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⭐ In-Depth Review | Updated July 2026

Trade Me Insurance Reviews

Trade Me Insurance is the insurance arm of Trade Me, New Zealand's largest online marketplace. It sells house, car, contents and boat cover online, all underwritten by Tower. Its policy wording carries the WriteMark Plain Language Standard. We have aggregated its cover, benefits and underwriting to give you the full picture.

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Last reviewed: • Sources:
N/A/5
Poor Average Excellent
Limited
total reviews
"The policy wording is genuinely readable, which is rare."
Theme, WriteMark certified wording
"It is Tower cover with a Trade Me label, so compare both before buying."
Editorial observation, 2026
"Little third-party review data exists for the brand separately from Tower."
Editorial observation, 2026
N/A
Limited third-party data

In This Review

Overview Customer Ratings Review Highlights Products Pros & Cons Pricing How Trade Me Compares Alternatives Best For Verdict FAQs Methodology

Company Overview

Who Trade Me Insurance is and what it covers

Trade Me Insurance is the insurance business of Trade Me Limited, the online marketplace most New Zealanders already have an account with. It sells directly online, alongside Trade Me's other services such as Holiday Houses, FindSomeone and MotorWeb.

The important fact for buyers is on Trade Me's own footer: the cover is "tailor made with Tower". Trade Me Insurance is underwritten by Tower Limited, a standalone New Zealand insurer. Trade Me is the brand and the buying experience; Tower carries the risk and pays the claims.

That has a practical consequence worth understanding before you buy. Holding a Trade Me policy alongside a Tower policy is not spreading your risk across two insurers, because it is the same insurer twice. It also means the two are worth quoting against each other directly, since the underwriting sits in the same place.

Trade Me Insurance suits people who want straightforward online cover from a brand they already use, and who value plain-English policy documents.

Ratings Breakdown

How customers rate Trade Me Insurance

WriteMark
N/A
★★★★★
Plain Language Standard certified
Third-party review platforms
N/A
★★★☆☆
Limited standalone data
Underwriter (Tower)
4.0
★★★★☆
See our Tower review
Brand reach
N/A
★★★★★
Part of Trade Me Limited

Note on review data: Trade Me Insurance does not have a substantial standalone presence on third-party review platforms, and much of what exists refers to Trade Me the marketplace rather than the insurance business. We have not assigned a customer score rather than publish one we cannot evidence. Because the cover is underwritten by Tower, our Tower review is the closest proxy for claims experience.

What Customers Are Saying

What stands out about the Trade Me Insurance proposition

The house policy wording holds the WriteMark Plain Language Standard, which very few NZ insurance documents do.

Trade Me Insurance policy documents, 2026 ★★★★★

Extended sum insured gives 20% more cover than your sum insured if the house is destroyed by fire.

Trade Me house policy, 2026 ★★★★★

Buying sits inside an account most New Zealanders already have.

Editorial observation, 2026 ★★★★☆

Cover is underwritten by Tower, so it is not an alternative to Tower, it is Tower.

Editorial observation, 2026 ★★★☆☆

Hidden gradual water damage is capped at $2,000, below several competitors.

Trade Me house policy, 2026 ★★★☆☆

Little standalone review data exists to judge claims experience by brand.

Editorial observation, 2026 ★★★☆☆

Disclaimer: the points above are drawn from Trade Me Insurance's published policy documents and product pages rather than from customer reviews, because standalone review data for the brand is limited.

Products Offered

What you can and cannot insure with Trade Me Insurance

🏠 House Insurance
Available

Sum insured cover with an extended sum insured benefit paying 20% above your sum insured if the house is destroyed by fire, excluding fires following a natural disaster. Includes hidden gradual water damage up to $2,000 and temporary accommodation up to $25,000. Optional cover for sleepouts, retaining walls and swimming pools.

🏘️ Landlord's House Insurance
Available

A separate landlord policy covering tenant damage up to $20,000, protecting against deliberate damage by tenants and their guests, plus hidden gradual water damage up to $2,000.

🚗 Car Insurance
Available

Three levels of cover for private or business use, from comprehensive down to third party. Sold online with claims lodged through the Trade Me Insurance account.

📦 Contents Insurance
Available

Contents cover available alongside house cover or on its own, with the same plain-language wording approach.

⛵ Boat Insurance
Available

Cover for boats, sold through the same online flow as the rest of the range.

Pros & Cons

Where Trade Me Insurance is strong and where it is not

👍 Pros

  • Underwritten by Tower, an established standalone NZ insurer
  • House policy wording carries the WriteMark Plain Language Standard
  • Extended sum insured pays 20% above your sum insured after a fire
  • Landlord tenant damage cover up to $20,000
  • Buying and claiming sit inside a Trade Me account most Kiwis already hold
  • Full online quote and claim lodgement
  • Covers house, landlord, car, contents and boat

👎 Cons

  • Same underwriter as Tower, so holding both is not spreading risk
  • Hidden gradual water damage capped at $2,000, below AMI, State and Vero at $3,000
  • Temporary accommodation at $25,000 is below AA at $40,000 and the IAG brands at $30,000
  • Retaining walls are an optional extra rather than included
  • Very little standalone third-party review data to judge service by
  • No published multi-policy discount percentage
  • Narrower range than the mainstream insurers, with no travel, pet or life cover

Pricing Deep-Dive

What Trade Me Insurance costs and what drives the price

Trade Me Insurance does not publish fixed prices. Premiums depend on the property or vehicle, your sum insured, your excess and your claims history. The ranges below are indicative for a standard profile and are not quotes.

Three-bedroom house, main centre, $600,000 sum insured

Contents only, $80,000 sum insured

Landlord's house, single rental

Disclaimer: these are indicative estimates based on publicly available data as at July 2026, not quotes. Always obtain a personalised quote directly from Trade Me Insurance.

What moves a Trade Me Insurance premium

📐

Sum insured

Your rebuild cost, not market value, and the main driver of a house premium.

📍

Location

Flood, coastal and seismic exposure are priced at address level.

💵

Excess chosen

A higher excess lowers the premium, but you carry more at claim time.

🏚️

Age and construction

Older homes and non-standard construction generally cost more.

📄

Claims history

Recent claims push the premium up.

➕

Optional extras

Retaining walls, sleepouts and pools are add-ons rather than included cover.

How Trade Me Compares

Trade Me Insurance compared with the mainstream NZ house insurers

Feature Trade Me Tower AMI State AA Insurance
Underwriter Tower Ltd Tower Ltd IAG New Zealand IAG New Zealand AA Insurance Ltd
Hidden gradual damage $2,000 $1,000 - $3,000 by tier $3,000/yr $3,000/yr Not covered
Temporary accommodation $25,000 $15,000 - $30,000 $30,000 $30,000 $40,000
Extended sum insured 20% after fire Check tier Replacement cover Replacement cover Replacement cover benefit
Retaining walls Optional extra $15,000 - $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 Not stated
Plain-language certified WriteMark ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Car insurance available ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Published multi-policy discount Not published Up to 20% Available Available AA Member discount
How to buy Online Online Online Online Online

Disclaimer: benefits are the standard published limits on each insurer's own product pages, checked 23 July 2026. Optional add-ons and tier upgrades change them. Confirm with the insurer before purchasing.

Alternatives to Trade Me Insurance

Other NZ insurers worth comparing against Trade Me Insurance

Tower logoTower

The insurer actually carrying Trade Me's risk. Publishes multi-policy discounts of up to 10% on two policies and up to 20% on three or more, and offers three house cover tiers. Quote both and compare directly.

Read Full Review
AMI logoAMI

Higher hidden gradual damage at $3,000/yr, temporary accommodation at $30,000 and retaining walls included to $50,000 rather than optional.

Read Full Review
State logoState

The other IAG division, publishing the same limits as AMI, plus a sustainability upgrade benefit when rebuilding.

Read Full Review
AA Insurance logoAA Insurance

Highest published temporary accommodation limit at $40,000 and a replacement cover benefit that can pay above your sum insured.

Read Full Review
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Who Is Trade Me Insurance Best For?

Who Trade Me Insurance suits, and who it does not

📖

People who actually read the policy

The WriteMark Plain Language Standard on the house wording is rare in NZ insurance and makes the document genuinely readable.

🔥

Owners worried about underinsurance after fire

The extended sum insured benefit pays 20% above your sum insured if fire destroys the house, excluding fires following a natural disaster.

🛒

Existing Trade Me users

Buying and claiming sit inside an account most New Zealanders already have, which removes a step.

⚠️

Not for spreading risk across insurers

Because Tower underwrites it, holding a Trade Me policy and a Tower policy puts both with the same insurer.

Our Verdict

Compare.org.nz's editorial assessment of Trade Me Insurance

7.4
out of 10
Good

Tower cover in a Trade Me wrapper, with unusually readable documents and a couple of benefit limits that sit below the market.

Trade Me Insurance does one thing better than almost any NZ insurer: its house policy wording carries the WriteMark Plain Language Standard, so the document a customer has to understand at claim time is actually readable. The extended sum insured benefit, paying 20% above your sum insured after a fire, is a genuinely useful protection against underinsurance.

The benefit limits are where it slips. Hidden gradual water damage at $2,000 sits below AMI, State and Vero at $3,000, temporary accommodation at $25,000 sits below the IAG brands at $30,000 and AA at $40,000, and retaining walls are an optional extra rather than included cover.

The point most buyers miss is the underwriting. Trade Me Insurance is underwritten by Tower, so it is not an alternative to Tower in any meaningful sense, and holding one of each does not spread your exposure. Quote both and take whichever prices better, but do not treat them as two insurers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Trade Me Insurance

Tower Limited. Trade Me's own site describes the cover as "tailor made with Tower". Trade Me Insurance is the brand and the buying experience; Tower is the insurer carrying the risk and paying claims.
The cover is underwritten by Tower, so the insurer behind the policy is the same company. Pricing, product packaging and service are run under the Trade Me brand. Practically, holding a Trade Me policy alongside a Tower policy means both are with one insurer rather than two.
House, landlord's house, car, contents and boat insurance, all sold online. It does not offer travel, pet, life or health cover.
The WriteMark is a New Zealand plain-language certification. Trade Me's house policy wording holds it, which is unusual for an insurance document. It matters at claim time, when whether you understood what you bought determines whether the outcome surprises you.
If your house is destroyed by fire, Trade Me pays up to 20% more than your sum insured. It excludes fires following a natural disaster. It is a useful buffer against having set your rebuild figure slightly too low.
Mixed. Its extended sum insured after fire is strong, but hidden gradual water damage at $2,000 is below AMI, State and Vero at $3,000, temporary accommodation at $25,000 is below the IAG brands at $30,000 and AA Insurance at $40,000, and retaining walls are optional rather than included.

Our Review Methodology

How we research and rate insurance companies

Data Sources

This review is based on data collected from the following sources, last verified in :

  • Trade Me Insurance product pages and policy documents: benefit limits and cover detail, checked 23 July 2026
  • Trade Me Insurance site footer: underwriting disclosure, "tailor made with Tower"
  • WriteMark: Plain Language Standard certification on the house policy wording
  • Tower published terms: underwriter cover tiers and multi-policy discounts
  • Competitor product pages: AMI, State, Vero and AA Insurance, for the comparison table
  • Third-party review platforms: checked, but standalone data for the insurance brand is limited
  • Companies Office records: corporate structure under Trade Me Limited

How We Calculate Scores

Our editorial scores (out of 10) are calculated using a weighted methodology that considers:

  • Customer ratings (40%): not scored directly here, as standalone review data is insufficient. Weight redistributed to cover and experience, and noted in the verdict.
  • Cover and benefits (30%): published policy limits measured against the market.
  • Buying and claiming experience (20%): quote flow, documentation clarity and claims lodgement.
  • Financial strength and stability (10%): underwriter rating and time in market.

Disclaimer: this review is editorial opinion based on publicly available information as at 23 July 2026. It is not financial or insurance advice and not a recommendation to buy. Policy features and pricing change without notice. Always read the policy wording and confirm details with the insurer before purchasing.

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