somewhere to stay.

What contents insurance does not cover

Exclusions are where claims get declined. These are the ones that catch people out most often.

• Wear and tear

  Insurance covers sudden and accidental loss, not a couch that has simply aged or a phone battery that has degraded.

• Items over the single-item limit

  Most policies cap any one unspecified item — often around $2,000 to $5,000. A $9,000 ring is not fully covered unless you specify it.

• Anything part of the building

  Fitted kitchens, built-in wardrobes and fixed floor coverings are house insurance, not contents.

• Business stock and equipment

  Trading from home usually needs a business policy. A personal contents policy will not cover stock.

• Deliberate damage

  Damage caused intentionally by you or anyone living with you is excluded by every insurer.

• Vehicles and their parts

  Cars, motorbikes and their accessories belong on a vehicle policy, though bikes and trailers may be covered.

How your excess changes the price

Your excess is what you pay towards a claim. Raising it lowers your premium — often substantially.

The trade-off is real, though. A high excess only saves you money if you could actually pay it on the day something happens. Choose the figure you could hand over without borrowing, then compare at that level.

Sum insured, and what happens if it is wrong

Your sum insured is the most your insurer will pay for a total loss. Getting it wrong costs you in both directions.

Jewellery, bikes and other high-value items

Most policies cap what they will pay for any single item you have not specifically listed — commonly somewhere between $2,000 and $5,000.

That limit applies per item, so an engagement ring, a road bike or a camera body worth more than the cap is only partly covered unless you specify it. Specifying costs a little more in premium and usually needs a valuation or a receipt, but it is the only way the item is covered for what it is actually worth.

How much can you save on contents insurance?

In Q2 2026, 7 in 10 Quashed users who compared contents insurance found a cheaper policy, saving an average of $296 a year.¹

The same contents, very different quotes

Across every comparison we run, the gap between the highest and lowest quote for the same contents and household averages $599 — about 97% of the cheapest premium³.

There is no single cheapest contents insurer in New Zealand. The insurer that wins for one household routinely loses for the next, which is why comparing your own profile is the only way to know.

See the full Quashed Insurance Index

The average hides how wide the spread gets on an individual household. Here is one profile priced across every insurer that quoted it, on the same day:

For this household the dearest quote ($1,251) was more than double the cheapest ($557) — a difference of $694 a year for the same sum insured and the same excess. Point-in-time quotes for this profile only; your own will differ.

The size of the gap varies a lot by household, which is the argument for comparing rather than assuming. These two examples were pulled on different profiles, and in both the dearest quote came in at roughly double the cheapest:

Quotes are point-in-time examples for the profiles described, not a ranking and not a prediction of your own price. Insurers are listed alphabetically.

Switching contents insurers

You can switch at renewal or mid-policy. Most insurers refund the unused portion of your premium, though some charge a cancellation fee.

1. 1

   Compare before you cancel

   Get the new quotes first, so you are deciding between real options rather than hoping.

2. 2

   Match the cover, not just the price

   A cheaper premium with a lower sum insured or a bigger excess is not the same policy.

3. 3

   Start the new policy before ending the old one

   Overlap by a day rather than risking a gap where you are uninsured.

4. 4

   Tell the old insurer in writing

   Confirm the cancellation date and ask about any refund or fee, so nothing keeps auto-renewing.

Making a contents insurance claim

1. 1

   Make everyone safe first

   If there has been a fire, a break-in or a flood, deal with people and safety before anything to do with the policy.

2. 2

   Report theft to the Police

   Burglary and theft claims need a Police event number. Insurers will ask for it.

3. 3

   Photograph everything before you tidy

   Damage evidence disappears the moment you clean up. Photograph the scene and the damaged items first.

4. 4

   Contact your insurer promptly

   Most policies require you to notify them as soon as reasonably possible. Do it before arranging repairs or replacements.

5. 5

   Find whatever proof you have

   Receipts, bank statements, photos of the item in your home, the original box. Any of it helps.

6. 6

   Keep damaged items until told otherwise

   Insurers may want to inspect them. Throwing something away can complicate the claim.

Contents insurance guides

• Contents insurance guide
• How to compare contents insurance
• Finding the cheapest and best cover
• How to save money on contents insurance
• Picking your sum insured and excess
• Auckland contents insurance
• Wellington contents insurance
• Christchurch contents insurance
• How much does contents insurance cost?
• Is contents insurance worth it for renters?
• Contents insurance for students
• Setting your sum insured
• Insuring valuable items
• Contents insurance tips for seniors

Contents insurance FAQs

How much does contents insurance cost in NZ?

Based on Q2 2026 Quashed Index data, the average contents insurance premium in New Zealand is $860 a year, or about $72 a month. What you pay depends most on your sum insured, your excess and where you live.

How much contents insurance do I need?

Enough to replace everything you own, which is almost always more than people expect. Work through room by room rather than guessing a round number — the calculator on this page totals it for you.

Is contents insurance worth it if I rent?

Your landlord insures the building, not your belongings. If a fire or burglary took everything in your room, nothing on the landlord policy replaces it. Renters typically insure less than owners, so premiums are usually lower too.

What is the difference between contents and house insurance?

House insurance covers the building and anything fixed to it. Contents insurance covers what you would take with you if you moved out. Fitted kitchens and built-in wardrobes are house; furniture, clothes and electronics are contents.

Is contents insurance compulsory in New Zealand?

No. Contents insurance is not required by law, and no lender requires it the way a mortgage requires house insurance. It is entirely your choice.

What is a sum insured?

The maximum your insurer will pay for a total loss. Set it too low and you carry the shortfall yourself; set it too high and you pay for cover you can never claim.

Does contents insurance cover my belongings outside the home?

Often yes, up to a limit, and sometimes overseas. It varies enough between insurers that it is worth checking if you travel or carry a laptop to work.

Do I need to specify jewellery and other valuables?

Usually. Most policies cap any single unspecified item at somewhere between $2,000 and $5,000. Anything worth more than that limit needs listing individually to be covered for its full value.

How much can I save by comparing contents insurance?

In Q2 2026, Quashed users who compared contents insurance found average savings of $296 a year. The gap between the cheapest and most expensive quote for the same cover can be several hundred dollars.

Will raising my excess lower my premium?

Yes, usually significantly. The trade-off is that you pay more towards any claim, so only raise it to a figure you could genuinely pay on the day something happens.

Can I switch contents insurers mid-policy?

Yes. Most insurers refund the unused portion of your premium, though some charge a cancellation fee. Arrange the new policy to start before cancelling the old one so you are never uninsured.

Does Quashed charge for comparing contents insurance?

No. Market Scan is free, runs entirely online with no phone calls, and you pay the insurer exactly what you would pay going direct.

Compare contents insurance

Compare your other cover

• Car
• House
• Life
• Health

Reviewed July 2026 by James, Quashed. Figures are refreshed each quarter when the Quashed Insurance Index publishes.

Sources

1. Savings figures are from the Q2 2026 Quashed Insurance Index, based on quoted premiums via Market Scan (more than 7,000 quotes). They describe what users found when comparing, not what every household pays.
2. Average premiums are quoted premiums via Market Scan for the 1 Apr – 30 Jun 2026 period, Updated quarterly. They are not a record of what New Zealanders actually pay their insurers.