A complete guide to handling car accidents in New Zealand, from police reports to insurance claims

[🚨 Key takeaways from New Zealand's road accident response].

Q1. What are the first steps to take immediately after an incident?

• Takeaway: After stopping in a safe place Call the police at 111and the other party Getting to know youis the first priority.
• Action: Be sure to collect the other party's driver's license photo, license plate, and contact information (to verify the call on-site).

Q2. If my car has a police sticker, can I still drive?

• Takeaway: No. If you have an ‘Unsafe to Drive’ sticker, you can use the Never drive further after arriving at your destinationwill be.
• Caution: If you are caught driving in violation of this, you will be subject to a substantial Finesmay be imposed.

Q3. Is the vehicle repair determination automatic after insurance submission?

• Takeaway: No, you will need to request an **’Assessment’** directly from your insurance company after your vehicle is towed in.
• Tip: Don't wait for the insurer to contact you first, file an online claim and follow up with a phone call to check on the progress.

Being in a car accident is a panic-inducing experience. But when you're in a car accident in a foreign country, especially New Zealand, and you don't speak much English, it can be even more panicky. In this article, I'll give you some tips on how to handle and cope with a car accident in New Zealand based on my real-life experience.

My experience dealing with car accidents in New Zealand

Since moving to New Zealand, I haven't had a single car accident because I only go where I need to go, and New Zealand drivers don't drive in a hurry.

It was another day like any other, and I was on my way to my job in the city. To get from my Auckland home to work, I had to get on the freeway. As I was merging onto the freeway from a local road, a tractor-trailer didn't see my car and moved into my lane, hitting the side of my car.

My car lost its center and spun sideways on the highway for a turn or two. Luckily, it was part of a merger and it happened in one lane, so no cars were coming at me.

New Zealand car accident process

Here's how I handled a car accident in New Zealand. Of course, depending on the size of the accident and how injured the driver is, the process may vary. In my case, my car was damaged but minimally mobile and I wasn't seriously injured. However, I was so shaken up that my body was shaking.

1) Call 111 and get to know the person on the other end of the line

Once you've been involved in a car accident, if you're not seriously injured and your car is damaged but minimally mobile, you'll want to pull over to a safe place. Of course, depending on the severity of the damage and injuries, you may decide not to call the police and handle the situation on your own.

However, I did call the police. I didn't know what to do. In New Zealand, the police number to call is 111. When you call and say you've been in a car accident, the first response from the police is usually ‘Are you okay, do you need an ambulance?.

I told them I was fine, that I didn't need to be taken away in an ambulance, and that they would contact the nearest police station and send me there.

Take a picture of the license plate of the other driver's car, assuming they didn't run away. Ask them to show you their driver's license, ask if it's okay to take a picture, and if they say yes, take the picture. And don't forget to get their contact information.

• The police number is 111
• Take a picture of the other person's license plate, driver's license, etc.
• Get the other person's contact information

2) If you received a no-driving sticker, be careful

When the police arrive, they will take you and the other person separately and ask you what happened. You can then explain everything as it happened. At this point, they may give you a breathalyzer test to see if you've been drinking and driving. I passed, of course.

If the police believe that driving with damage to your car could endanger the safety of other drivers, they will place an immobilization sticker on your car. I had this sticker placed on my car.

However, even if you have a No Driving sticker, you are allowed to drive from the location of the accident to a place where you can park, such as your home or work, but not beyond. If you are caught, you could be fined, so keep this in mind. Even without a fine, isn't it dangerous to drive a garage car?

3) Why you shouldn't just wait and hope

One thing that shouldn't be left out of dealing with a car accident in New Zealand is the insurance company claim. In fact, I made a few calls from the scene of the accident to tell the insurance company that I was in an accident.

In South Korea, someone would have picked up the phone and rushed to the scene of the accident. But this was New Zealand. I didn't know the phone number of the person in charge, and I tried calling the insurance company's representative, but it didn't work. I called several times, but they didn't get back to me until after I left the scene.

I called the insurance company again after bringing in my damaged car. I got an automated voice telling me to wait, and I never got through to a human. While I waited, I filed a claim online.

I called the insurance company the day of the accident and the next day. Finally, I got through to them. I told them that my car was at home and that I couldn't drive it because it had an undrivable sticker, and they called a towing company. The towing company finally called me back and towed my car from my house.

It's a good idea to remove all of your belongings from the car when it's towed, because you'll have to leave them in the car and go back to retrieve them once it's declared a total loss.

But now that we don't have a car (if you have two, that's fine), it's pretty hard to get there, so I recommend removing all your personal items beforehand. I've had a lot of trouble with that.

4) Valuation of the damaged vehicle, repair or scrap and the amount of compensation

I then used the AMI CompanyI had insured my car with Uber. It took a long time to get through to the insurance company, but it also took a long time for the towing company to tow my car away. I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the insurance company would take care of everything.

After a few days, I hadn't heard from the insurance company or the towing company. I called the insurance company again. They told me that if the towing company took the car, they had to contact the company. The reason for this is so that they can send someone to assess the damage.

After being evaluated by the insurance company, my car was eventually determined to be beyond repair and I received an email about it. I was informed of the total amount of compensation and the account number to receive it.

When I was shopping for insurance, I didn't think I would ever be in a car accident, so I always chose the cheapest option (Sum Insured), which means that I would pay the lower of the Agreed Value and the Market Value.

If there's not much of a premium difference between the two, I'd just go with the insured amount (the negotiated value). As a side note, I got my access fee (deductible) waived because I was not at fault at all.

If you pay the full year's registration fee, and then get into an accident within a month and decide to scrap the car, you can get a refund for the remaining 11 months. You'll need your license plates and a certificate of scrapping, so make sure you have them handy.

Also, you typically pay for a year's worth of car insurance, and if your vehicle is declared unrepairable, you may be able to get your money back for the remainder of your policy, so be sure to check with your insurance company.

[Quick Check: 7-Step Timeline for Handling Traffic Accidents in New Zealand].

• Secure: Stop on the shoulder and turn on hazard lights
• Police report: Regardless of casualties 111 Obtain an incident number after reporting
• Information collection: Take a photo of the other person's license, license plate, and verify contact information
• Insurance acceptance: Prioritize online claims and wait for a call
• Vehicle towing: Request towing from your insurer's designated provider (personal belongings must be collected)
• Vehicle assessment: To the insurer Assessment Requests (most important!)
• Compensation and refunds: Apply for a vehicle registration fee (Rego) refund after receiving the final decision

Finalize

Today we talked about how to deal with a car accident in New Zealand. It's important to note that this story is based on my personal experience, and that the process and insurance coverage may vary depending on your situation.

The key to car accident compensation in New Zealand is whether the other driver is uninsured and how your policy is valued (Agreed vs Market).

[New Zealand car insurance: Excess treatment table].

In my case, the other driver was 100% at fault, and the other driver had insurance. My car was declared non-repairable, so I was exempted from accessory and compensated at market value.

After the accident, I bought a used car with the money I was compensated with, and I'm still driving it around today. If you're curious about how the car accident process works in New Zealand, I've written this post for you.