Frequently Asked Questions

My Cove is where you can view and change your details, manage your insurance, or start a new insurance quote. From My Cove you can:

• Insure something new
• Change your personal details, including your first name, last name, email address, address, and phone number
• Change your payment method, and view your existing payment method
• View and amend any of your existing policies
• Cancel any of your policies

Everything that you’d usually have to ring through to a call centre can be done right here 24/7.

Simply click here, or click on the login button at the top of this webpage.

Enter in the email address associated with your Cove account and your nominated password and the portal will open.

First step is to make sure the email hasn’t been auto assigned into a spam or promotions folder. This can be pretty common within Gmail accounts particularly.

If you’ve checked those folders and still can’t see any emails from Cove then it’s possible there is a mistake in the email address that is registered with us. To check the email address recorded on your account simply contact us and we can confirm this for you.

If it’s between 7am and 10pm any day of the week the quickest way to get in touch is by live chat – just click on the live chat widget at the bottom right of this page to start a conversation.

Here at Cove we’re all about making things easier for you – letting you take control of your policies, make updates when it suits you, and not waste time sitting in a call centre queue.

From My Cove you can:

1. Insure something new
2. Change your personal details, including your first name, last name, email address, address, and phone number
3. Change your payment method, and view your existing payment method
4. View and amend any of your existing policies
5. Cancel any of your policies

We’re also working on other features too, including more complex requests. For now, complex changes can be made by a Cove team member. Simply contact us by live chat, email, or phone and we’ll get that sorted.

No troubles – it happens to all of us (some of us all the time!).

To reset your password follow this link or click on the login button at the top of this webpage. Click on the Don’t know your password link on screen, pop in your email address, and a new temporary password will be sent to you.

Then it’s just a matter of following the instructions in the email to reset your password.

When you purchase a policy with Cove we automatically set up a My Cove account for you. At the time you purchased your first policy we would have sent you an email with a temporary password for your account, sometimes though this email can be diverted to a spam or promotions folder and be missed.

Not too worry though, all it takes is a password reset and you’ll be underway.

To reset your password follow this link or click on the login button at the top of this webpage. Click on the Don’t know your password link on screen, pop in your email address, and a new temporary password will be sent to you.

Then it’s just a matter of following the instructions in the email to reset your password.

If you’re not sure of your password, or your usual one isn’t working for you simply follow the below steps to set up a new one.

To reset your password follow this link or click on the login button at the top of this webpage. Click on the Don’t know your password link on screen, pop in your email address, and a new temporary password will be sent to you.

Then it’s just a matter of following the instructions in the email to reset your password.

Buying insurance through Cove can be done in just a couple of minutes via our website. This also works great on your mobile or tablet so you can get your insurance sorted whenever and wherever suits you best.

We’ll ask you some simple and intuitive questions, and if we can offer you cover, we’ll provide a quote immediately.

To get started buying insurance through Cove, simply check our prices online.

When you’ve provided all the information we need to accurately price your policy, we present you with what’s known as the quote summary screen.

This is where you can customise your policy to suit your specific needs. You can:

• Select your excess
• Add or remove optional benefits
• Increase or decrease the agreed value of the policy (car insurance only

You can also change the start date of your policy, and review the policy wording here too.

It is important to review this page closely before proceeding and make sure the policy will meet your personal requirements.

At this point in time we’re allowing payments to be made by either a debit card or credit card. Your card will be registered against your account and your policy premium will be deducted on your due date.

We don’t currently offer direct debit, however if you register a debit card against your Cove account this will work in a similar manner, taking the premium from a day to day transactional account rather than a credit account.

Yes, just select the Annual option on the policy summary screen.

You sure can! We understand that you may need to wait until your current insurance policy expires, or that you’d like to align payment dates to your pay schedule. So to make it super easy we’ve included a start date option on the quote summary screen.

You can choose to start the policy within the next 30 days. To ensure you don’t need to come back and do anything when the policy starts we’ll get you to complete the declaration and register your debit or credit card now, but rest assured you won’t be charged anything until your selected start date.

Once you’ve recorded the payment info we’ll send you an email confirming that there is a pending order in place. We’ll also send you a reminder the day before the policy is due to start. And once the policy activates, we’ll send you a copy of your policy wording confirming your policy number and that cover is now in place.

We understand that everyone has different needs when it comes to their insurance cover – some people want to pay as little as they can month to month while others prefer the certainty of ‘everything’ being included at claim time.

All our policies include optional benefits, cover options that can be switched on or off depending on your personal preference.

You’ll see the available optional benefits on the quote summary screen. Simply toggle them on or off based on your needs and you’ll see the premium update automatically.

If you’ve set up a policy to start in the future and you’ve changed your mind before it has started, it’s super simple to cancel your pending order via My Cove. Click here to do this.

If your policy has already started and you’ve paid your first premium we allow you 14 days to change your mind or decide the policy isn’t right for you. Cancel the policy via My Cove using the link above and we’ll refund your premium to you (as long as a claim has not been made, or you’ve become liable under a car insurance policy). Please note usually it takes 3 to 5 working days for the bank to clear the refund back into your account.

If your policy has been in place for longer than this, you can cancel at any time via My Cove.

To be able to provide you with an accurate quote we must be able to assess the risk you present to us. We need to be able to understand your likelihood to claim compared to other Cove customers and therefore calculate the appropriate premium for you.

The protection of your privacy is important to us, and we are committed to acting in accordance with the Privacy Act 1993. We take steps to protect against hackers or other web threats and we will never sell your personal data to others or use it for any other reason than those noted in your policy wording and our privacy policy.

Attributes like your name and email address are used to create a customer profile for you with Cove. This allows us to do things like, send your quote to you by email, create your dynamic and personalised policy wording, and pre populate questions on your next quote journey.

Attributes like your address, vehicle registration number, and date of birth are used to create your risk profile. Allowing us to set a premium that is a fair reflection of you and your risk, not everyone elses.

Our systems utilise Google Maps to allow easy input of most New Zealand addresses. Sometimes though Google may be a little behind on new subdivisions or multicomplex locations like apartment buildings.

If your address is not returned first check to make sure you don’t have any rogue spaces in the address – for example 1 / 7 A Make Believe Street should be 1/7A Make Believe Street.

If that doesn’t work, or that’s not your specific problem then enter an address that you know Google will find that’s within a close distance to your actual address. Make sure the suburb and postcode are the same as your actual address to ensure we calculate the premium correctly.

This approach will allow you to get a quote. If you’re happy with the quote and would like to proceed simply contact us (live chat is usually the quickest method) and we can update our policy management system to record the correct address.

Head to our Policy Documents page to view our latest policy wordings.

We automatically send an email around ten minutes after the quote has been completed (this helps us cut down on spamming you with multiple emails for a single quote).

On returning to your quote, you can make changes, review the policy terms and conditions, and proceed with purchase should you wish to.

As soon as we have received successful payment for your new policy you should have received an email confirming your policy number and with a policy wording attached for your records.

If you haven’t received this email the first thing to do is check it hasn’t been automatically assigned to a different folder or category by your email service or into a spam or promotions folder. This can be pretty common within Gmail accounts particularly.

If you’ve checked those folders and still can’t see any emails from Cove then it’s possible there is a mistake in the email address that is registered with us. To check the email address recorded on your account simply contact us and we can confirm this for you.

At this stage you are unable to purchase a policy if you or any regular drivers of your vehicle are on a learner licence.

Cove does not provide any form of commercial cover for vehicles. This includes using or registering your vehicle with a ride sharing or delivery service – Uber, Ola, Zoomy, Uber Eats, it doesn’t matter who.

Please be aware that using the vehicle for these purposes invalidates all cover under your policy and any claims raised will not be paid, no matter if you were driving the vehicle for Uber (or the like) at the time or not.

Don’t run the risk of ending up with no cover when you need it most. If your vehicle is registered to be used to carry fare paying passengers or to make deliveries you must choose another insurance provider.

Insuring your vehicle under a private use policy, like what Cove offers, when you use it for Uber or Uber Eats is quite simply fraud and here at Cove we have a zero tolerance policy for fraud. If we suspect your vehicle is registered for these services and you raise a claim, expect us to investigate your claim closely. We may ask you for evidence of your income and proof from Uber that your vehicle is not registered with them. Fail to satisfy the policy requirements and you may find yourself out of pocket.

Carrying tools, stock, equipment, or samples in your vehicle is deemed to be commercial use. Cove only provides cover for personal use so if you’re using the vehicle for work purposes you’ll need to find an alternative insurance provider.

Still unsure if you fit the definition of commercial use? Simply contact us to discuss.

Cove’s car insurance policy is a comprehensive policy that covers your vehicle for accidental damage and theft. It also provides cover for damage you may cause to another person’s car or property when using your vehicle.

We don’t cover commercial use, and we only cover standard cars, SUVs, and utes, less than 3,500kg and up to $80,000 in value.

There are also a number of automatic benefits included in the policy like emergency accommodation and towing cover, and you can extend the base cover by choosing to include our optional benefits too.

Unsure about anything? Simply contact us to discuss.

Simply click here to read our current car insurance policy wording in full.

Damage to your car’s windscreen and windows is covered under our standard policy and an excess will apply, however we also provide the option to make claims for these items without an excess.

If you’d like excess free glass claims just be sure to turn on the excess free glass optional benefit on the quote summary screen.

Because not everyone needs or wants breakdown cover with their car insurance we offer roadside assistance as an optional benefit.

To add roadside assistance cover simply turn on the roadside assistance optional benefit on the quote summary screen.

Assistance is available 24/7 by calling us on 0800 268 347.

At this stage there is absolutely no policy cover for anyone under the age of 21 – this includes non-regular drivers of your vehicle that are not named on your policy.

A certificate of currency is simply a notification to a finance company that we have an active policy in place and that they are noted as an interested party for the asset insured.

In the event of a total loss we are required to settle the balance of any finance contract on the insured asset before paying you the remainder of the policy value (if anything). We’re also required to notify the finance company if the policy is cancelled.

If your finance company has requested a certificate of currency just let us know – live chat is always the quickest way to get this sorted, just click on the live chat widget on the bottom of this page.

All we need from you is the name of the finance company and their email address – we’ll provide a certificate of currency directly to the finance company if required.

We ask you to name any person who drives your vehicle, on average, more than once per month on your policy. Each driver is subject to our standard underwriting criteria.

Failure to record any regular drivers on your policy may result in claims being declined so it’s best to do this as soon as you purchase a policy or when someone new begins using your vehicle to ensure you always have cover when you need it.

It is important that you provide an accurate driving history for every driver too – an incorrect claims count or non-disclosure of traffic offences could result in claims not being paid and worst-case scenario, your policy being cancelled back to when it started.

If in doubt about what needs to be disclosed simply contact us to discuss.

The Cove car insurance policy is an agreed value policy. This means that in the event of a total loss claim we’ll pay you the sum insured you’ve selected and is recorded on your policy (less any applicable excess).

When calculating your quote we set a default sum insured value using information provided by a third party vehicle valuation service. This default value represents the average market value for your car but doesn’t take into account the condition or mileage of your specific vehicle so could be a little low or a little high in some cases.

Be sure to review the sum insured on the quote summary screen and adjust it up or down to meet your specific needs.

One of the most common driving offences is receiving a ticket for speeding, but there are numerous types of driving offences that we need to be told about.

If you’ve received a fine or demerit points, or lost your licence, for something you’ve done whilst driving or in charge of a vehicle we must be told about it.

More examples of what’s a driving offence can be found here.

We can consider special acceptance for low level offending so be sure to disclose your entire driving history to us when you purchase a policy, and at each renewal be sure to tell us if anything has changed.

Failure to tell us may result in your policy being amended or cancelled for non-disclosure and any claim you have may not be paid so it’s best to be honest here.

And whilst technically parking tickets are also considered a driving offence, we won’t use these to underwrite you so no need to disclose them to us.

During the quote process we will ask you who the owner of the vehicle is, simply record their name here. If the vehicle is registered to a company (but remember Cove doesn’t provide cover for commercial use) it can also be recorded here, simply enter the company name into the first name field and ‘Limited’ into the last name field.

If the owner of the vehicle is also going to be a regular driver of the vehicle you must add them to the policy as a driver as well. We don’t treat ‘main’ drivers differently from ‘additional’ drivers so it is fine if the owner is recorded as an additional driver rather than as the main driver.

There are typically three types of car insurance available in New Zealand. Comprehensive, Third party fire and theft, and Third party only cover.

Comprehensive policies cover your vehicle for accidental damage and theft as well as providing cover for damage you may cause to another person’s car or property when using your vehicle.

Third party fire and theft provides cover for theft of your vehicle only, but still provides cover for damage you may cause to another person’s car or property when using your vehicle.

Third party only cover provides no cover for your own vehicle – it only provides cover for damage you may cause to another person’s car or property when using your vehicle.

At this time all Cove car insurance policies are for comprehensive cover.

At this point in time we’re allowing payments to be made by either a debit card or credit card. Your card will be registered against your account and your policy premium will be deducted on your due date automatically every month.

We don’t currently offer direct debit, however if you register a debit card against your Cove account this will work in a similar manner, taking the premium from a day to day transactional account rather than a credit account.

Simply log in to My Cove and you can update your on file.

Once there you’ll see a section called ‘Payment method’, you can check what card you have loaded against your account and change it if need be.

Simply log in to My Cove. Once there you’ll see an option to change your home address.

If you need a different parking location address to your home address please contact us by live chat, email, or phone and we’ll get that sorted.

Not at all. Cove absorbs the transaction fees associated with credit card payments and doesn’t pass these on to our customers in any way shape or form.

If you’ve cancelled a policy and there’s a refund due a refund will be generated as quickly as possible for you. As there are a number of internal and external processes to be completed before the money will be available in your account again it may take between 3-5 days (and in worst-case scenarios slightly longer) for the funds to be available for use in your account.

There can be a couple of reasons why premium collection fails, the most common of which are the card linked to your account has expired, or there weren’t enough clear funds in your account to cover the premium owing.

The first step is to check that the required funds are in your account and then log in to My Cove to check your saved card is still valid and up to date.

Log in to My Cove here.

Once there you’ll see a section called ‘Payment method’, you can check what card you have loaded against your account and change it if need be.

We’ll attempt to take the payment again automatically each night, so as soon as everything is in order you can simply let our automated processes do their thing.

You’ll be able to confirm payment has been received by checking your policy status in My Cove.

Absolutely. We love making things stress free and simple. As your policies renew we’ll make a call to your nominated debit or credit card for the premium that’s due for the upcoming month’s cover.

To avoid spamming you, well only notify you of this upcoming premium collection if something has changed from last month. So if you think you might need something to let you know it’s happening each month why not set up a calendar reminder that reoccurs the day before your renewal day.

If you don’t want to continue cover for the upcoming month be sure to cancel your policy before this renewal date to prevent incurring additional charges that can’t be refunded.

We set your renewal date for all your policies based on the date on which you took out your first policy with Cove. This allows us to bundle your billing into one transaction and give you ability to manage one account rather than several individual policies.

Simply log in to My Cove  – if your policy isn’t paid up to date it will show as greyed out.

You can visit our unsubscribe page to opt out of any future targeted marketing Cove does. This could include email newsletters, direct mail, and individually targeted digital marketing.

If you’ve set up a policy to start in the future and you’ve changed your mind before it has started, it’s super simple to cancel your pending order via My Cove.

If your policy has already started and you’ve paid your first premium we allow you 14 days to change your mind or decide the policy isn’t right for you. Cancel the policy via My Cove and we’ll refund your premium to you (as long as a claim has not been made). Please note usually it takes 3 to 5 working days for the bank to clear the refund back into your account.

If your policy has been in place for longer than this, you can cancel at any time via My Cove. Please note there will be no refund of premiums paid in this circumstance.

If you’ve set up a policy to start in the future and you’ve changed your mind before it has started, it’s super simple to cancel your pending order via My Cove.

If your policy has already started and you’ve paid your first premium we allow you 14 days to change your mind or decide the policy isn’t right for you. Cancel the policy via My Cove using the link above and we’ll refund your premium to you (as long as a claim has not been made, or you’ve become liable under a car insurance policy). Please note usually it takes 3 to 5 working days for the bank to clear the refund back into your account.

If your policy has been in place for longer than this, you can cancel at any time via My Cove. Please note there will be no refund of premiums paid in this circumstance.

We allow you 14 days to change your mind or decide the policy isn’t right for you. If you cancel your policy after the free look period we will provide a refund for the unused time on risk less a reasonable processing fee to cover our administration costs (currently $25).

As there are a number of internal and external processes to be completed before the money will be available in your account again it may take between 3-5 days (and in worst-case scenarios slightly longer) for the funds to be available for use in your account.

If your car cannot be repaired because it is uneconomic or unsafe to repair or it has been stolen and not recovered, and we pay you the agreed value as settlement in your claim with us, we will automatically cancel the policy from the date of loss. There will be no refund of premiums paid prior to the date of loss.

Because this changing the actual item being insured, you’ll need to cancel your existing policy and set up a new one.

Your car insurance policy provides temporary cover for most replacement vehicles, so to avoid being charged double premium we recommend you set up your new policy for your new car to start on the next renewal date of your existing policy.

Follow these steps to cancel your existing policy and set up a new one:

1. Log in to My Cove here https://app.coveinsurance.co.nz/user/login
2. Hit the add a quote button and complete a quote on the new car – doing this first allows us to pre populate many of the quote questions so it should only take a couple of minutes to get the new quote.
3. On the quote summary screen set the start date of this new policy to be the same as your next renewal date on your existing car insurance policy.
4. Complete the purchase of the new policy.
5. Cancel the old policy in My Cove

And if you need any assistance don’t hesitate to use the Live Chat widget on screen.

Firstly, make sure everyone involved is okay, then call any emergency services that you feel need to attend.

Once everyone is safe, and anyone injured is being appropriately cared for, exchange contact details with any other drivers involved, and request the contact details of any witnesses who have remained nearby. It’s important to get the person’s full name and number, and details of their car such as make, model, and registration.

It’s a great idea to simply use your phone camera and take a few images of what happened, and the damage that occurred as a result. While your camera is out, you can use this as an opportunity to ask the other drivers involved to see their driver licence so you can take a photo of that too (and also to verify the details that they have given you are correct).

Then get in touch with Cove. You can either lodge a claim via the website, or call us on 0800 268 347, and we can advise the next steps.

Cove policies don’t have a No Claims Bonus like some other companies do, but we do still take claims into account when pricing our policies. The impact on your policy premium following a claim depends on a number of factors such as who was driving at the time of the incident and who was at fault for the incident.

We can advise of the likely change to your premium when a claim is made so don’t hesitate to contact us to obtain an estimate of your new premium at that time.

Once you’ve submitted your completed claim form it will be sent to our claims team. Once there a claims handler will be assigned and a case file opened. They’ll complete an initial review of your form to make sure all the necessary information has been included and will be in touch to let you know what happens next.

Yes. Even if you’re not at fault for damage to your car you’ll still need to lodge a claim with Cove. We’ll take care of managing your claim, organising your repairs, paying the bills, and recovering the costs from another insurance company or third party. If liability is clear and accepted by the third party the claim will not impact your insurance record or premiums.

The quickest way to obtain an update on your claim is to call us on 0800 268 347 and select option 1 to be transferred to our claims team. It’s always helpful to have your policy or claim number on hand as well as the name of your claims handler.

You can lodge a claim online or call us on 0800 268 347 and select option 1 to be put through to our claims team.

In general, an excess is required to be paid for all claims submitted. There are some exceptions to the rule, like for excess free glass claims on a car policy, or where a third party insurer has accepted liability on behalf of their customer. Your claims handler will let you know whether or not you’ll need to pay an excess for your specific claim and exactly how much this will be.

Cove can be reached using the live chat widget on our website, or you can email us at support@coveinsurance.co.nz.

You can also reach us on 0800 268 347 during standard business hours (24/7 for claims and roadside assistance).

We love it when our customers think so highly of us that they tell their friends and family. So we’ll provide a credit of up to $100 on your account for each friend or family member who joins Cove and keeps their policy in place for at least a month.

Check out this page for more information.

To express dissatisfaction with a claim or something we’ve done please email us at support@coveinsurance.co.nz. We take all concerns seriously and will acknowledge receipt of your dissatisfaction within 1 working day.

We take all complaints seriously, and have a complaints page on our website which outlines exactly what our process is.

We love hearing feedback! If you would like to give feedback to Cove, you can send us an email to support@coveinsurance.co.nz