Where can I buy NZ car insurance?

Not every insurance company in New Zealand sells insurance to visitors and typically speaking this type of insurance is a specialised market. These companies used to be few and far between but these days you have plenty of options to choose from and to compare what works best for you.

Simply type backpacker car insurance' into a search engine and plenty of results will be thrown back at you but some of the most popular are the policies offered by AA, BBH Vehicle Insurance, Travellers Car Insurance and Backpackers Motor Insurance.

No matter what though it pays to shop around and compare a few prices. Policies with the biggest excesses are typically cheaper while the age of the driver will also often impact on the price, especially for those aged 18 to 21 – more with some companies than others. It will also depend whether you decide to go down the comprehensive or third party cover route and whether you want the driver or the vehicle insured as to which company can offer the best deals.

To make things even more budget-friendly backpacker insurance policies recognise that many travellers only need insuring for a limited period. Many companies offer different policy lengths, generally in chunks of 3 months, which means you won't have to fork out for annual cover if your time in New Zealand is shorter.