How much does landlord insurance cost in NZ?

Part of the bill	Range per year	How it is set
Natural Hazards Insurance levy	Up to $480 plus GST (Tower, NHC)	Government. 16 cents per $100 of sum insured, up to a sum insured of $300,000 (Tower)
Fire and Emergency levy	Up to $107.40 plus GST, for policies starting or renewing from 1 July 2026 (Tower)	Government. 10.74 cents per $100 of sum insured, up to the maximum (Tower)
GST	15% of the total (Tower)	Government
Base and risk-based premium	Not published for landlord policies, so there is no range to quote	Insurer, set per property at quote time

The sum insured is the most the insurer will pay to rebuild the house. The NHC levy stops rising at a sum insured of $300,000 (Tower), so past that point a bigger rebuild cost raises only the insurer's part of the bill.

The Natural Hazards Commission (NHC, formerly EQC) levy buys access to NHC cover, which generally pays the first $300,000 plus GST of natural hazard damage to the building, with the private policy covering the rest (Tower). Natural hazards and flood cover in NZ explains how the two layers fit.

For what households pay to insure a house, see how much house insurance costs in NZ. That is a blended household average, not a landlord quote.

What the insurer looks at	How it moves the price
Rebuild cost	Tower asks for a sum insured that covers the whole rebuild, including demolition, debris removal, professional fees and council fees (Tower). A larger or more elaborate house costs more to rebuild.
Natural hazard risk	Tower assesses earthquake, flood, landslide and sea surge risk at each address when you buy or renew, and says this forms part but not all of the premium (Tower).
Excess	Tower lists a change to your excess as one reason a landlord premium can go up or down (Tower). In general a higher excess means a lower premium (ICNZ).
Claim costs and inflation	Tower names inflation, repair and labour costs, more frequent bad weather, reinsurance and levy increases as reasons a premium can rise (Tower).
How the house is used	Your answers decide the cover offered, the premium and any special terms. Renting out, renovating, business use and security all count (ICNZ).
The insurer	Insurers use different pricing models and pass costs on differently, so two can price the same address differently (ICNZ).

Tower's landlord page describes one policy, Landlord's Plus, rather than the Standard, Plus and Premium levels shown for house cover. Lost rent, deliberate damage, meth clean-up, whiteware and window coverings all sit inside it (Tower). Landlord insurance versus house insurance compares the cover.

Situation	Additional excess per event	Notes
Deliberate damage by tenants or their guests	$500 (Tower wording, p. 11)	Benefit pays up to $20,000 per event (Tower wording, p. 11). See loss of rent and tenant damage
House unoccupied for more than 90 consecutive days	$1,000 (Tower wording, p. 10)	Does not apply if the certificate shows a holiday home
Meth contamination repair	$2,000 (Tower wording, p. 16)	Benefit pays up to $30,000 (Tower wording, p. 15). See meth contamination and landlord insurance
Natural hazard damage to a driveway, path, fence or pool	$5,000 (Tower wording, p. 11)	Claim from NHC first

Your own excess is shown on your certificate of insurance.

A lost-rent claim under the "other reasons" benefit, such as an eviction for unpaid rent, carries an additional excess of one week's rent (Tower wording, p. 15). Tenants who carelessly damage a rental are liable for up to four weeks' rent or the landlord's insurance excess, whichever is lower, and insurers cannot chase tenants for the cost of that damage (Tenancy Services). Insurance excess explained covers the trade-off in more detail.

• A sum insured that matches the rebuild cost. Too low and the owner may have to pay for some of the work. Too high and the premium may be more than needed, because policies do not require insurers to pay more than the actual cost of rebuilding (ICNZ). Working out your sum insured shows the method.
• The excess is a trade-off. A higher excess generally means a lower premium (ICNZ).
• Accurate answers about the property. Holiday home use, business use, structural alterations and long vacancies change the cover, and the wording asks the owner to say so (Tower wording, pp. 10 and 21). See vacant house insurance and Airbnb and short-term rental insurance.
• No bundle discount on new policies. Tower no longer offers a multi-policy discount on new policies, though only one excess may be payable when one event hits more than one eligible policy (Tower).
• Landlord obligations are part of the cover. Tower's wording may decline a claim if obligations such as references, inspections and arrears notices are not met (Tower wording, pp. 8 and 9), as the landlord insurance guide sets out.