In most cases, MetService will issue a weather warning for extreme hailstorms. If there is an alert in your area, please stay informed and follow advice from Civil Defence and local authorities.
To reduce the risk of damage to your vehicle and belongings:
For more information on how to stay safe in a hailstorm, visit Civil Defence.
Once you and your whānau are safe, the quickest way to start your claim is online. If you’d prefer to speak to us, we have specialist teams available over the phone.
Once we’ve received your claim, we’ll contact you to discuss next steps. So, if you’ve already made your claim, sit tight. We’ll be in touch.
If a lot of claims are made due to a hailstorm, we’ll prioritise customers who need urgent repairs or are experiencing vulnerability. We’ll have extra support on board so we can help you faster.
If you need urgent assistance, please contact us as soon as you can. If you’re experiencing vulnerability, or your home is unliveable, let us know so we can prioritise your claim.
Depending on the policies you have, you might be covered for a rental vehicle. Check your policy wording and get in touch with us to see what support is available.
This information is a useful guide but is not intended to replace your policy wording. Remember to double-check your policy documents and talk to us if you’re ever uncertain.
If your policies are in the same name, with the same brand, insured with the same address, and you make a claim on two or more policies for damage caused by the same disaster, you’ll pay just one excess – whichever is the highest. We call this “one event, one excess” and it applies to your personal insurance policies only, such as your car, home, contents, caravan, motorcycle, or boat policies. Our Claims teams will discuss this with you when it’s time to pay your excess.
An event like this has a big impact on our assessors and tradespeople, so although we’ll be working as quickly as we can, it will take some time to get through all the assessments. Urgent assistance for those who are experiencing vulnerability will be prioritised, as well as those who are in high-impact areas.
We appreciate your patience and want to reassure you that we’ll get you back on your feet as quickly as possible.
We’ll refer you to our Motor Vehicle Assessor or to a local repairer, who’ll review your claim, assess the damage, and work out the scope and cost to repair it. We’ll then review the estimated repair cost against your sum insured to work out if the vehicle is economic or uneconomic to repair.
If your vehicle is economic to repair, your Claim Manager will review your policy and discuss the next steps with you. Depending on your policy, we can either pay you a lump sum payment based on the reasonable costs to repair the covered damage, or we can arrange to have your vehicle repaired ourselves.
If your vehicle is uneconomic to repair, our assessor will refer your claim back to your Claim Manager who will review your policy and get in touch with you to discuss your claim settlement options.
If your windscreen has been damaged, please don’t drive it. Instead, let us know immediately.
Depending on your policy, we’ll arrange a tow, so you won’t have to drive your vehicle in for assessment. Once it’s been assessed, wait for the all-clear from your assessor before driving again.
We’ll ask our salvage provider for a ‘wreck estimate’ that reflects the amount we’re likely to get at auction for the damaged vehicle. Then we’ll offer you the total loss value, less the ’wreck estimate’ and your excess.
If the damage is significant or structural, the vehicle may be unsafe to drive, so we might not give you the option to keep it. In this situation, we’ll arrange disposal and deregistration of the vehicle with NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.
Our priority is to get customers with vehicles that are unsafe to drive, back on the road as soon as possible. To help speed things up, we bring in hail repair specialists to assist with the hail-related damage. They use a process called Paintless Dent Repair which you can learn more about here.
Once you’ve made your claim and local authorities have confirmed it’s safe to re-enter the area, we’ll appoint an assessor to review your claim, assess the damage either in person or remotely, and agree with you on the scope and cost to repair it ‐ sometimes called a ’scope of works’.
Depending on the property and damage, we might need to bring in specialist tradespeople like engineers, repairers, or builders, which can make your assessment take a little longer.
Once the ‘scope of works’ is complete, our assessor will discuss your repair or settlement options with you.
For repairs, the repairer will get in touch with you directly to discuss start dates. They’ll make sure it’s at a time that works for you and consider availability of any materials needed for your repair.
If you need to move out of your home for repairs, your Claim Manager can check your policy to see if alternative accommodation costs are covered.
Once you've made your claim, please complete a ‘Loss Schedule’, listing all your damaged items. Remember to include the item’s age, manufacturers’ names, model numbers, purchase dates and purchase prices, wherever you can. If you’re able to do so, taking photos of your damaged items in addition to your Loss Schedule can be helpful too.
Once you’ve completed your Loss Schedule, email it back to your Claim Manager and include your claim number in the subject line.
We'll be in touch with the next steps, but if you have any questions about your claim or your Loss Schedule, please get in touch.
Yes. Taking photos of any damaged property or belongings can often help to speed up the claim process.
