What does Tower contents insurance cover in New Zealand?
General information, not advice on your situation. Buying through Tower's online quote is direct, without advice. QuoteHub is a Tower partner and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission from Tower.
Tower sells contents insurance in three levels, Standard, Plus and Premium, and the two differences that matter most are the maximum paid for any one item ($1,000, $5,000 or $10,000) and where your things are covered (Tower). Plus and Premium cover accidental loss anywhere in New Zealand, while Standard covers your house and adds up to $5,000 for loss away from it (Tower's Standard wording). All three replace lost or damaged items with new ones rather than depreciating them, so the choice mostly comes down to your phone, jewellery, laptop and what you carry out of the house.
The three levels side by side
Tower's current wordings (code 09-24) set the most it pays for any one item unless you have listed that item on your certificate of insurance. A few things have their own amounts, shown below.
| Limit | Standard | Plus | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single item limit | $1,000 | $5,000 | $10,000 |
| Mobile phone, per phone | $500 | $1,000 | $10,000 |
| Jewellery, per item | $1,000 | $2,500 | $10,000 |
| Jewellery, total per claim | $5,000 | $15,000 | $30,000 |
| Prescription glasses and contact lenses | $1,000 | $5,000 | $10,000 |
| Keys and locks, no excess | $500 | $1,000 | $2,000 |
Plus and Premium charge a reduced excess of $100 on glasses and contact lens claims, while Standard customers pay their normal policy excess (Tower). Your excess is on your certificate of insurance.
Items above these limits can be listed on the certificate for an extra premium. On Standard that applies to single items or sets over $1,000, collections over $1,500 and phones over $500, but not to documents over $1,200 or money, gold or silver bars and precious stones over $250 (Tower's Standard wording).
How the limits show up in a claim
Limits are easy to skim past on a comparison table. Four everyday situations show where they bite.
- A phone drops on the footpath. The wording pays per phone, up to $500 on Standard, $1,000 on Plus and $10,000 on Premium, or the amount specified on your certificate (Tower's Plus wording, Tower). If your phone costs more than your level pays, list it or choose a higher level.
- A ring goes missing. Jewellery has a per item limit and a separate total per claim, so a set of rings and earrings can hit the total before any single item hits its own limit. Tower says that if you have items worth more than the per item limit, you need to tell it so it can fully cover them, with an adjusted premium (Tower).
- A laptop is stolen from a car or a cafe. The wording lists laptops, tablets and cameras as covered personal electronics (Tower's Plus wording). On Standard, the $1,000 single item limit still caps any one item unless it is listed, even though the away from home benefit is $5,000 (Tower's Standard wording). If the laptop is office equipment for a business run from your home, the home office benefit in the table below may apply instead.
- A hidden pipe leaks inside a wall. Contents damaged by hidden, gradual leaks from pipes, hoses or tanks inside the walls, cupboards, floors, ceiling or roof are covered up to $1,000 per event on Standard, $2,000 on Plus and $3,000 on Premium. Tower does not pay to find or fix the leak, and shower base and cubicle leaks are excluded (Tower's Plus wording, Tower's Standard wording, Tower's Premium wording). Damage to the building itself is a house insurance matter, covered in QuoteHub's Tower house insurance page.
What counts as contents
Tower covers things you own, or hire and are liable for, that are usually kept in or around your house or worn or carried by you (Tower's Plus wording). That includes the obvious items such as furniture, clothing, appliances that are not wired or plumbed in, and rugs not fixed to the floor. It also reaches outdoor items, for example garden equipment, power tools, domestic ride-on mowers, and spa pools or saunas designed to be moved. Fixtures such as carpet glued down, built-in appliances and the building itself are house cover, which is why most owner-occupiers look at home and contents together (QuoteHub's guide).
Contents that belong to you and the family members who live with you are covered. Flatmates, boarders and guests need their own policy for their things (Tower). QuoteHub's guide to renters insurance covers the flatting case.
Where your things are covered
Plus and Premium cover loss to your contents anywhere in New Zealand, as long as the loss is sudden and accidental (Tower's Plus wording). Standard covers contents at your house, and adds a benefit of up to $5,000 for loss while your things are away from it (Tower's Standard wording). That gap matters if you carry a laptop, a bike or a camera around.
No level covers your belongings overseas, so a trip needs travel insurance (Tower). Cover continues at home while you are on holiday, but if the house is unoccupied for more than 90 consecutive days, cover from day 91 narrows to natural hazards, fire not caused deliberately, and storm or flood, and an extra $1,000 excess applies (Tower's Plus wording). The limit does not apply if you have told Tower the house is a holiday home and that is shown on your certificate, and Tower asks you to call if you know the house will be empty that long. The hidden water damage benefit also stops after 90 unoccupied days.
Benefits that change between levels
Every level includes liability protection of up to $20,000,000 for accidental property damage you are legally liable for, with bodily injury to others limited to $100,000 for each event (Tower's Standard wording). Contents are covered for 42 days if temporarily relocated within New Zealand, and for up to 14 days in transit when you move house (Tower's Plus wording). Natural disaster damage to contents is covered up to your sum insured, less any excess (Tower).
These benefits differ:
| Benefit | Standard | Plus | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temporary accommodation, each event | $15,000 | $25,000 | $30,000 |
| Home office equipment, at your house | Not included | $5,000 | $10,000 |
| Home office equipment, away from your house | Not included | $750 | $1,500 |
| Hidden gradual water damage, each event | $1,000 | $2,000 | $3,000 |
| Spoiled frozen or refrigerated food | $500 | $1,000 | Reasonable replacement value, no dollar cap stated (wording) |
| Contents in commercial storage, each event | Not included | $20,000, under 6 months | $20,000, under 12 months |
| Stress lump sum if all contents are destroyed | Not included | $1,000 | $2,000 |
| Children's contents at university or boarding school | $5,000 | $5,000 | $10,000 |
The university benefit does not apply if your child is flatting. Home office cover is for furniture and equipment used for a business, profession or occupation that operates from your home (Tower's Premium wording). Credit or debit card fraud is covered up to $1,000 on Plus and Premium only (Tower's Plus wording).
Excess, and claiming on more than one policy
The excess applies to each event, and a benefit that says it is excess-free, such as keys and locks, has none when it is the only thing you claim (Tower's Plus wording). If one event damages your contents and also your house, car or boat insured with Tower, you pay one excess, the highest of them (Tower's Plus wording). Tower says its multi-policy discount is no longer offered on new policies, so that single excess is the practical benefit of keeping policies together (Tower, multi-policy discount). Tower notes that choosing a higher excess may reduce your premium, so long as you can afford it if you claim (Tower, multi-policy discount).
What Tower contents insurance does not cover
Cover is for sudden and accidental physical loss, so the exclusions in the wording are worth reading in full (Tower's Premium wording). The main ones:
- Wear and tear, gradual deterioration, mould, rust and insect or vermin damage, apart from the hidden water benefit above.
- Mechanical or electrical breakdown, unless an item burnt out because of an accidental external force.
- Damage by pets, including chewing, scratching and urine. Animals themselves and plants are not covered.
- Business equipment other than the home office benefit, and computer software and data other than licensed programs.
- Motorised watercraft and sailing craft above a value limit that depends on the level ($2,000 on Premium, $1,500 on Plus, $500 on Standard), and motor vehicles other than small unlicensed, unregistered ones such as golf carts, mopeds and mobility scooters. The Premium wording sets out these limits (Tower's Premium wording).
- Storm, flood, wildfire, tsunami, volcanic activity or landslide within 72 hours of the policy start date, and cyclones named before it, unless the policy follows straight on from another covering those risks or was taken out when you bought the house.
- Contents in a house you do not live in that is let to tenants, unless Tower has agreed in writing.
- Cyber loss, communicable disease and war or terrorism losses.
You must also take reasonable care of your contents and keep the house locked when unattended. If you do not meet your responsibilities, Tower can decline a claim or cancel the policy (Tower's Premium wording).
Working out your sum insured
Tower says to think about what it would cost to replace your things today, using usual full prices rather than sale prices, and to include clothing, bedding and kitchenware as well as electronics and jewellery (Tower). It notes that furniture, pots and pans and clothing could potentially be a third of your total contents (Tower's contents value page).
A simple method is to walk through the house room by room, list what you would have to replace, and add a line for anything over your level's limits. Tower's contents calculator estimates a value from details about your home and household and shows a room-by-room breakdown you can edit, and it suggests reviewing the figure each year and after any big purchase such as a bike, e-bike, TV or jewellery (Tower's contents value page).
Claims are settled up to the lower of the benefit limit and the sum insured on your certificate, and Tower can replace, repair or pay, with no deduction for betterment (Tower's Premium wording). Setting the sum insured too low means a large claim can run out of cover. QuoteHub's guides to contents insurance cost and working out a sum insured explain what drives the price.
Getting a quote from Tower online
Have your address, who lives there, your estimated contents value, and details of any single items over your level's limit ready. QuoteHub's link opens Tower's online quote, Tower's own tool, where you see Tower's terms and price. Other insurers sell contents cover too, so read the wording of any quote you compare. If you also need cover for the building, QuoteHub's guide to home and contents insurance and its Tower quote guide explain how the pieces fit together.
Questions people ask
What are the three levels of Tower contents insurance?
Standard, Plus and Premium. Standard is the simplest, with a $1,000 single item limit, Plus lifts that to $5,000, and Premium to $10,000 (Tower). Plus and Premium also include home office equipment cover and cover for your things anywhere in New Zealand.
Does Tower contents insurance cover my laptop and phone away from home?
On Plus and Premium, yes, anywhere in New Zealand, within the item limits above. On Standard, loss away from your house is covered up to $5,000, but the per item and per phone limits still apply (Tower's Standard wording). Breakdown and wear and tear are not covered at any level.
Do I need contents insurance if I rent?
Contents insurance covers your own belongings, not the building, and Tower sells a renters version of the same three levels (Tower). Whether it is worth having depends on what it would cost you to replace your things. See QuoteHub's renters insurance guide.
Can I cancel Tower contents insurance if I change my mind?
Yes. Within 15 days of the start date, if you have not claimed, Tower refunds your premiums and treats the policy as never having started. After that you can cancel online, by email or by phone for a refund of the unused premium (Tower's Standard wording).
Is Tower contents insurance good?
That depends on what you own and how you live, and QuoteHub is a Tower partner, so check the wording yourself. Tower says it replaces lost, stolen or damaged items rather than depreciating them (Tower). QuoteHub's Tower Insurance overview covers its financial strength rating, and its guide to how claims work explains what happens after a loss.
Adviser's view
QuoteHub's read: the three Tower contents levels differ most on single item limits and on whether your things are covered away from home, so check those against what you actually own.
Get a Tower quote online
Tower’s own quote opens in a new tab. House, contents, landlord, car and boat cover can be quoted together in one go.
Tower Easy Save: save $400*
- $200 off house or landlord
- $100 off comprehensive car
- $100 off contents
*$400 is made up of individual policy discounts, each available separately. New, eligible policies only with promo code EASYSAVE. Excl. contract works. Ends 30 Jan 2027. Ts&Cs apply. Tower’s Easy Save terms, checked 6 October 2026.
QuoteHub is a Tower partner. If you buy through this link, Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission from Tower. Buying online is not financial advice.
Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Tower Contents Insurance NZ: Three Levels Compared. www.quotehub.co.nz/tower-insurance/tower-contents-insurance. Updated 2026-10-07.
References
- Tower, contents insurance
- Tower, calculating your contents value
- Tower, renter's contents insurance
- Tower, multi-policy discount
- Tower, Standard contents wording (09-24)
- Tower, Plus contents wording (09-24)
- Tower, Premium contents wording (09-24)
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