Can You Get Insurance on Gold and Silver Bullion in New Zealand?

If you’ve bought or are thinking about buying gold and silver bullion, the question you should also consider is where will you store it?

The next question that often springs to mind is: Can I insure gold and silver bullion in New Zealand?

The short answer to this question is “Yes”. However it’s not as simple as that. Read on to see what options you have, what you need to consider, and what the pros and cons are:

Can You Get Insurance on Gold and Silver Bullion in New Zealand?

If you store gold and silver at home and intend to claim it under your home and contents insurance policy, you should be sure to check with your insurance company or insurance broker what cover if any exists for gold and silver bullion bars or coins.

You may find any cover is quite limited in scope and dollar coverage.

Because gold bullion (and silver to a lesser extent) is so valuable per ounce, it is often seen as a high risk item to insure. Also compared to jewellery it can be very hard to distinguish from item to item. So insurers are often not that keen to cover gold and silver bullion.

Buy a Home Safe With a “Cash Rating”

One way to make it easier to insure your gold and silver bullion while stored in your home is to buy and install a home safe with a “cash rating”.

The below points cover this:

1. What is the “cash rating” on a safe and how does this apply to gold and silver bullion?

What is a “Cash Rating”?

A Cash Rating is for Insurance purposes. It refers to the level of cover that a particular safe is rated for in terms of cash contents. However for precious metals this value could potentially be doubled. For example, a $100,000 cash rating could be doubled to $200,000 for gold and silver bullion.

To achieve this the insurer will require a certified safe. For example to CEN (European) standard or AS/NZS 3809 standard. The harder it is to break into and the longer it takes, the higher the grade.

But it will also depend upon the installation and other measures in place such as security systems, cameras, fencing, gating etc.

In New Zealand insurance cover for gold and silver bullion can come via Lloyds of London so you will require a specialist insurance agent to get you cover for this. Don’t expect your home and contents insurance policy to cover it very easily.

2. Can I increase the “cash rating” if my silver and gold rises in value?

It pays to plan ahead in case your gold and silver end up being worth more than your safes cash rating a few years down the track (potentially a good problem to have though!).

So don’t just ask yourself what is the expected total value of your precious metals purchases. But also consider and allow for if they “go up in value” in dollar terms.

You should allow some leeway for this as the only way to increase the cash rating is to purchase a different safe with a higher cash rating, or purchase a second safe. Although some people do like to spread their load across more than one safe anyway.

What About Insurance on Gold and Silver Stored in a Private Safety Deposit Box or Non-Bank Vault?

If you choose to store gold and silver in a private safety deposit box and then insure it yourself, you may find some difficulty in getting cover.

If you do manage to get it, this may be quite costly. We have heard of quotes as high as 1.4% per annum of the value insured. Often this is also limited to a maximum of $100,000.

However our preferred vault/safe storage facility in NZ has insurance available for a much lesser rate.

“For our safety deposit boxes, insurance is calculated at .25% of whatever dollar value the client nominates per year. This is up to an unlimited amount.”

So Insurance on Gold and Silver Bullion is Available in New Zealand

However depending upon your situation, the terms, cost and coverage provided can vary dramatically. So be sure to consider your options as the ongoing cost of insurance can add up if you are paying more than 1% per annum.

For more on this topic see: Gold and Silver Storage Options

Editors note: Originally posted 3 June 2016. Updated 21 July 2020 to include correct rates.