How AMI compares, feature by feature
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.
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.
Gardens, plants, paths and driveways are usually capped well below what they'd cost to redo.
Note the cap if you have significant landscaping.
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.
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 AMI's wording
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 AMI's own words
“We do not cover any: wear and tear, depreciation, corrosion or rust; rot, mould or mildew, or gradual deterioration, except as provided under the ‘Hidden gradual damage’ automatic benefits”
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 AMI's own words
“We cover sudden and accidental loss to contents in transit from your home to your new permanent residence in New Zealand. The most we pay for an event is $10,000.”
Methamphetamine contamination cover is capped (e.g. $30,000–$50,000), carries a large dedicated excess (often $2,500), and is excluded entirely if you or your family caused the contamination.
For rental properties, inspect regularly and test between tenants. Know your meth cap and excess, and keep evidence you weren't the source.
In AMI's own words
“We do not cover contamination damage caused by, or connected to, any of the following: you or a member of your family; your partner or a member of their family.”
When you first take out a policy, natural-event losses (storm, flood, landslip, bushfire, volcanic, tsunami) are excluded for the first 48 to 72 hours – and some insurers exclude an already-named cyclone entirely.
Arrange cover well before any forecast severe weather. Don't leave switching or buying insurance until a storm is imminent.
In AMI's own words
“We do not cover loss that happens during the first 72 hours of your policy, caused by storm, flood, landslide, tsunami, bushfire or volcanic activity.”
Even on a 'replacement' contents policy, certain items – older electronics, clothing, footwear, personal effects – are settled at present/indemnity value, not new-for-old.
Check which item categories are 'present value' in your policy and factor the depreciation in. Specify valuable older items if full-replacement cover is available.
In AMI's own words
“present value means the estimated reasonable cost to replace an item with one from a supplier based in New Zealand, that is of equivalent age, quality and capability, and in the same general condition.”
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 AMI's own words
“The most we pay for an event or a contamination claim for each residential dwelling shown in your policy schedule is $30,000.”
Insured with AMI? Have your own policy read.
The free register shows how AMI compares in general. The personal scan reads your exact PDF against every insurer.
Drawn from AMI'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.