How much does contents insurance cost?

So you’ve decided you need contents insurance? You might be surprised by how little it costs. 

When you have MAS contents insurance, if your belongings are accidentally damaged, lost or stolen we will pay for repairs or replacement of the insured items. The cost of contents insurance will vary depending on how much stuff you have to insure and a range of other factors which are outlined below.

Most homeowners have contents insurance, and so do many renters – including people who live in a shared house with others, like flatmates. You can make a contents insurance claim for all your stuff, or just a single item.

Calculating the cost of your contents

To work out how much contents insurance you need, you should imagine how much you’d have to spend to replace all the stuff you own with new items if you lost it all, for example in a fire (note that this does not include your car, which is covered under car insurance). Take some time to list the replacement value of everything you own – you could be surprised by the number.

How much does contents insurance cost if I’m flatting?

There are many factors that will be taken into account to determine how much contents insurance will cost for someone who is flatting – including where they live and the cost of replacing their possessions. 

As an example, a young professional living in a flat in central Wellington might have a bed worth $1,000, a bike worth $800, a mobile phone worth $2,000, a laptop worth $1,500, headphones worth $300, plus other electronics, furniture, jewellery, clothes and sports gear of varying value (warning: the cost of replacing your wardrobe will shock you). They would pay about $33.35 a month for $15,000 cover.

You can get a quote here.

How much does contents insurance cost if I own my own home? 

If you own your own home, the level of contents insurance you need is generally higher because you own more things (think about all your furniture, kitchen and laundry appliances, DIY tools etc). In general, anything that’s not attached or permanently wired into your house will need to be insured through contents insurance – so light fittings and carpets permanently laid on your floor are covered by your house insurance, but you’ll need contents insurance for any loose rugs or lamps. 

For homeowners, our contents insurance calculator can give you a quick guide on how much contents insurance you might need.

Contents insurance for specified items

If you own some very expensive items – like a top end mountain bike or a valuable piece of jewellery –  you must let your insurer know to ensure these items are covered by your contents insurance. If you have a MAS Contents Insurance Policy, sports equipment (except bikes), electronics, or music gear worth more than $5,000; any jewellery, watches or bikes worth more than $8,000; and individual pieces of art worth more than $25,000 must be itemised. 

Once you’ve figured out the level of contents insurance you need, get a quote here. 

What factors influence the price of contents insurance? 

There are several important factors that can influence the cost of your contents insurance. 

1. The value of your stuff 

Your nominated sum insured is the biggest factor affecting the cost of your contents insurance. It’s very important to accurately estimate the replacement value of your things – if you overestimate you may end up overpaying for cover that you don’t need. 

2. The excess

One way to lower the cost of your insurance is to increase the excess. An excess is a sum of money that you pay towards the replacement of your insured items when a claim is accepted by your insurer. You can set the amount of your excess when you take out your contents insurance policy. The higher your excess, the lower your premium will be. 

3. Your fire risk  

Reducing the risk of fire is another way to lower the cost of your contents insurance. If you have a fire prevention sprinkler system, you can expect a lower premium than a home in the same location without one.

4. Your location

The location of your home is another factor that affects your risk and impacts the cost of your contents insurance. If you live in an area at high risk of burglaries or natural disaster like flooding, you might be expected to pay more for contents insurance than someone who lives in a safer setting that’s at low risk of natural disaster.    

5. Your insurance history 

Your insurance company will also assess how much of a risk you are personally. To do this they’ll primarily look at your claims history – if you have a history of making frequent claims then it’s likely you’ll be expected to pay a higher premium than someone who doesn’t claim. You may be eligible for our Secured No Claims bonus if you have a MAS contents insurance policy and make no claims for five years which you will keep for as long as you are insured with us, regardless of how many claims you make after this. 

There are some items that can be claimed for that will not affect your eligibility to receive a Secured No Claims bonus: 

• Personal Health items such as glasses, contact lenses or hearing aids, dentures, prescription glasses, walking sticks and frames, and wheelchairs do not affect your Secured No Claims bonus and you won't have to pay the excess for a claim in relation to these items.*
• Locks and keys do not affect your Secured No Claims bonus and you won't have to pay the excess for a claim in relation to these items.
• Claiming on Cyber benefit does not affect your Secured No Claims bonus

*It excludes bone-anchored hearing aids, cochlear implants, dental implants, implantable contact lenses, or any components or parts of a personal health item that require surgical implantation (independent external components exempted) and does not include medical examination, tests, or treatment costs.

Loss means misplaced, physical damage or destruction.

MAS Contents Insurance at a glance 

In 2023, MAS’s Contents Insurance was named Consumer NZ People’s Choice for the seventh year running, along with our house and car insurance offerings. We offer the following extra benefits on top of standard contents insurance:

• “New for old”: MAS is the only insurer in Aotearoa to offer ‘new-for-old’ contents insurance cover as standard. This means that if your item can’t be repaired, we’ll replace it with one that is in as-new condition.
• Cover anywhere: your gear is covered anywhere in Aotearoa if you or a family member are travelling. If you’re travelling overseas we’ll cover you up to $50,000 total and $5,000 for an individual item.
• No excess for glasses and other personal health items: if you lose or break your glasses, contact lenses, hearing aid or any other personal health item, we’ll replace it without an excess and the claim will not impact your no claims bonus.   
• Cyber bullying benefit: if you or a family member suffers cyber bullying, you can claim up to $5,000 per year in related costs – such as counselling, lost salary, rest and recuperation and school enrolment if relocating to an alternative school is necessary.

Get a quote for MAS contents insurance today.