Moving House?
Make sure your big move is covered by insurance.
Congratulations! You’ve found your new dream home and the day has come for the big move to your new property. But what if something falls off the back of the truck during the move? Does your insurance still cover it? Moving house can be stressful at the best of times, so here are a few simple steps to ensure that at least your insurance is under control.
Firstly, it’s important to remember that your house and contents insurance cover is for a specific address. When you’re moving into a new house and have sold your old house, it’s important to note that you will need to cancel the house and contents policies for your old address and create brand-new policies. These new policies will collect updated information about your new address that may need to be checked/referred.
What happens if your contents get damaged during the move?
Because this falls under your contents insurance, it’s covered no matter what address you have registered with your insurance company – but there are limitations. As always, check the specific wording on your policy. Generally speaking, initio contents policies cover sudden and accidental loss of contents while in transit from the home to any permanent residence in New Zealand, provided the loss is caused by any of the following:
- Fire, lightning or explosion
- Theft following violent and forceful entry to a motor vehicle or building
- Storm or flood
- Natural disaster
- Aircraft or other aerial or spatial devices, or articles dropped from them
- Impact by motor vehicle
It’s also important to note that the above circumstances are only covered if the loss occurs during the period of cover.
If you are using a moving company, they often offer moving insurance if your property gets damaged whilst in their care. The initio policy only covers the above listed events, ie. it does not protect against accidental loss or damage such as dropping an item, a box falling over, or items shifting and breaking during transport. We would, therefore, recommend looking into the wider covers available via professional removing companies as an extended option. Especially if you’re making a big move (between cities) or if you have highly valuable items you’d like extra peace of mind about.
What if your OLD house catches fire and is destroyed on the day you move out?
In this scenario, it’s the new owner’s responsibility to ensure the address on their insurance is up to date. It aligns with the handover date on your sale agreement.
Maybe something was to happen to your NEW house before your official settlement date?
This remains the responsibility of the people you’ve bought the house from. The insurance officially becomes your responsibility from the date of your settlement agreement. You are unable to insure the home for the period prior to the settlement date. On the other hand, if something were to happen to your new house on the day of your official handover, insurance cover becomes your responsibility.
With a self-service platform like initio, making changes to your cover is simple. Start a new policy or cancel old cover in just a few clicks.
We’re in between homes, do you offer contents insurance by itself temporarily?
No, we currently only offer contents cover when it’s paired with an active house insurance policy for the same property, so we’re not able to provide stand-alone contents cover – even for a short time.
If you’re just needing contents cover while you rent or store your belongings between homes, you may want to check with a provider that offers contents-only policies. We hope we can welcome you back to initio once you’re settled in your new place.
That’s it! Just remember, the day you take over the keys is when your new house needs to be insured from.
This guide is intended to be a quick reference when moving house. We recommend reading the full policy wording for the full details of your house and contents coverage.
