Updates to your insurance policy wording - August 2021

Changes to House and Landlord policy wordings (08/2021)

We are changing our Full replacement for fire benefit in all House and Landlord’s house insurance policies underwritten by Tower to an Extended sum insured for fire benefit.

Existing wording:

Full replacement for fire

If your house suffers a loss caused by fire we’ll settle your house claim with no house sum insured limit.

Limits

We’ll, at our option, replace your house, or pay you for the actual replacement cost as those costs are incurred, with a house that is the:

1. square metre area shown on your certificate of insurance, or
2. actual square metre area of your house before the loss

whichever is the lesser.

This benefit does not apply to fires following a natural disaster.

Where this benefit applies, the Demand surge protection on page 11 benefit does not apply.

New wording:

Extended sum insured for fire

We'll pay up to a further 20% of your sum insured shown on your certificate of insurance for your house claim if the following apply:

1. your house suffers loss caused by fire
2. we decide it’s uneconomic to repair your house
3. the estimated replacement cost to replace your house at the situation is greater than the sum insured shown on your certificate of insurance.

Limits

The most we will pay is the lesser of:

1. the estimated replacement cost to replace your house at the situation; or
2. your sum insured shown on your certificate of insurance, plus up to a further 20% of your sum insured.

This benefit does not apply to fire following a natural disaster.

Where this benefit applies, the automatic benefit Demand surge protection on page 11 does not apply.

Existing wording:

How we’ll settle your claim

The maximum per event that we’ll settle your claim for is the least of:

1. the actual cost to repair your house, or
2. the actual cost to replace the actual square metre area of your house before the loss, or the square metre area shown on your certificate of insurance (whichever is the lesser), or
3. the house sum insured as shown on your certificate of insurance, unless the automatic benefit Full replacement for fire on page 12 applies.

In all cases:

6. We’ll not:

a. pay any extra cost of repairing or replacing any part of your house caused by that part not having a legally required building consent when it was built, or that part being built contrary to the building consent issued

b. pay for repairing or replacing any part of your house that has not suffered loss

c. pay for any neighbouring property’s share where you jointly own property such as retaining walls, fences, gates or driveways

d. pay the cost of repair or replacement beyond what is reasonable, practical or comparable with the original when built or renovated

e. repair or replace your house exactly to its previous condition.

New wording:

How we’ll settle your claim

The maximum per event that we’ll settle your claim for is the least of:

1. the actual cost to repair your house
2. the actual cost to replace the actual square metre area of your house before the loss, or the square metre area shown on your certificate of insurance (whichever is the lesser)
3. the sum insured shown on your certificate of insurance.

If the automatic benefit Extended sum insured for fire on page 12 applies, the maximum per event that we’ll settle your claim for is the sum insured shown on your certificate of insurance plus up to a further 20% of your sum insured.

In all cases:

6. We’ll not:

a. pay more than the sum insured shown on your certificate of insurance, unless the cover provided in the automatic benefit Extended sum insured for fire on page 12 applies

b. pay any extra cost of repairing or replacing any part of your house caused by that part not having a legally required building consent when it was built, or that part being built contrary to the building consent issued

c. pay for repairing or replacing any part of your house that has not suffered loss

d. pay for any neighbouring property’s share where you jointly own property such as retaining walls, fences, gates or driveways

e. pay the cost of repair or replacement beyond what is reasonable, practical or comparable with the original when built or renovated, other than the cover provided in the automatic benefit Sustainability upgrade on page 16

f. repair or replace your house exactly to its previous condition.