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AMI House and Contents Insurance Review
Looking for house and/or contents insurance? AMI provides cover for homeowners, renters, landlords and builders.
Providing insurance for Kiwis since 1926, AMI has grown from humble beginnings to offering a full range of insurance products. This award-winning insurer is now part of IAG, the largest insurer in Australasia, and has over 500,000 customers throughout the country.
If you’re looking for house insurance, contents insurance, or both, AMI has something for everyone. Whether you are a renter taking out contents insurance for the first time, a homeowner looking for a policy with replacement value cover, a landlord or a professional builder building your own home, you can find an AMI policy to suit.
When it comes to claims, AMI has an AA- strength rating, meaning its claims-paying ability is ‘Very Strong’. This provider makes managing your insurance policy and claims easy with your own online account, plus access to customer service either in a branch, by phone, online or through Facebook.
AMI cover options
AMI has a number of house and contents policy options to choose from to cater to the different requirements of homeowners, landlords and renters.
House Insurance
AMI offers three types of house insurance: Premier house, Market value house and Landlord insurance.
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Premier house insurance
Premier house insurance provides replacement value cover for your home along with some extra features.
What it covers:
- Home replacement value up to the total sum insured
- Retaining walls
- Recreational features – tennis courts, swimming pool
- Damage to someone else’s property
- Natural disasters
- Keys and locks
You can add on optional extras to your policy including cover for special features, or no excess for glass or sanitary fixtures.
Market value house insurance
If you opt for Market value house insurance over Premier house insurance, the market value will come into consideration if your home is destroyed or damaged. AMI will pay the figure that is less out of the sum insured and the current market value.
Contract works insurance
Contract works insurance may be suitable for you when you are building or renovating. It can be used for:
- Building a brand new home
- Renovating your current home while you are still living in it if you already have house insurance
- Renovating your home while you are not living in it and you do not have house insurance
What it covers:
- Existing structures
- Building materials
- Loss or damage of materials in transit
- Professional fees for rebuilding work if loss or damage has occurred
- Costs to complete building on time if the home is damaged
Contents insurance
AMI offers four types of contents insurance: Advanced, Premier, Standard and Renters.
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If you have any special items such as antiques, art or jewellery, you can specify these to AMI to ensure that they are covered in your policy.
Advanced contents insurance
For the highest level of contents insurance, the Advanced policy provides peace of mind that most of your items will be replaced or repaired, even if they are old. If you live in an apartment with at least 3 stories, you can get a 10% discount on your insurance. You can add optional extras to this policy like replacement cover for bikes and matching carpet cover.
Premier contents insurance
With cheaper premiums than the Advanced policy, Premier contents insurance provides replacement or repair of most items under 10 years old, and furnishings under 5 years old. Any items over 10 years old are insured for the market value.
Standard contents insurance
If you’re looking for the most economic contents insurance, AMI’s Standard policy provides cover for a limited range of events. In the event that your belongings are damaged or stolen, most items are covered to market value. Personal liability is also included and you can add on cover for your personal effects away from home.
Renters insurance
Renters insurance is suitable for people that don’t have a lot of belongings and only need cover for up to $10,000. This policy provides repair or replacement of most items, and the maximum premium is $32 a month for the first year. An extra discount applies for students that also take out Young Drivers car insurance.
Landlord insurance
Landlord insurance provides peace of mind for landlords renting a home to tenants.
What it covers:
- Sudden and accidental damage, for example, if a washing machine leaks and damages the flooring
- Hidden gradual damage from water pipes
- Methamphetamine contamination
- Damage to someone else’s property
- Natural disaster damage
You can also add on extras like:
- Cover for deliberate damage or theft by your tenants
- Landlord’s content cover
- No excess for glass or sanitary fixtures
What does AMI not cover
Your AMI house or contents insurance does not cover every single situation that you may want to make a claim for. General exclusions mean your claim will not be paid for:
- Electronic, electrical or mechanical breakdown
- Deliberate damage or loss by you, someone who normally lives in your home or who is a guest, unless damage is due to fire or explosion
- Erosion, settling, warping or cracking caused by earth movement
- Loss or damage due to a computer virus
- Loss or damage due to wear and tear, pollution, insect, rodents
- Loss or damage due to a fault, error or defect in design, workmanship or construction of materials
- Loss or damage caused by a natural disaster, not included in the Natural Disaster cover
- Water damage as a result of your roof, windows or cladding being removed by yourself or someone authorised by you
- Any claim relating to terrorism or war
- Items permanently removed from your home
- Any claim relating to the confiscation of property by government or local authority
- Contamination from any controlled drug
There are some exceptions to these exclusions, so make sure to carefully read the policy wording to understand what is and isn’t covered.
How can I save on AMI house and contents insurance?
AMI offers a Multi Policy Discount so you can save money on your insurance premiums. If you have two eligible policies, you will get the AMI Multisaver 2 discount, and the AMI Multisaver 3 discount will kick in if you have three eligible policies. The AMI policies you can combine to get the Multi Policy Discount include home, contents, lifestyle block, motor and boat insurance.
Keeping your insurance policies together under one provider not only can save you money, but it also makes life easier when it comes time to make a claim. If you need to claim on both house and contents, for example, there will only be one excess to pay if the claims are related to the same event.
Tips for saving money on contents insurance from AMI
- Choose a lower level of cover. For example, consider whether you really need Advanced contents insurance when Premier or Renters may be more suitable.
- Limit your optional extras. Minimising the number of optional extras you include on your policy will help keep premiums down.
- Choose a higher excess. This will result in lower premiums.
- Apartment discount. You get a 10% discount on Advanced contents insurance if you live in an apartment with 3 stories or more.
How do I make an AMI house or contents insurance claim?
To make a claim, you will need to log into My AMI through the AMI website using your email address and password. You can also make a claim by visiting your nearest AMI branch or by calling 0800 100 200.
House insurance claims. When you make a claim for house insurance you will need to provide details about what happened and when, the cause, and what damage or loss you’ve experienced. You will also need to show what steps or precautions you have taken to reduce the risk of further damage. Information that can help to support your claim include valuations, receipts, warranties and photos. If someone has purposefully damaged your home, you will need to call the police and get an incident reference number.
Contents insurance claims. You will need to provide details about what, when and how damage or loss has occurred with your contents that you are making a claim for. AMI will need to know more about the items, which can be proved with receipts, warranties, photos or serial numbers. You’ll need to obtain an incident reference number from the police if there has been intentional damage to your belongings or they have been stolen.
Frequently asked questions
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