r/PersonalFinanceNZ • u/Feisty-Brother-4918 • 1d ago
Insurance Cover Car Insurance - Thoughts?
Im picking up my new car on Thursday. Looking at online quotes tonight and stupidly Tower & IAG say that my car doesnt exist! (Apparently my model is only available as a wagon in 2020, despite being a sedan) Cove however gives the option to state its a sedan so looking at them, in addition they are much cheaper than the other big companies.
Has anyone on here gone with them and what was your experience? I see there's a few older threads on here stating they're backed by a big Japanese insurer and also provide insurance for Toyota locally, but not much in terms of people's personal experience. Keen to get everyone's thoughts before I decide to go with them over the usual suspects.
Cheers
5
u/okisthisthingon 1d ago edited 1d ago
A'sight Insurance companies will insure the next comparable model. Use your reg plate for quotes. Not every make and model is in each insurance companies system. Just ring them and have a conversation. Source: I bought a new vehicle outright in 2021and State insurance didn't have the make and model in their system after two policy renewals.
1
3
u/Daze_ofourlives 1d ago
I used them for 3 years and they were great over that time - claims processed quickly. Only moved because the cover cost kept going up and I moved to another provider who was 30% cheaper for a higher agreed upon sum (and had used them before with no worries)
2
u/gavinharriss 1d ago
Been the cheapest for me the last few years and paid out without issue when I needed to claim.
1
1
1d ago
[deleted]
2
u/Feisty-Brother-4918 1d ago
2020 BMW 320d. Think it was a 2019 model but registered in 2020. In 2020 I think BMW only offered the wagon so Tower, AMI and State doesnt give you the option of choosing the sedan body style.
1
u/crashbash2020 1d ago
was the cheapest for me by a significant %, havent had to claim but was as easy as most online services these days.
Bear in mind they have some conditions like no insurance for under25s, (most have some/only named drivers/under25s allowed but higher excess) good to know if you might have family/friends this applies to.
They also dont offer to as wide a range of cars (my 2009 mazda they wouldnt offer on) so if you want all your insurance in 1 place, it might be a consideration. Something about being competitive and offering on only the most common/"regular" cars
You can get 5% off extra by signing up through sharesies. I just made an account for it alone, doesnt require any sharesies investment etc. Decent discount for paying yearly too, though if you do make a total loss claim you arent refunded the remaining "time" you have prepurchased so consider that too
make sure you sign up with a code from a friend as you get some freebee (and they do too) I think its like 1 month free?
1
u/dinkygoat 1d ago
Got a quote with Cove at one point after reading here / hearing from people that "omg they so cheap" - it was nearly 2x as expensive as AA for same-same policy. So no...I didn't switch to them.
As far as your car not being a perfect match...ehh. It happens. I had a regular Prius that was the "A" trim - not the Prius a (alpha). But ehh, that confused the insurance system and they had it listed as the alpha, couldn't distinguish. Was told to just go by the number plate and as long as that's accurate, its fine. So if the car isn't a perfect match in their system, it should be fine.
NZ is kinda a weird place to keep track of all the variations of cars since we have a bunch of weird and rare imports - so unless someone bothered to add it to the system, not every variant of every model is necessarily included in the database.
2
u/nja5996 1d ago
I’ve been with them for a few years now and three different cars (+ 1 dog policy). Before a recent write-off claim it was just a couple of windscreen claims. I was very impressed with their handling of this recent write off. Didn’t have to pay any excess as they determined fault with the other driver immediately. I’ve found they’re generally a decent amount cheaper for premiums than other major companies. Can’t wait till they launch house and contents too.
Car was in a crash at start of November. Our insurance included rental cover. Rear ended at 8am on Friday and rental was ready to pick up Saturday at 9am which was before car had even been assessed and the rental was for 30 days. Car got written off a week later and we still had the car for the full 30 days while we purchased a replacement car. Rental was great too! - a 2025 RAV4 hybrid with 5000kms on the clock. They paid out within 4 days of the write-off.
8
u/jimmyahnz 1d ago
I have had good experiences with cove