Kiwis love their houses. Protect yours with our comprehensive cover.
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What does our House & Contents insurance cover?

Full House Replacement

Rebuild or repair your house and other structures up to your replacement value.

Personal Contents

Replace or repair lost or damaged belongings on a new-for-old basis (available as an add-on with any house policy).

Legal Liability

Cover legal costs if an accident injures someone, or causes damage to other's property.

Benefits of our House Insurance cover

  1. Temporary Accommodation

    $20,000 of alternative accommodation if your damaged house can’t be lived in.


  2. Reduced Glass Breakage Excess

    Reduced $250 excess for glass breakage claims.


  3. Excess-free Keys & Locks

    We’ll pay up to $1,000 if your keys are lost, stolen or copied with no excess.


  1. Hidden Gradual Damage

    $3,000 for gradual water damage from a hidden water or waste pipe.


  2. Excess-free Blocked Pipe

    Up to $500 to unblock underground water or sewage pipes, with no excess.


  3. Inflation Protection

    We’ll pay up to 10% over your sum insured if a disaster increases building costs.


Benefits of our optional add-on Contents cover

  1. New-for-Old Replacement

    Majority of contents are repaired or replaced to new condition, not depreciated.


  2. Contents in Transit or Temporarily in Storage

    Store contents temporarily away from home, in transit to a new house, or stored at vault.


  1. One Excess per event

    If both your house & contents are damaged (e.g. flood), you’ll only pay one excess.


  2. Personal Liability

    Up to $1m for damage you accidentally cause to other’s property in New Zealand.



How does initio compare?

We’ve done the hard yards so you don’t have to. See how our cover compares against other New Zealand insurers.

Policy Comparison Tool

House Insurance Comparison

Manage your house insurance online

Take control with the Initio Dashboard

  • Manage your house insurance online

    Every customer gets access to their own personalised dashboard login.

  • No more lengthy phone calls

    Change your policy, lodge claims, add and cancel policies or get documents all online from your smart device or computer.

How are contents claims paid out?

Our policy is New-for-Old based cover, where most items are covered for brand new replacement.

New Repair or Replacement

Item is replaced or repaired to new condition.

You lost your iPhone 12. $2,000 is paid for a brand new replacement iPhone 12.

Present Value Repair or Replacement

Item is replaced or repaired to current value.

You lost your iPhone 12. Depreciated $1,000 is paid based on its second-hand value.

What is covered by contents insurance?

You can choose to include contents cover with your house policy (we don’t currently offer contents insurance as a stand-alone product). Here are some things that will be covered by your contents insurance with initio:

  1. Household Goods and Personal Items

    Smartphone, Engagement Ring, Tennis Racket & TV etc.


  2. Watersports Equipment

    Surfboards, Kayaks, Dinghies & Portable Pools etc.


  1. Mobility Devices & Garden Appliances

    Ride-on Lawnmower, Golf Cart, Wheelchairs etc.


  2. Loose Floor Coverings

    Place Mats, Lounge Rug etc.



Why initio?

We use our technology to save you time and money.

Great Cover

We don't expect you to build your own policy, so we include the things that matter — bells and whistles too.

100% Online

We provide instant, online quotes for your house, and take the same approach to claims.

Support Focused

We're here to support you when tragedy strikes. Let us show you the way to better insurance.


You’re in safe hands

If disaster strikes, you’re in safe hands. Initio policies are underwritten by IAG New Zealand Ltd. Standard & Poor’s has given IAG a AA ‘Very Strong’ Financial Strength Rating.

Learn more about IAG’s financial strength rating

House Insurance FAQ's

Initio’s house insurance covers sudden and accidental damage to your home, including fire, flood, storm, and natural disasters. It also includes cover for legal liability if someone is injured or their property is damaged because of your home.
The policy comes with a range of automatic benefits like temporary accommodation, hidden gradual damage, keys and locks, blocked pipe clearance, and even support for sustainable upgrades if you’re rebuilding. Like all insurance, some exclusions apply – such as wear and tear, long-term vacancy, and illegal activity unless specific conditions are met. Read the full policy wordings

In most cases, you can get covered instantly. The entire process is online — just choose your policy, get a quote, and insure your home straight from the initio website. Your policy confirmation will land in your inbox within minutes, and you’ll get access to your own insurance dashboard to manage everything easily.

For most standard homes, cover is available straight away. If your property has unique features or falls outside standard underwriting criteria, the system will let you know if a manual review is needed. You can still submit your application, and our team will get back to you quickly.

Learn how our technology makes getting house insurance quotes quick and easy. 

It depends on what best means to you – but if you’re after a simple, flexible, and smart option, initio could be just what you need.

We’re built for property owners who want to get covered quickly, manage everything online, and actually understand what they’re paying for. Our house, contents, and landlord insurance is packed with useful benefits – no surprises, just clear cover.

To help you decide, we’ve put together a side-by-side comparison of initio and other insurance providers. It shows exactly what’s included, so you can see how we stack up.

House insurance isn’t just a box to tick – it protects your home (and your wallet) when the unexpected happens, like fire, flood, or sudden damage. Without cover, you’d be left paying the full repair or rebuild costs yourself, which can run into the hundreds of thousands.

Learn why insurance matters, how to keep costs down, and why it’s one of the smartest ways to protect your biggest asset. Read the full guide here

Yes, initio house insurance includes cover for natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and landslides, up to the sum insured on your policy.

From 1 July 2024, the Natural Hazards Insurance Act 2023 applies. Under this, the Natural Hazards Commission (NHC) covers the first $345,000 (including GST) of qualifying natural disaster damage. Initio then provides top-up cover for any additional repair or rebuild costs, up to your selected sum insured.

Flood damage to your home is also automatically covered by initio, with no contribution from the NHC required for the home itself.

For more details, you can visit the Initio page on natural disaster cover

No, the sum insured is not the same as what you paid to buy your house. 

 

The sum insured should reflect the cost to fully rebuild your house to its current size and standard at today’s building costs, not its market value or purchase price. This amount should also include the cost of rebuilding other structures like fences and pools, as well as demolition costs and a buffer for inflation. 

 

Choosing the right sum insured is important to avoid being underinsured. Learn more about how to calculate sum insured

It depends on things like your address, the rebuild value of your home, and what level of cover you choose. But with initio, you don’t have to guess.
You can get an instant price using our quick quote tool – no personal details needed, and no waiting around. Just enter your address and a few basic details about the home, and we’ll show you the cost upfront.
It’s fast, easy, and designed so you can compare and tweak your cover before you buy.

If you need just a little more information before making your purchase, we have plenty of helpful support articles at your fingertips. We’ve also written the five key fundamentals of house insurance, covering everything you need to consider when choosing a new policy.


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