New Zealand households are now paying more than $5,000 annually for a standard mix of home, contents, and car cover, new figures from comparison site Quashed show.
Families with two or more vehicles typically face yearly costs of around $6,000.
Quashed’s second-quarter 2025 analysis reported that average household premiums rose 6% over the past year, reaching $5,154. This compares with $4,880 in the same period of 2024.
Looking over three years, total household cover costs have grown by $1,610.
House insurance premiums rose by $978 during that period, comprehensive car cover increased by $386, and contents premiums added $246.
House insurance showed the sharpest movements across the regions. Canterbury recorded the steepest rise, with average annual costs increasing 18% to $3,110. Wellington premiums rose 13% to $4,797, while Auckland saw a more moderate 7% increase to $2,198.
By contrast, average car insurance prices fell. Canterbury premiums dropped 6% to $1,148, Wellington fell 5% to $1,126, and Auckland recorded a 4% decrease to $1,479.
Contents insurance presented a mixed picture, climbing 6% in Canterbury to $939, edging down 3% in Auckland to $714, and remaining largely flat in Wellington at $1,131.
Quashed chief executive Justin Lim said higher home insurance costs remain a central pressure for households.
“While it was good to see a small dip in terms of car insurance costs compared to a year ago, house insurance has climbed 12%,” he said, as reported by Interest.co.nz. “With a spotlight on house insurance at the moment and insurers moving towards risk-based pricing, we’re seeing all that flow through.”
Lim added that comparison shopping often reveals price differences between insurers.
According to Quashed data, users found cheaper house insurance in 60% of cases, with average savings of $741. Savings were also reported in 84% of car policies and 73% of contents policies.
Consumer NZ’s latest report pointed to growing affordability challenges. The organisation noted that house insurance premiums have increased by more than 900% since 2000.
Its survey found that by 2025, 17% of households had cancelled cover due to cost, up from 7% in 2022.
Insurance now ranks behind housing, food, and debt as one of the four most significant household expenses, the group said.
Consumer NZ also highlighted frustrations over limited transparency in pricing models and restricted opportunities to compare policies for high-risk homes.
A separate survey commissioned by Tower found that many homeowners want more visibility over the risks facing their properties.
Nearly half of respondents said they wanted clearer information on natural hazards such as flooding, slips, and coastal surges.
The research also showed majority support for risk-based pricing. Seventy percent of respondents agreed that premiums should reflect a property’s specific level of exposure, and 68% accepted that higher-risk properties would face higher premiums.
