Insurance
6 min read
How much you pay for house insurance (the premium) depends on where you own a house.
| Location | Annual average house insurance | Monthly |
| National | $2,949 | $246 |
| Auckland | $2,063 | $172 |
| Canterbury | $2,903 | $242 |
| Wellington | $4,738 | $395 |
Based on Quashed Index data from Q1 2026, the average cost of house insurance in New Zealand is $2,949 a year, or $246 a month.
Wellington is the most expensive of the main centres, while Auckland is the cheapest.
Of course, some house insurance will cost more (or less) than these figures. And the numbers will change over time.
This is why you should work with an insurance adviser to get the most up-to-date information.
In this article, you’ll learn what house insurance is and how much it typically costs. You'll also find out why it’s more expensive to get house insurance in Wellington than in Auckland.
We interviewed Simon Yarrell from Axico to help inform this article.
Let’s say an investor buys a townhouse in Auckland to use as a rental property.
If the property is insured for $500,000, the house insurance premiums might be between $2,000 – $2,288 a year.
Now, if the same investor bought an identical property in Christchurch, they’d likely pay between $2,778 – $2,891.
Though insurance costs in Auckland and Christchurch have become much closer in recent years. That's according to Quashed, an insurance comparison website.
But if they bought in Wellington, the insurance bill could be closer to $3,800 – $4,394 a year. So, roughly $1,000 more.
That often surprises investors. Many people assume that Christchurch houses are more expensive to insure due to earthquakes.
Historically, that was true. Christchurch premiums rose sharply after the Canterbury earthquakes. Insurers started pricing in the higher seismic risk.
But Auckland’s major flooding events in 2023 have pushed premiums higher there too, narrowing the gap between the two cities.
Wellington and Lower Hutt tend to have some of the highest insurance costs in the country. That's because insurers are pricing in both flood and earthquake risk.
Lower Hutt, in particular, sits close to major fault lines and also faces significant flood exposure.
These are some of the factors that make it cheaper (or more expensive) to insure your house:
| Less expensive | More expensive |
Standalone property Locations far from sea and waterways New Build Owner-occupier home | Terraced townhouses Located on earthquake-prone land, near waterways Older property Rental property |
For example, standalone houses tend to have cheaper insurance.
Townhouses and units are often slightly more expensive to insure.
Why? If there is a fire, there is a higher risk of it spreading to attached buildings. If a standalone property catches fire, it’s less likely to spread next door.
That said, an older existing home (standalone or not) will often be more expensive to insure.
This is because the wiring and pipework are older and may not be up to modern standards.
Additionally, rental properties cost more to insure. That’s because rentals tend to attract more claims. Tenants can be more careless and not treat the home like their own.
On top of that, things like meth contamination and malicious damage can make insurance claims more likely.
Just keep in mind that some of these claims come under landlord insurance. That is often an additional charge on top of regular house insurance.
This makes the overall premiums more expensive.
If you want to keep your premiums on the lower side, there are things you can do.
When you make an insurance claim, there is often an excess. That’s the amount you have to pay before the insurance company starts paying out.
So, let’s say you have a $500 excess in your insurance policy. Effectively, that means you can’t make a claim for anything that costs less than $500.
If you had an approved claim and the bill was $750. Then you’d pay the first $500, and the insurance company would pay the balance ($250).
A bigger excess (e.g. $2,000) means you take on more risk and typically make fewer claims. This lowers the risk for the insurer, and the lower the risk, the cheaper your insurance.
Industry experts say that investors are choosing higher excesses to keep a lid on their premiums. Why? The higher the excess, the lower the premiums.
However, that does mean that investors need to accept that this comes at a cost. Because if something goes wrong, you’re more on the hook.
Your sum insured is how much you get paid if your house is severely damaged.
Effectively, it’s the cost to rebuild your house, plus GST.
Some investors find that they have insured their house for more than they need to.
If that’s the case, then it may make sense to insure your house for less. That will also lower your premiums.
But, don’t do this willy-nilly. This is a big deal. You don’t want your house to burn down, then discover you can’t rebuild because you didn’t insure it for enough.
So you must understand the risks and discuss them with an insurance adviser before you make changes.
As a rough guide, the typical sum insured for a standard 3-bedroom house in NZ is between $300,000 and $500,000.
Though the exact amount depends on the size, location, and construction type.
You can use the Cordell Sum Sure Calculator to get a more accurate figure for your property.
There are two types of insurers:
Direct insurers include brands like State, AMI, Tower, and AA.
Their pricing is often within $500 to $1,000 of each other.
Indirect insurers include companies like Vero and NZI. This is where there can be more of a difference. Industry experts tell us that NZI can be more expensive, but Vero is typically competitively priced with direct insurers.
But because you’re working with an adviser, they will help choose an insurer and policy that works for you.
I often find it useful to talk to an insurance adviser. They can get insurance that fits you. They’ll look at multiple insurance companies to see which one will suit you.
So, you’ll probably get a more informed deal if you go with an adviser.
Insurance policies chop and change, depending on who you go with, and an adviser can explain these differences and changes.
Sometimes you might assume you’re covered for something, but it might not be written in the fine print. Then, when it comes to a claim, you realise you’re not getting a payout.
Insurance advisers are usually paid by commission from the insurers they work with, so they typically don’t charge you a direct fee.
A good adviser can help compare policies and explain the differences in cover.
Licensee (Eligible Officer) and Team Leader for Opes Property
Brittany graduated from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Property and later became a qualified financial adviser. She's now the licensee (eligible officer) and team leader for Opes Property.
This article is for your general information. It’s not financial advice. See here for details about our Financial Advice Provider Disclosure. So Opes isn’t telling you what to do with your own money.
We’ve made every effort to make sure the information is accurate. But we occasionally get the odd fact wrong. Make sure you do your own research or talk to a financial adviser before making any investment decisions.
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