How does monthly insurance work?
Monthly insurance cover means that it is renewed and paid for each month. It’s a month-to-month policy that automatically renews and is charged to your credit card on the same day each month.
How can I pay monthly?
You can choose to either pay monthly or annually when you first purchase a policy. Our monthly payment is only available with a visa debit or credit card payment. We don’t offer a monthly direct debit from your bank account.
For details on switching between monthly and annual payments, check out our article on ‘Switching Payment Frequency‘.
Will you tell me if my monthly insurance payment changes?
Yes, we’ll let you know in advance if your monthly payment is going to change thirty days prior to any payment.
Your total insurance cost will typically change on the anniversary of your policy (i.e the day and month you first started the cover). This means that your monthly payment will remain the same for the year. The exception being that if there is a government levy change (for example Fire & Emergency New Zealand levy rate change) that is mandated to be applied from the effective date of your next monthly renewal.
Each month we will send you an email confirming the renewal of your policy. In that email, if the next month’s payment is going to be different (i.e its the anniversary renewal) we’ll let you know.
Your initio dashboard will also show you the date and amount of your current and next months payment.
When will my card be charged?
When you first purchase your policy the first payment will be withdrawn from your card on that day. All following monthly payments will be withdrawn from your card the day your policy renews (your chosen renewal date).
For example, if you buy a new policy on the 1st of January and the start date of the policy is the 5th of January, you’ll initially be charged for the first month on the purchase date, ie 1st Jan. All future monthly payments starting from the February renewal will then be withdrawn on the 5th of each month.
What if I need to change my card details?
You can change the card that’s used for the payments at anytime. To do so, please login to your initio dashboard and choose “credit card” from the “account” menu in the top right corner of your dashboard. Here you can enter the new card information and any future payments will automatically default to the new card. You can also see what card is currently registered for your payments on this screen.
What if my monthly payment fails to go through?
Your insurance remains in place pending re-attempts of the payment. We will provide you notice and re-attempt the payment after a few days. Please check your email for the relevant correspondence confirming details. If the premium remains unpaid following the set attempts the policy will lapse.
If your payment has failed for any reason and you would like us to re-process that for you on an earlier date, please get in touch with out support team via phone, chat or email. Updating your card within your initio dashboard also triggers the system to re-try an outstanding monthly payment instantly, you can use this option (even with entering the same card details) if you wish.
If your payment fails despite having sufficient funds in the account, we recommend getting in touch with our team to check the transaction code details. Potentially you could need to contact your bank to investigate any technical issues with the card.
What if I want to use a different card for each policy?
If you are purchasing annual insurance, you can use a different card for each and every purchase. If you are purchasing monthly insurance, we are only currently able to facilitate one card for any monthly payments under your account. If you wish to use a different card for a monthly policy, you will need to set up a new initio account using an alternative email address for any policy to be paid via the new card.
What if I want all my monthly policy payments to be aligned on the same day of the month?
The monthly due date automatically aligns with the original inception date of the policy. Should you wish to change a policy’s monthly due date you would need to replace it with a new policy, effective on the preferred date. Once the new policy is in place, you can then cancel the original policy, any unused portion of that policy will be automatically refunded.
Why does the cost of insurance change?
There are a number of reasons why your house or car insurance premiums can change each year. Some of the more common reasons are:
- Change in the costs of materials and labour, which makes repairs to houses and cars more expensive (Covid supply chain issues put pressure on materials costs)
- Increased in the frequency and severity of weather events (Auckland Floods 2023, Nelson Floods 2022, Napier floods 2023 & 2021, Auckland tornado 2021 to name a few)
- Government earthquake levy changes
- Fire Service levy changes
- Increased re-insurance costs due to the way international insurers view New Zealand’s natural disaster risk (NZ is one of the highest risks in the world unfortunately)
- For cars, the main driver may have had birthday or an accident which changes the risk and in turn changes the premium (up or down) at the next policy anniversary renewal.