How AA Insurance compares, feature by feature
Slow leaks behind walls are a common and expensive claim — usually capped low, if covered at all, and finding the leak often isn't covered.
Check your hidden-water sub-limit and budget for the gap; ask if a higher limit is available.
Retaining walls are costly to rebuild and usually sit under a low sub-limit, separate from the house sum insured.
If you have retaining walls, ask for the specific limit and whether a higher one is offered.
Meth clean-up is expensive; cover is capped, often carries a large excess, and can be void if you or a tenant caused it.
If you rent the property out, ask about the meth limit and excess.
Covers you if you're legally liable for injury or damage to someone else — the largest, rarest claims.
Higher is better; check yours runs to at least a few million.
If your home is uninhabitable after a claim, this pays for somewhere to live while it's fixed — but only up to a cap, and a rebuild can take a year or more.
Check your limit, and ask whether a higher-tier product lifts it.
Gardens, plants, paths and driveways are usually capped well below what they'd cost to redo.
Note the cap if you have significant landscaping.
Re-keying after lost or stolen keys is capped — small, but often overlooked.
Minor — just know the limit.
Natural-disaster claims (quake, storm, flood) often carry a large EXTRA excess on top of your standard one.
Find out your natural-hazard excess — here, lower is better.
Documented traps in AA Insurance's wording
Some policies (or some settlement scenarios) pay only the depreciated value of your home or contents rather than the cost to rebuild or buy new. That can be far less than what you actually need.
Check whether your policy is 'replacement' or 'indemnity/market value'. If it's indemnity, ask what a full replacement policy costs and consider switching, and always repair/rebuild within the stated time limit to keep full entitlement.
In AA Insurance's own words
“Indemnity value Is our option of: the market value; the depreciated replacement cost, as assessed by an independent registered valuer appointed by us; the cost of repairs, less wear and tear and depreciation.”
“Market value is not the replacement or retail value of the item.”
“We will settle your claim under 'Indemnity cover' if any of the following occur: we have been unable to agree on the reinstatement cost with you within 12 months of the date of the loss; you will not be repairing, rebuilding or replacing the damaged portion of your home.”
Loss arising from faulty design, defective workmanship, poor materials or inherent/structural defects is excluded across insurers, including weathertightness failures.
Get a building inspection before buying, address known defects, and pursue builders/warranties for defect-related damage since insurance won't cover it.
In AA Insurance's own words
“This policy does not cover any loss, cost or liability that is directly or indirectly caused by, arising from, or involving any of the following: poor, sub-standard, defective or faulty workmanship; poor, sub-standard, defective or faulty design or manufacture; any structural or inherent defect.”
Rot, mould and slow leaks are largely excluded. The small 'hidden gradual damage' benefit that remains is capped low (often $1,000–$10,000) and won't pay to find or fix the actual leak.
Check your hidden/gradual damage limit and compare insurers (they range widely). Inspect plumbing and wet areas regularly, and act on any leak immediately to avoid it being called 'gradual'.
In AA Insurance's own words
“We will contribute a maximum of $5,000 towards damage to your home caused by rot, mould, mildew or deterioration that isn't immediately visible.”
Even with a big contents sum insured, individual categories like jewellery, cash, bicycles, cameras and drones are limited to a low per-item or per-category amount unless you specifically list them.
List (specify) high-value items on your schedule and check each category sub-limit. Keep receipts/valuations for jewellery, bikes, cameras and collections.
In AA Insurance's own words
“Cash, negotiable securities or vouchers $500”
If nobody sleeps in your home for a set number of consecutive days (60–90 depending on insurer), cover is stripped back to only a few named perils – and an extra excess applies.
Tell your insurer before the home will be empty beyond the limit (often 60 days) and ask about unoccupied cover. Have someone stay overnight periodically or arrange specific vacant-home cover.
In AA Insurance's own words
“If your policy schedule shows your home is 'Owner occupied', the additional 'Unoccupied excess' shown on your policy schedule applies. This excess will apply to any loss occurring on or after day 61.”
Retaining walls, paths, pools, bridges and similar features are capped well below their real replacement cost – and often carry an extra natural-hazard excess.
Find the retaining-wall and 'recreational features' sub-limits on your schedule, get a rough replacement cost, and ask to increase the limit if your walls or features are valuable.
In AA Insurance's own words
“We will pay up to $50,000 for loss to retaining walls arising from an event.”
Every insurer excludes wear and tear, rust, corrosion, rot, mould and gradual deterioration. Insurance pays for sudden accidents, not for things that develop over time.
Maintain the property and keep dated records of maintenance and repairs. Report sudden damage promptly so it isn't reclassified as gradual, and know your policy's narrow gradual-damage benefit.
In AA Insurance's own words
“This policy does not cover any loss, cost or liability that is directly or indirectly caused by, arising from, or involving any of the following: wear and tear, rust, or corrosion; rot, mould, mildew, fungi, or smoke damage that has happened gradually.”
When you move house or put contents into storage, cover is limited to a low cap or excluded altogether – and only for a short window.
Before moving or storing, tell your insurer, check the transit/storage limit and time window, and arrange specific removals or storage insurance for high-value contents.
In AA Insurance's own words
“This policy does not cover any loss caused to your contents while they are in transit to a new residence or stored away from the insured address.”
Where damage isn't covered by the government natural-hazard scheme (EQC/NHCover) – for example certain structures – the insurer adds an extra excess, often $5,000, on top of any standard excess.
Read the natural-hazard/EQC excess section of your policy and budget for a $5,000+ excess. Ask your insurer exactly which parts of your property attract the higher excess.
In AA Insurance's own words
“We will also pay for loss to your home caused by natural hazard that the NHC does not cover because the damaged property is exempt property under NHCover. An additional excess applies to these claims.”
If your home is uninhabitable, the policy pays your alternative accommodation only up to a fixed cap. After a major disaster, rebuilds can take years and the cap is quickly exhausted.
Check your temporary-accommodation/alternative-accommodation limit and whether it's a dollar cap or time-limited. Ask if a higher limit is available if you live in a high-hazard area.
In AA Insurance's own words
“The most we will pay for any one event is $40,000.”
Policies exclude the cost of repairing, stabilising or supporting the land itself – even where it's needed before your home can be rebuilt.
Understand the government natural-hazard land cover and its limits, and be aware land stabilisation is largely your cost. Factor site risk into buying decisions.
In AA Insurance's own words
“This policy does not cover the costs associated with the repair, preparation, stabilisation or any other treatment of the land necessary to comply with regulations to permit the repair or rebuilding of your home.”
After a total-loss claim the policy can end on the date of the event, with no cover for any later event and no refund of premium.
After a total-loss settlement, arrange new cover immediately rather than assuming your existing policy continues.
In AA Insurance's own words
“Your policy will end on the date of the event and you will not be able to claim on any subsequent event. You will not receive any refund of your premium.”
Contents used to earn income or for business are excluded beyond a small 'home office' benefit, and home-business activity can void wider cover.
If you earn income from home, tell your insurer and arrange proper business cover. Don't assume home contents cover extends to work equipment or stock.
In AA Insurance's own words
“This policy does not cover your contents if your home is used for any activities in connection with a profession, occupation or business, other than for a home office.”
Insured with AA Insurance? Have your own policy read.
The free register shows how AA Insurance compares in general. The personal scan reads your exact PDF against every insurer.
Drawn from AA Insurance's published New Zealand policy wording held in the Inuio corpus and refreshed monthly. Limits and tiers change and vary by policy and cover level — general information to help you read your own policy, not financial advice. Always verify against your current wording.