What does house insurance cover in New Zealand, and what doesn't it?

What happens	How Tower's wording treats it
A fire damages the kitchen	Usually covered as sudden and accidental loss (Tower wording)
A tree falls on the garage	Usually covered, because the damage is sudden and the garage is a domestic outbuilding (Tower wording)
A pipe in the wall seeps for months	Excluded as gradual damage, apart from a small hidden-water benefit (Tower wording)
Old roofing wears out	Excluded as wear and tear, but resulting damage inside can still be covered (Tower wording)
An earthquake cracks the foundations	Natural Hazards Commission first, then your insurer (NHC)
The sofa is ruined by smoke	Not a house claim, because belongings are contents (Tower)

Solar systems, fixed pools and spas, tennis courts and garden retaining walls above the included total are covered only if they are specified on your certificate (Tower wording). QuoteHub's guide to building insurance goes item by item, and home and contents insurance explains where the second policy starts.

Benefit, most paid for each event	Standard	Plus	Premium
Temporary accommodation	$15,000	$25,000	$30,000
Hidden gradual water damage	$1,000	$2,000	$3,000
House under minor alteration	$10,000	$20,000	$50,000
Landscaping after fire or vehicle impact	$1,000	$2,000	$5,000
Keys and locks lost or stolen, no excess	$500	$1,000	$2,000

The hidden water benefit is narrow. It covers hidden supply or disposal pipes, hoses and tanks inside the walls, floors or roof, and does not pay to find the leak or for a leaking shower base (Tower wording).

All three levels also include liability protection if an accident at your house damages someone else's property, to a total of $20,000,000 in the period of insurance. If a fire makes the house uneconomic to repair and it would cost more to replace than the sum insured, Tower pays up to a further 20% of the sum insured, though not for fire that follows a natural hazard.

Temporary accommodation has its own conditions. It applies when the house is uninhabitable because of a covered loss, or when a government or council order stops you getting into it, and it includes kennel or cattery fees for pets (Tower wording). The house insurance guide sets out when it stops and when it doesn't apply.

Flood works differently, because for storm and flood NHC covers parts of your land rather than the house. That is why the wording of your own policy matters. The full split is in natural disaster insurance in NZ, and the figure that caps everything is covered in the sum insured guide.

Things that are not the house

• drapes and blinds, floor coverings that are not fixed, and temporary structures
• unsealed driveways and paths, stock fences and portable pools
• trees, shrubs and plants, and the land, earth or fill
• your belongings, which need contents cover

Damage that builds up or has a cause in the building

• wear and tear, and gradual deterioration such as rust, rot, mould and corrosion
• faults and defects, including structural defects and water entering through defective design or workmanship
• damage by insects, pests, rodents and vermin (possums are carved out)
• mechanical or electrical breakdown, unless the equipment burnt out because of an accidental external force
• settling, cracking, soil movement and subsidence

Things you or someone in the house did

• deliberate damage and criminal or reckless acts
• pets chewing, scratching or fouling the house
• damage from making or using controlled drugs
• cleaning or repairing with unsuitable methods or materials

Situations that change your cover

• loss from renovations or structural additions beyond the minor-alteration benefit
• a house that becomes a dedicated tenanted property you do not use yourself
• business activity beyond rental income from occasional letting or a home office

Wear and tear is excluded, but the wording says resulting loss, meaning secondary damage that follows directly, is covered. So a worn-out roof isn't paid for, but the ceiling it ruins after a storm may be. Roof leaks and gradual damage goes through that line in detail.

• New policy. A storm, flood, wildfire, tsunami, volcanic activity or landslide within 72 hours of the start date is excluded, as is a cyclone named before the start date. This does not apply if the policy followed straight on from another that covered these risks, or was taken out when you bought the house (Tower wording).
• Empty house. After more than 90 consecutive days unoccupied, cover narrows to natural hazards, fire not started deliberately, and storm or flood, with an extra excess of $1,000. A house you have told Tower is a holiday home is treated differently (Tower wording). See vacant house insurance.
• Other insurance. The wording does not cover loss you are also covered for under another insurer's policy (Tower wording).
• Letting the house. If you rent it out or run a business from it, tell your insurer straight away, because Tower says it has separate landlord and business policies for those uses. See landlord versus house insurance.

After a partial loss the sum insured reduces by the repair cost until the repairs are finished. So an under-set sum insured can leave a covered claim short. Your excess comes off each claim unless the benefit says it is excess-free, and insurance excess explained covers how excesses work.