NZI: the traps in its car policy wording.

The first-dollar amount you pay on any claim. It's the number people forget until claim time — and it's often higher than they think.

Know your standard excess; a higher voluntary excess can cut your premium.

If a driver under 25 (or an inexperienced/unlisted driver) is at the wheel, a big EXTRA excess stacks on top of your standard one.

If anyone under 25 drives your car, find out this excess — it can be $1,000+.

A separate (often reduced) excess for windscreen/glass claims — but still a cost, and some policies don't reduce it.

Check your windscreen excess and whether glass-only claims affect your no-claims bonus.

A hire car or transport allowance while yours is repaired or replaced — capped, and often only after a not-at-fault claim.

Check if you get a rental car and for how long.

Getting the car towed and recovered after an incident — usually capped.

Note the towing limit, especially if you drive rurally.

Re-keying and lock replacement after lost or stolen keys — capped, and modern smart keys are expensive.

Know the cap if your car has proximity/smart keys.

Your belongings stolen from or damaged in the car are usually capped low, if covered at all.

Check the limit; valuable items may need contents cover instead.

You have a legal duty to disclose everything a 'prudent insurer' would want to know. Breach it — even innocently — and insurers can treat the policy as if it never existed and refuse all claims.

Over-disclose: tell the insurer about every driver, modification, conviction and change of circumstances, and keep a written record of what you told them and when.

Several insurers say they won't pay — or even contribute — if the same loss is covered 'to any extent' under any other insurance policy, potentially leaving you fighting between two insurers.

Tell your insurer about any overlapping cover and ask in writing how competing policies are handled. Avoid duplicating cover that triggers these clauses.

Unless you have an agreed value policy, a write-off is settled at the depreciated 'market value' of your car just before the crash — often far less than you'd need to buy a comparable replacement, and capped at your sum insured if that's lower.

Ask whether your policy is market value or agreed value, and consider paying for agreed value so the payout figure is fixed in advance. Check the sum insured is high enough to actually replace the car.

Automatic cover for a replacement or additional vehicle depends on notifying the insurer within a set window (usually 30 days) and staying under a price cap.

Notify your insurer immediately when you buy or replace a vehicle and confirm the new car is on cover in writing.

If a claim contains incorrect information or is fraudulent 'in any respect', insurers can decline it and cancel the whole policy — not just the disputed part.

Only submit facts you can prove, keep receipts and photos, and never guess or inflate figures on a claim form.

Standard car policies cover only social, domestic and private use. Using the car for any business, courier, delivery, hire or fare-paying passenger work suspends or removes cover.

If you ever use your car for paid work, tell your insurer and arrange business or commercial cover; don't assume a private policy stretches to it.

If your car has modifications that weren't disclosed and agreed in writing, insurers can refuse to cover the car at all — not just the modified part.

Declare every modification (including ones done before you bought the car) and get them noted on your certificate of insurance in writing.

Add-on benefits like emergency accommodation, alternative transport and rental cars carry small sub-limits — sometimes as little as $40 a day or $500 total — far below real costs if you're stranded.

Check the exact dollar and daily limits on accommodation, transport and rental benefits, and top up with travel or additional cover if you travel far from home.

You must get the insurer's permission and let them assess the car before any repairs begin — arrange repairs yourself first and the claim can be declined.

Report the claim and wait for assessment and written approval before authorising any repairs beyond emergency temporary work.

Insurers exclude damage to tyres caused by braking, punctures, cuts or bursts unless it happens as part of a wider accepted claim or was malicious.

Don't expect standalone tyre damage to be covered; budget for tyre replacement as a running cost.

Damage from depreciation, wear and tear, rust, corrosion, gradual deterioration and mechanical, electrical or electronic breakdown is excluded — even when it stops the car working.

Keep the car serviced and understand car insurance covers accidents, not mechanical failure; consider a separate mechanical breakdown warranty if you want that protection.