You've Had a Car Accident in New Zealand — Here's What to Do Next
ACC handles injury, but your car's damage is a completely separate claim — if you're insured at all. Here's how the process actually works.
New Zealand's split between ACC (injury) and private insurance (everything else) means a car accident here can involve two entirely separate processes, run by two entirely different organisations.
At the Scene
Check for injuries and call 111 if needed. Exchange details with the other driver, including name, contact information, and registration. Take photos of the vehicles and the scene. Since insurance isn't compulsory in New Zealand, it's worth specifically confirming whether the other driver is insured at all — this materially affects what happens next.
Injury Claims Go to ACC, Not Your Insurer
If anyone is injured, that claim is lodged with ACC directly, not with any car insurer. ACC operates on a no-fault basis, meaning it doesn't matter who caused the accident — injury compensation proceeds the same way either way. This is lodged separately from any vehicle damage claim, since ACC has no involvement with property.
Vehicle Damage: Entirely Dependent on Insurance
Since car insurance is legally optional in New Zealand, what happens to vehicle damage depends entirely on whether you (and the other driver) are insured. If you have comprehensive cover, you claim with your own insurer regardless of fault. If you only have third party cover, you can claim against the at-fault driver's policy if they have one — but if they're uninsured, you may have no practical way to recover your repair costs unless you pursue it independently.
Reporting Timeframes
Most New Zealand insurers specify a reasonable reporting window in their policy wording, though this is typically less rigid than markets with a hard 24-hour rule. Even so, reporting as soon as practical after an accident remains the safest approach, since delays can complicate how an insurer assesses the circumstances.
What Happens If the Other Driver Is Uninsured
Because there's no compulsory scheme and no NZ equivalent of a Motor Insurers' Bureau safety net, an uninsured at-fault driver genuinely can leave you covering your own repair costs, unless you have your own comprehensive policy to fall back on. This is one of the more significant practical arguments for carrying comprehensive cover in New Zealand, even though nothing legally requires it.
Notifying Your Insurer
If you are insured, notify your insurer promptly — most policies specify a reasonable timeframe for reporting, and delays can complicate a claim's assessment, particularly around establishing what actually happened.
Agreed Value vs. Market Value at Claim Time
If you hold a comprehensive policy with Agreed Value, your payout for a total loss is the amount settled when you took out the policy. With Market Value, it's assessed at the time of the claim — which matters more the longer you've held the policy, given depreciation.
The Practical Takeaway
Remember that ACC and your car insurer (if you have one) are handling completely separate things — injury and property respectively. And given New Zealand's optional insurance environment, confirming the other driver's insurance status at the scene is more important here than in most other countries, since it directly determines your options if they're at fault.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I claim injury compensation through my car insurer in New Zealand?
No. Injury claims go through ACC directly, regardless of whether you have car insurance or who was at fault.
What happens if I'm hit by an uninsured driver in New Zealand?
If you don't have your own comprehensive cover, you may have no practical way to recover vehicle repair costs, since there's no compulsory insurance scheme or equivalent safety net.
Is ACC compensation affected by who caused the accident?
No. ACC operates on a no-fault basis — compensation for injury proceeds the same way regardless of fault.