In New Zealand, we love our cars. A Massey University study reported that in 2014, we collectively owned a whopping 3.7 million vehicles, putting our rate of ownership per 1000 people higher than Australia, Japan, the UK and the USA. According to the NZ Herald, Auckland adds 800 more cars to the road every single week.

Contents insurance provides you with the peace of mind that if your valuable possessions are damaged, lost or stolen, you’ll be able to replace them. But how do you work out how much you need to insure everything for? Your contents are made up of hundreds of items, often purchased or gifted over many years, and it’s impossible to remember what you paid for everything.

Before the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, house insurance in New Zealand was provided on a total home replacement basis. That meant you insured your house for a specific floor area, and if your home was completely destroyed, your insurance would pay to rebuild it to the same size.