INSURANCE · NEW ZEALAND · 3 MIN READ
How much contents insurance do I need? A no-nonsense NZ guide
Work out your contents sum insured without guessing: the three ways to value your stuff, replacement vs indemnity explained, and what Kiwis always forget to count.
When you take out contents insurance, you're asked for a sum insured — the overall limit on covered contents. Most people accept the default figure or take a guess. Neither is great, because the default is an average and your house isn't average.
We won't tell you a number, because the honest answer depends entirely on what you own. What we can do is show you how to work it out yourself in under an hour.
The three ways to work it out
There's a fast way, a medium way, and the proper way. In short:
- The insurer's quick estimate. Answer a few questions about your rooms and occupants, get a figure. Takes five minutes; based on averages, not your stuff.
- The room-by-room estimate. Walk through your place and roughly price each room. Better, still a guess.
- The full inventory. List your belongings with values. This gives you an estimate based on what you own and a record you can refer to if you claim.
Our step-by-step calculation guide covers all three in detail, including a worked example.
Replacement vs indemnity: know which you've got
- Replacement (often "new for old") covers the cost of buying the equivalent item new today.
- Indemnity pays what the item was worth second-hand, allowing for age and wear.
Replacement value means today’s new-equivalent price. Indemnity value means today’s second-hand value. A policy can use both methods and apply separate limits to some items. Check your wording and schedule before choosing a sum insured.
Read the Insurance Council’s guide to replacement and indemnity cover
What people forget to count
The big ones: rugs and curtains (check which policy covers fixed carpet), the garage and its tools, pantry and freezer contents, phones and laptops, jewellery, kids' gear (it adds up alarmingly), and anything in the shed or roof space. A proper room-by-room checklist catches all of these.
Renters, this includes you
Your landlord's insurance covers the building, not your things. If you rent, contents cover is yours to arrange — and a rented flat is usually quick to inventory.
When to revisit
Check your sum insured once a year at renewal, and again after any big purchase, a renovation, or when the household grows. A sum insured set three years ago is a sum insured set at three-year-old prices.
Keep it in one place
Mynestvive keeps your inventory and values current, so your sum insured reflects your actual home rather than an average of someone else's. See current pricing.