How to Get Backpacker Car & Campervan Insurance in New Zealand

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Decide What Type of Car Insurance Cover You Want

There are three types of vehicle insurance you can get in New Zealand:

• Comprehensive covers the cost of damages to your own vehicle, as well as damages to any other vehicle involved.
• Third-party covers the cost of damages to just the other vehicles involved in the accident.
• Third-party fire and theft, (usually combined with third-party cover explained above) also cover your own vehicle if stolen or damaged by fire.

Some companies cover the costs of accidental injuries and death involved in a vehicle accident, however, injuries caused by accidents are usually covered by the New Zealand universal cover scheme, ACC, which you can read more about in our guide, What is ACC and Employee Accident Cover?

For more information on the difference between comprehensive and third party, check out our guide to How Car and Campervan Insurance Works in New Zealand.

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Choose Who You Want to Insure

By “who” we mean you can insure either a driver or a vehicle.

Insuring the Driver

If insuring a driver, it usually means that that driver is insured when driving any vehicle in New Zealand. Then you can add named drivers to that insurance at an extra cost.

Insuring the Vehicle

If insuring a vehicle, it means any driver of your vehicle holding a valid driver’s license is insured. You don’t have to worry about switching drivers on a long road trip. You can read more about what a valid driver’s license is in Driving in New Zealand: Everything You NEED to Know.

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Choose a Duration of Cover

Not all backpackers or working holidaymakers travelling in New Zealand stay for a whole year, so it’s ideal that there are some New Zealand vehicle insurance companies out there offering cover for a shorter duration than the usual one year.

Look for insurance companies that offer insurance in intervals of three, six, nine and 12 months to keep prices lower by only paying for what you need.

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Keep an Eye on Excess

“Excess” is also important to understand when comparing backpacker car insurance. The excess is the amount you would have to pay in the event of paying for damage before the insurance company pays for the remainder. Higher excess usually means cheaper insurance prices, while lower excess may mean expensive car insurance.

Insurance Excess Example

If you have an excess of NZ$500 and the damages bill is NZ$5,000, then you will pay NZ$500 and the insurance company will pay NZ$4,500.

For more information on excess and other technicalities of understanding your car insurance, as well as more nitty gritty tips, head to the 10 Things to Know About New Zealand Car Insurance.

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How to Choose a Vehicle Insurance Company

Once you have an idea about what type of cover you want, who you want to insure, and the preferred duration of the insurance, this may make choosing an insurance company a little more straightforward. However, not all insurance companies in New Zealand sell insurance to visitors and backpackers, so it’s important to make sure that you search for “temporary” or “backpacker” car/campervan/vehicle insurance when doing your online search.

It’s always smart to make a comparison between insurance companies by getting a quote from a few different companies before deciding on which one to go with.

Your First Quote for Backpacker Car Insurance in New Zealand

To get started on quotes, use the widget below to get a quote from Frogs-in-nz. They offer comprehensive backpacker insurance and you can get a 5% discount just by using the discount code: POCKETGUIDE in the “promo code” field. You’re welcome!

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Can You Buy Backpacker Cars and Campervans Already Insured in New Zealand?

To alleviate the hassle of buying car insurance once you arrive in New Zealand, get it already included in the purchase of your vehicle. Dealerships like Backpacker Car renovate vehicles themselves so they’re road trip ready for your arrival. Vehicles are fully pre-serviced with an included one-month mechanical warranty and have optional add-ons like insurance, roadside assistance and extended warranties. Then, at the end of your trip, you can sell the vehicle back to the team. Check out their cars and campervans for sale at backpackercar.co.nz.

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What You Need to Buy Backpacker Car and Campervan Insurance

Once you have decided what lovely car insurance you want to purchase, you’ll need to provide some information about the driver and the vehicle. The information asked for by the insurance company may vary depending on what type of cover you are getting, but generally, this is the information you need to have on hand:

• The driver’s driving license
• The driver’s passport – you may need your passport number if buying online
• Year, make, model and registration number of the vehicle
• Visa or MasterCard to pay online or just your debit card will do if paying in a store.