What we do

OnRoad Cover

OnRoad Cover is provided for all people involved in a road crash. This includes drivers, passengers, pedestrians and cyclists, regardless of who caused the accident. This cover is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and covers all types of vehicles on all public roads.

On this page

  1. What does OnRoad Cover provide?
  2. How is OnRoad Cover funded?
  3. How safety on the road can reduce levies
  4. Annual motor vehicle claims

What does OnRoad Cover provide?

If you’re involved in a road crash, ACC can assist you with

  • the costs of medical treatment and rehabilitation
  • payment of up to 80% of your lost earnings if you are injured and unable to work for more than a week
  • support in returning to work or independence as soon as possible
  • medical and financial assistance for a surviving partner and children in the event of a death.

For more information, see Making a Claim.

How is OnRoad Cover funded?

As a vehicle owner and road user you pay for OnRoad Cover by a levy. This comes to ACC in two ways:

  • Your vehicle registration fee (collected through the New Zealand Transport Agency). This varies depending on the type of vehicle you own and the level of risk of injury. For example, motorcyclists have a higher risk of receiving more injuries per vehicle, so they pay a higher levy.
  • The sale of petrol. There is no levy on diesel, CNG or LPG. If your vehicle does not use petrol you pay the entire levy through your vehicle registration fee.

What are levies based on?

We group all vehicles into one of six vehicle categories, between vehicles powered by petrol (and for which the petrol levy is paid) and those that are not. All vehicles in each group pay the same amount in total (when you add the registration cost and petrol costs). The six groups are:

  • Class 1 – exempt vehicles, eg ambulance and fire engine vehicles
  • Classes 2 and 6 – passenger vehicles
  • Classes 3 and 7 – mopeds, veteran and vintage vehicles
  • Classes 4 and 8 – motorcycles
  • Classes 5 and 9 – service vehicles.

So, for example, a courier van is treated differently from a taxi van. A courier van is designed to carry goods, so it’s in class 5 or 9. A taxi van is mainly used for carrying passengers, so it’s in classes 2 and 6.

Levies are set every year. For more information about our levy consultation process see Levy consultation.

For more information about levies, see How we’re funded.

How safety on the road can reduce levies

Part of the levy you pay goes towards ACC road safety programmes to help reduce accidents.

You can help improve road safety and reduce accidents by:

  • not taking undue risks while driving, eg not driving when tired
  • keeping your vehicle or motorcycle regularly ‘health checked’ for road worthiness.

For more information, see Road safety.

Annual motor vehicle claims

There are approximately 45,000 motor vehicle related claims each year. That’s around one claim for every 130 registered vehicles. Altogether ACC spends about $350 - $400 million a year on claims involving motor vehicles.

This includes:

  • 400 claims on behalf of people killed in road crashes
  • 4,300 claims for people who need to take time off work because of their injuries
  • 1,200 people who require assistance around the home due to their injuries
  • 100 extremely injured people who will need help from ACC for the rest of their lives
  • 39,000 claims for treatment costs.

Last updated: 30 January 2008