One insurer = One headache

While it might be tempting to find the cheapest insurance for each of your insurance policies, it may not be worth it in the long run. Auckland Anniversary Weekend flooding followed by Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 showed us the worst-case scenario; some families lost everything and are still struggling to navigate their way through the aftermath. Having multiple insurance providers can make it tough to claim. If your home, contents, and car are all insured with different providers, that’s three claims to lodge, three claims handlers to follow up, and three call centres to wait on hold with.  While you may have saved $10 or even $100, the cost of your sanity is worth so much more. 

It’s not worth the hassle, so why not put down the panadol and consider getting comprehensive coverage for everything with one provider?

Streamlined Claims Process

If you accidentally crash your own car into your own house and knock the TV off the wall, dealing with multiple insurers can be a hassle. It could take a lot of time and effort to make individual claims for each item. By having all your insurance with one provider, you can claim against all affected policies at once (and potentially pay only one excess*). Consider a provider with online claim submission to save time and avoid phone calls to call centres.

How Quickly are Claims Processed?

When it comes time to make a claim, is your insurer easy to deal with? Or do they give their customers the run-around? Some of the giants in the insurance industry can make their customers jump through hoops when it comes to paying out claims. Look for a provider who has a reputation for paying claims, and see if they offer any real-life reviews from customers who have claimed. 

Everything in One Place

With all your policies in one place, it’s easier to find important information when you need it. When stress levels are high, because something has happened to your property, you’ll be relieved that all your important insurance information is easy to find. If your insurer still sends you documentation via the mail, keep your documents safe by scanning or taking photos and storing them in the cloud, so you can still access them if your home is destroyed by fire or flood.  Better yet, choose an insurer with an online dashboard for even easier access.

What do you actually need?

Think about what kind of coverage suits your needs and do your research. It may be tempting to go with a policy suggested by your bank or mortgage broker – these plans are marketed to you as a way to save time and have everything in one place. But there’s a chance you might end up paying above-market rates and you could miss out on benefits available with other insurance policies. It might be easier to hand the reins over to someone else to sort it for you, but it really pays to look around and compare your options.

How do the policies stack up?

While on the subject of policies, does the cheapest policy give you the same amount of cover as one that costs a little more?  You could spend hours trawling through the different insurance websites and looking up their individual policies. Or, save your time (and possibly sanity) by using the comparison tool created by initio. There are two versions available; house for those who own and live in their own property and landlord for those with rentals.  

What are the reviews like?

Choosing an insurance provider with a great reputation might just be worth more to you in terms of time and stress levels – as opposed to saving a few dollars each month. After all, cheaper definitely doesn’t always mean better.

Isn’t it Risky To Have All Your Insurance Eggs in One Basket?

What if for some reason your insurance provider goes under and couldn’t afford to pay? The reality is that most people will be insured across multiple IAG platforms. 

IAG, the oldest and largest general insurer in New Zealand, underwrites multiple insurance platforms including initio, NZI, State, and AMI. In fact, at the request of the government, IAG acquired AMI after it faced financial difficulties due to the Christchurch earthquakes. Many people in New Zealand hold insurance policies across various IAG platforms, but this does not necessarily spread the risk, as they are all underwritten by the same provider.

Your direct insurance provider would not fail due to an excessive number of claims, as it is not the end insurer. Insurance companies typically have reinsurance in place to manage large losses and catastrophe claims, as part of their risk management strategy.

In Summary

Bundling multiple insurance policies with the same insurer can save you money, make managing your coverage easier, and streamline the claims process. Consider reviewing your insurance portfolio and see if bundling makes sense for you. 

A final point to remember, when one business is handling all of your insurance policies, that’s less time you’ll spend sorting through and paying each policy. And as they say: Time is money.

*Under specific circumstances (in this example, it would be the highest excess for the property affected)