Injuries we don’t cover
We cover personal injuries caused by accidents, including mental injuries linked to those events. We are unable to provide support for conditions that are not injury related, such as general illness or age-related health concerns.
Your injury must be because of an accident
Sometimes injuries aren't caused by an accident. We don't cover:
- illness, sickness, or contagious diseases, eg measles
- stress, hurt feelings or other emotional issues. This is unless they're linked to an injury we already cover
- conditions related to ageing, eg arthritis
- most hernias
- injuries that happen over time, unless an activity at work is causing it
- damage to items that don't replace body parts. This includes hearing aids, glasses, pacemakers and gastric bands.
These are some of the common injuries and conditions that in most cases we don't cover:
- if you have appendicitis and need an emergency trip to the hospital
- you get skin burn from the sun, wind or snow
- you have unexplained back pain that gets worse over time.
If you're not sure if you're covered
When we receive your claim, we look at the rules set out in the Accident Compensation Act 2001 to see if we can cover your injury. The Act has different rules for different types of injuries.
Learn how we make cover decisions based on legislation
As every injury and situation is different, it may not always be clear if we cover your injury. Your doctor, physio, dentist or other health provider will tell you if we're likely to cover your injury. They can then make a claim for you.
We'll need a diagnosis from a health provider before we can confirm if we cover your injury.