Comprehensive car insurance comparison 2018

How do car insurance premiums and quality of cover differ between insurance providers?

Interest.co.nz conducted a case study in January 2018 to find out.

We created eight profiles and got comprehensive car insurance quotes from the major brands for these.

We then analysed our results in this story. 

In the study we assumed the insured:

• Has selected a $500 excess
• Wants under 25s to be covered
• Is a female
• Lives at 206 Jervois Road, Herne Bay, Auckland (interest.co.nz's office)
• Doesn’t use their vehicle for business purposes
• Has had their licence since they were 16
• Hasn’t experienced any car-related incidents, thefts, loss, etc
• Has a clean driving history
• Doesn’t have any money owing on the vehicle
• Hasn’t modified their vehicle

Click on the table below to see the results. 

Any deviations from the set profile have been listed in the assumptions column.

We then summarised what each policy covers. Click on the table below for a summary of this. 

Note that to keep things easy to read, the table doesn’t include all the benefits, caveats and exclusions of different policies. For more information on this, click on the links in the table to see various policy documents.

It is important to remember the different pricing and policy structures used by various companies make it impossible to exactly compare like for like when shopping for car insurance.

This study should therefore only be interpreted for what it is - an exercise to shed light on the insurance market and provide some insight as to how different policies may differ in price and quality. 

Also note premiums may differ substantially over time and if different profiles are used. What is covered by an insurance policy is also subject to change. 

Interest.co.nz did a similar study in January 2016. Click here to see it. 

We wrote about how premiums increased between studies here. 

	AA Insurance	AMI	AMP Everyday Online	ANZ	ASB	BNZ	NZI	State	Tower	Trade Me Insurance	Vero	Warehouse Money	Westpac	Youi
Owner/underwriter	AA and Suncorp	IAG	Vero (Suncorp)	Vero (Suncorp)	IAG	IAG	IAG	IAG	Tower	Tower	Suncorp	Vero (Suncorp)	IAG	Youi
Agreed or market value	Agreed	Agreed or market as per policy	Agreed	Market or agreed as per policy	Agreed, however market value up to sum insured if car not in good condition	Agreed, however market value up to sum insured if car not in good condition	Market	Agreed, however market value up to sum insured if car not in good condition	Agreed or market as per policy	Agreed	Market	Agreed	The lesser of the market and agreed values	Agreed or market as per policy
Legal liability. Max. amount paid if you damage someone else's property or injure them	$20m including: - property damage - $250,000 for bodily injury	$20m for property damage $1m for bodily injury  $1,000 for manslaughter defence costs	$20m including: - property damage - $1m for bodily injury	$20m including: - property damage - $1m for bodily injury  - $1m for forest & rural fire damage	$20m for property damage $1m for bodily injury  $1,000 for manslaughter defence costs	$20m including: - property damage  - $1m for bodily injury  $10,000 for manslaughter defence costs	$20m for property damage  $2m for bodily injury $10,000 for manslaughter defence costs	$20m for property damage $1m for bodily injury  $5,000 for manslaughter defence costs	$25m including: - property damage  - $1m for bodily injury - $5,000 for manslaughter defence costs	$20m including: - property damage  - $100,000 for bodily injury - $5,000 for manslaughter defence costs	$20m including: - property damage - $1m for bodily injury  - $1m for forest & rural fire damage	$20m including: - property damage - $1m for bodily injury	$20m including: - property damage  - $100,000 for bodily injury  $1,000 for manslaughter defence costs	$20m including: - property damage  - $1m for bodily injury or death - Reparations to victims
Towing after accident	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Transport and accommodation after emergency - max amount paid	Trans: Yes Accom: $500	Trans: Yes Accom: No	$500	$500	Trans: Bus and rail only Accom: $500	Trans: Yes Accom: $750	Trans: Yes Accom: Yes	Trans: Yes Accom: No	$500	$500	$500	$500	$500	$1,000
Excess waived if identifiable driver of another vehicle causes loss	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Key/lock replacement - max. amount paid	Yes. First $750 excess-free	No	$1,000	$1,000	$500 excess-free	$1,000 excess-free	Amount sum insured. $100 excess applies	$300 excess-free	$1,000. Excess-free if first loss in year	No	$1,000	$1,000	$1,000 excess-free	$1,000
Cover for drivers under 25. Higher excesses apply	Yes	No. Under-25 cover optional add-on	Yes	Yes. Under-25 exclusion optional	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes. Under-25 exclusion optional	Yes	Yes. Under-25 exclusion optional	Yes	Yes. Under-25 exclusion optional	Yes
	AA Insurance	AMI	AMP Everyday Online	ANZ	ASB	BNZ	NZI	State	Tower	Trade Me Insurance	Vero	Warehouse Money	Westpac	Youi
Excess-free broken glass replacement	Optional	Optional	Optional	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Optional	Optional	Optional	Yes	Optional	Yes	No
Roadside assistance	Optional	Optional	Optional	Optional	Optional	Optional	Yes	Optional	Optional	Optional	Yes	Optional	Optional	Yes
Rental car hire following loss covered by policy	Optional	Optional	Yes after theft.  Cover for hire after other losses optional	No	No	No	Yes	Optional	Yes	Optional	No	Yes after theft.  Cover for hire after other losses optional	Yes	Yes after theft. Cover for hire after accident optional
Medical costs - max. amount paid	No	Optional	No	$1,000 for you and your immediate family	$500 for you and your partner	$500 for you and your passengers	$500 for you, your partner and family	$500 for you and your partner	No	No	$200 for you, your partner and family	No	$500 for you, your partner and children	No
Accidental death or permanent disability	No	Optional	No	Death: $5,000 Loss of hand, foot, eye: $2,500 Covers you and your immediate family	Death: $10,000  Loss of hand, foot, eye: $5,000 Covers you and your partner	Death: $10,000  Loss of hand, foot, eye: $5,000 Covers you, your partner and family	Death: $10,000 Loss of hand, foot, eye: $2,500 Covers you, your partner and family	Death: $2,000  Loss of hand, foot, eye: $1,000 Covers you and your partner	Death: $5,000 Covers you and your partner	No	Death: $5,000 Loss of hand, foot, eye: $2,500 Covers you, your partner and family	No	Death: $10,000 Covers you and your partner (max $5,000 each)	No
Remediation following meth contamination	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

PREMIUM PRICE COMPARISON (annual, inc GST)
Car model	1996 Honda Civic Vi Sedan 4DR Auto 4SP 1.5L 4 Cylinders No immobiliser		2005 Holden Commodore VZ Berlina Sedan 4DR Auto 4SP 5.7L 8 Cylinders Has immobiliser		2013 Toyota Corolla GX Sedan 4DR Auto 4SP 1.8L 4 Cylinders Has immobiliser		2015 Audi A4 MY15 S Line Avant 5DR Multitronic 8SP 1.8L 4 Cylinders Has immobiliser		Assumptions
Agreed value	$2,000		$10,000		$21,000		$74,000
Driver age	30	50	30	50	30	50	30	50
Insurance products sold direct
AA Insurance (AA & Suncorp)	$494	$423	$796	$680	$988	$844	$1,845	$1,573	Audi has agreed value of $67,470.
AMI (IAG)	$453	$430	$641	$609	$1,061	$1,009	$1,685	$1,603	Toyota has agreed value of $20,130. Audi has agreed value of $61,930. Car is parked in open – visible from road. 22-year-old female driver added to policy, as under-25s not otherwise covered.
State (IAG)	$367	$277	$761	$572	$907	$699	$1,566	$1,151	Audi has agreed value of $55,040. Honda and Toyota have excesses of $400, Holden and Audi $600. Includes $50 online discount.
Tower	$778	$653	$968	$811	$1,158	$971	$2,334	$1,954	Honda has agreed value of $2,345. Holden model considered high risk, so incurs higher excess. Can only be insured if in garage. Under 25s can only be added to policy if they have full licence and 5 years driving experience. Toyota has agreed value of $20,130. Audi has agreed value of $62,040. Includes 10% online discount.
Youi*	$672	$569	$1,080	$910	$829	$701	$1,302	$1,126	Honda has agreed value of $1,900. Audi has agreed value of $67,600. *Quotes based on a number of additional assumptions made to fit a responsible and experienced driver's profile.
Insurance products sold through brokers
NZI (IAG)	Quotes not provided
Vero (Suncorp)	$625	$472	$1,374	$1,031	$1,408	$1,059	$2,799	$2,104	Agreed values used in this comparison, however market values usually used by Vero.
Insurance products sold through banks
ANZ (Vero)	$717	$483	$1,670	$1,117	$1,655	$1,109	$3,046	$2,043	Car not locked in garage at night.
ASB (IAG)	$466	$434	$777	$719	$914	$847	$1,324	$1,223	Honda and Toyota have excesses of $400, Audi $750.
BNZ (IAG)	$447	$427	$706	$673	$929	$885	$1,510	$1,438	Honda and Toyota have excesses of $400, Audi $750.
Westpac (IAG)	$549	$501	$714	$652	$828	$756	$1,334	$1,217	All cars have excesses of $400.
Insurance products sold through other retail brands
AMP Everyday Online (Vero)	$573	$450	$970	$868	$1,148	$865	$1,892	$1,401	Honda and Toyota have excesses of $400, Holden $600, Audi $800. Car driven between 10,000km and 15,000km a year.
Trade Me Insurance (Tower)	$540	$517	$750	$621	$889	$850	$1,407	$1,467	Holden model considered high risk, so additional $750 excess applies. Cover for under 25s excluded. Toyota has agreed value of $20,496. Audi has agreed value of $67,004. Includes 15% discount for Trade Me members. Car parked in driveway. Car driven between 10,000km and 20,000km a year. Cover for if someone under 25 drives at least a couple of times a month. Person listed a 22-year-old female.
Warehouse Money (Vero)	$548	$431	$927	$704	$1,097	$827	$1,892	$1,400	Honda and Toyota have excesses of $400, Holden $600, Audi $800. Car driven between 10,000km and 15,000km a year.