Crop Insurance by
Grower Type
Whether you're an orchardist in Hawke's Bay, a vine grower in Marlborough, an arable farmer in Canterbury or a contract grower — your risks are different and your insurance should reflect that.
Find Insurance for Your Operation
Select your grower type to see specific risks, cover options and what to look for in a policy.
Orchardists
Specialist insurance for kiwifruit, apple, pear, avocado and stone fruit orchardists across New Zealand.
Viticulture & Wine Growers
Vineyard and wine grape crop insurance for NZ's world-class wine growing regions.
Arable Farmers
Crop insurance for Canterbury, Southland and Marlborough arable farmers growing wheat, barley, oats, and maize.
Hop Growers
Specialist insurance for NZ hop growers in Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough.
Vegetable Growers
Crop insurance for outdoor and covered vegetable growers supplying supermarkets, processors and fresh markets.
Contract & Seed Growers
Insurance for NZ seed and contract growers protecting against crop failure and contract non-delivery penalties.
Why Growers Need Crop Insurance
New Zealand's climate and export-dependent economy make crop insurance more than a nice-to-have for many operations.
NZ Weather is Unpredictable
Cyclones, late frosts, hailstorms and drought can strike without warning. A single weather event can eliminate an entire season's income for an uninsured grower. Cyclone Gabrielle alone caused over $800 million in agricultural damage in Hawke's Bay.
Input Costs Are Rising
Labour, fertiliser, freight and irrigation costs have all increased sharply. Without crop insurance, a weather event doesn't just cost you the harvest — it can leave you unable to meet the seasonal input debt you've already committed to.
Banks May Require It
Rural lenders including Rabobank, BNZ Agri and ANZ increasingly require growers with large seasonal finance facilities to hold crop insurance. Having cover can also support better lending terms and interest rates.
Export Markets Demand Reliability
NZ export crops like kiwifruit, wine grapes and apples carry contractual volume obligations. Failing to meet supply commitments due to weather can damage long-term market relationships. Revenue protection helps ensure continuity.
Types of Crop Cover Available
Not all crop insurance is the same. Understanding the structure helps you choose the right policy for your risk profile.
Named Perils
Covers specific events: hail, frost, fire, wind. Most affordable and the most widely used structure in NZ.
Multi-Peril (MPCI)
Covers yield shortfalls from a broad range of causes including weather, disease and pest incursion.
Revenue Protection
Guarantees a minimum income level regardless of cause of loss. Best when input costs are high.
Parametric Cover
Triggers automatically based on a measured index (e.g. rainfall below threshold). No loss assessment needed.
Not sure which cover type is right for you?
A specialist broker can assess your operation, identify your key risks, and recommend the most appropriate cover.
Talk to a Crop Insurance Specialist →Cover by Type of Grower
What you need depends on how you grow. A specialist broker or insurer will structure cover around your operation rather than sell a standard package.
Orchardists — Hail and wind are usually the primary exposures, alongside tree or vine reinstatement cost after a loss event.
Viticulture — Frost is the dominant peril in most NZ growing regions, and cover terms vary significantly by site and elevation.
Arable farmers — Cover typically centres on standing crop value and harvest-window weather risk.
Vegetable growers — Short cycles and multiple plantings a season mean cover needs to reflect the value at risk at any given point.
Hop growers — A concentrated growing region and high per-hectare values make specialist placement more likely than a standard farm pack.
Contract growers — Cover often needs to align with obligations under the supply contract, so the contract terms matter as much as the crop.
Finding cover
Some insurers deal with growers directly; others write only through brokers. For multi-peril or international placement, a broker with horticultural experience is usually the practical route.
Find a crop insurance specialist
Crop and horticultural cover is a specialist area with a small number of providers. Use the options below to find the right adviser or insurer for your operation.
Use a licensed broker
Search IBANZ, the NZ brokers association, to find an adviser who specialises in agricultural and horticultural cover.
Check the FSP register
Verify that any adviser you use holds a current Financial Service Provider registration before engaging them.
Go direct to an insurer
Some crop insurers deal directly with growers. Visit their websites to enquire or get a quote from their own team.
Are you a crop insurance specialist?
If you work in agricultural insurance and cover crops or horticulture, we would like to hear from you. hello@cover4you.co.nz
The Crop Insurance Market We Access
NZ rural insurers
Domestic cover
Agribusiness brokers
Local expertise
International markets
Lloyd's access
Specialty underwriters
Complex risks
Crop cover is placed across three broad market types. Which is right for your operation depends on crop, scale and the perils you need covered.
Looking for a specific crop type?
Browse insurance by crop — kiwifruit, grapes, apples, wheat, hops and more.