Finder Car Insurance Consumer Survey 2020

We surveyed more than 2,000 New Zealanders on their experiences with car insurance – from what they want most from their cover, to incidents with uninsured drivers. This is what they told us.

The survey questions

Select a question to jump to those responses.

• Do you think car insurance should be mandatory? See the data in table format.

  All responses

  Response	Count	Percentage
  Yes	1,779	89%
  No	222	11%

  Responses by age group

  Response	Baby Boomers (1959 or earlier)	Gen X (1960 – 1979)	Gen Y (1980 – 1994	Gen Z (1995 or later)
  Yes	95%	91%	86%	79%
  No	5%	9%	14%	21%

• What type of car insurance cover do you have? See the data in table format.

  All responses

  Response	Count	Percentage
  Comprehensive	1,565	78%
  Third party, fire and theft	128	6%
  I don’t have a car	119	6%
  I don’t have insurance	95	5%
  Third party only	94	5%

  Responses by age group

  Response	Baby Boomers (born 1959 or earlier)	Gen X (1960 – 1979)	Gen Y (1980 – 1994)	Gen Z (1995 or later)
  Comprehensive	90%	85%	73%	49%
  Third party, fire and theft	2%	4%	10%	11%
  I don’t have a car	3%	3%	4%	23%
  I don’t have insurance	2%	4%	6%	7%
  Third party only	2%	3%	7%	10%

  Responses by gender

  Response	Male	Female
  Comprehensive	84%	72%
  Third party, fire and theft	5%	7%
  I don’t have a car	3%	9%
  I don’t have insurance	4%	6%
  Third party only	4%	5%

• Have you ever had your car damaged and the offending driver didn't hang around? See the data in table format.

  Number of respondents: 1,882

  All responses

  Response	Count	Percentage
  Yes	713	38%
  No, I’ve never had my car damaged	653	35%
  No, the offending driver stayed/left a note	516	27%

  Responses by age group

  Response	Baby Boomers (born 1959 or earlier)	Gen X (1960 – 1979)	Gen Y (1980 – 1994)	Gen Z (1995 or later)
  Yes	38%	37%	41%	32%
  No, I’ve never had my car damaged	27%	34%	36%	49%
  No, the offending driver stayed/left a note	35%	30%	23%	18%

• Have you ever been in a car accident where one of the two cars involved was not insured? See the data in table format.

  All responses

  Response	Count	Percentage
  No, both cars were insured	770	41%
  No, I’ve never been in a car accident	562	30%
  Yes, the other car was no insured	417	22%
  Yes, I was not insured	86	5%
  Yes, both cars were not insured	47	2%

  Responses by generation

  Response	Baby Boomers (born 1959 or earlier)	Gen X (1960 – 1979)	Gen Y (1980 – 1994	Gen Z (1995 or later)
  No, both cars were insured	51%	42%	37%	26%
  No, I’ve never been in a car accident	22%	28%	32%	47%
  Yes, the other car was not insured	24%	23%	21%	18%
  Yes, I was not insured	2%	4%	7%	7%
  Yes, both cars were not insured	1%	2%	3%	3%

• What factors are most important to you when choosing a car insurance policy? See the data in table format.

  All responses

  Response	Count	Percentage
  Price	1,480	80%
  How comprehensive the policy is	1,091	59%
  Brand/reputation	857	46%
  Customer service	782	42%
  Already holding other insurance policies with the same provider (eg: house and contents)	524	28%
  Roadside assistance	370	20%
  Offers a replacement car	189	10%
  Rewards points (Airpoints, Flybuys, etc.)	181	10%
  My family recommends the policy or provider	64	3%

  Responses down by age group

  Response	Baby Boomers (born 1959 or earlier)	Gen X (1960 – 1979)	Gen Y (1980 – 1994	Gen Z (1995 or later)
  Price	70%	81%	83%	91%
  How comprehensive the policy is	61%	61%	59%	50%
  Brand/reputation	52%	43%	45%	52%
  Customer service	48%	43%	39%	37%
  Already holding other insurance policies with the same provider (eg: house and contents)	41%	33%	19%	13%
  Roadside assistance	14%	17%	27%	22%
  Offers a replacement car	5%	9%	12%	11%
  Rewards points (Airpoints, Flybuys, etc.)	5%	9%	12%	11%
  My family recommends the policy or provider	0%	1%	4%	17%

• When you last made a car insurance claim were you satisfied with the outcome? See the data in table format.

  All responses

  Response	Count	Percentage
  Yes	1,305	73%
  I’ve never had to make a car insurance claim	376	21%
  No	106	6%

  Responses by age group

  Response	Baby Boomers (born 1959 or earlier)	Gen X (1960 – 1979)	Gen Y (1980 – 1994	Gen Z (1995 or later)
  Yes	82%	77%	67%	55%
  I’ve never had to make a car insurance claim	13%	18%	26%	38%
  No	5%	5%	7%	6%

  Responses by gender

  Response	Male	Female
  Yes	77%	69%
  I’ve never had to make a car insurance claim	17%	25%
  No	6%	6%

• What was the main reason why you were unsatisfied? See the data in table format.

  All responses

  Response	Count	Percentage
  I got less compensation than I expected	31	29%
  Other	27	25%
  It took too long to get compensated	18	17%
  I was told I wasn’t covered for the incident in my claim	16	15%
  Poor customer service	14	13%

Survey methodology

This survey was designed by Finder and conducted by Qualtrics, a SAP company.

It was conducted online in July 2020 using a nationally representative sample of 2,001 New Zealand residents aged 18 and over.

To learn more about the survey or to request a full copy of the data, please email nzpr@finder.com.